Overview
A chilling mystery unfolds as a young woman confronts the specters of her past and the sinister motives of those around her.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- eerie
- paranoid
- foreboding
- classic horror night
- gothic mystery marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film contrived but professionally directed and highly watchable within its Hammer-style psychological horror framework.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Penny repeatedly encounters apparent visions or bodies of her father in the summerhouse, library, and pool.
Creaking shutters, candles, shadows, empty rooms, and the family estate turn domestic surroundings into sources of suspicion.
Penny's paraplegia and wheelchair dependence intensify her exposure to the household's possible conspiracy.
Penny believes her stepmother and Doctor Pierre Gerrard are staging events to undermine her sanity, while Bob searches for a rational explanation.
Films like Taste of Fear, and why
Diabolique
psychological horror, staged deaths, and a vulnerable protagonist trapped in an atmosphere of deception
Psycho
classic psychological horror, unreliable appearances, and escalating domestic paranoia
The Innocents
Gothic suspense, sinister family secrets, and a protagonist questioning her own perceptions
Movie Details
- Director
- Seth Holt
- Release Date
- 1961-04-19
- Runtime
- 82 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (152)
Cast
- Susan Strasberg
- Ronald Lewis
- Ann Todd
- Christopher Lee
- John Serret
- Leonard Sachs
- Anne Blake
- Fred Johnson
- Madame Lobegue
- Bernard Browne
Common questions
- What is Taste of Fear about?
- A wheelchair-bound heiress is haunted by recurring visions of her supposedly dead father while suspicion closes around her new family.
- What is Taste of Fear like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Taste of Fear as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Taste of Fear violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Taste of Fear as moderate.
- What did critics think of Taste of Fear?
- Critics broadly found the film contrived but professionally directed and highly watchable within its Hammer-style psychological horror framework.
- Which films are like Taste of Fear?
- Films with a similar feel include Diabolique, Psycho, and The Innocents.
- How long is Taste of Fear?
- Taste of Fear runs 82 minutes.
