Super-horny famous novelist Sian Anderson (genre legend Meg Foster, she of Carpenter’s They Live, and Masters of the Universe to name but two) is ready to wing her way to Greece to finish her latest murder mystery novel.
Once there she is shown her lodgings by pompous British windbag Elias Appleby (portrayed by a scene stealing Robert Morley), warned of the islands wind situation (spoiler: It ain’t great), and introduced to the villas deranged handyman Phil (portrayed by an equally scene stealing Wings Hauser).
So, long story short; our heroine witnesses Phil possibly putting a murder on Appleby and soon she must not only deal with the forces of nature battering her left and right, but with ol’ Phil deciding to do a stalk n’ slay routine on her. Yeah, she’s not going to get much writing done…
The Wind is a surprisingly fantastic entry in the rather over-crowded genre of ’80’s slasher flicks… and that has nothing to do with the basic premise. Woman heads to remote location and is stalked by a psycho is probably the most generic horror biz cliche there is, but here it’s handled so damn effectively that you barely notice how derivative it is… this all sounds sorta negative, but read on to see how the opposite is actually the case!
First of all, the cast kicks large amounts of ass… Foster is a strong woman who doesn’t fall to pieces once the wicked ways begin, and Hauser is one of the most believable, if delightfully hammy, screen psychopaths out there. You also get solid guest turns from Sapphire & Steel and the The Man from U.N.C.L.E.‘s David McCallum, as well as Lifeforce‘s Steve Railsback as well as the aforementioned Morley.
Another plus are the slight changes to the formula… the deserted Greek island and villa standing in for the usual cabin in the woods, and the titular wind operating as a thunderstorm surrogate. Again, small things, but they give the flick a unique flavor all it’s own.
Additionally, Nico Mastorakis’ writing and directing keep things ultra-suspenseful and fast moving, which of course is a huge boon to any thriller!
As for the special features on this Blu-ray release from Arrow Video and MVD Entertainment, we get the usual typhoon, with an (odd as hell, though outrageously honest and entertaining) interview with Mastorakis, the film’s orchestral meets electronic soundtrack (courtesy of a then up-and-coming Hans Zimmer and Stanley Myers), an alternate opening title sequence (featuring the film’s alternate title, the film’s original trailer (along with the re-issue version’s trailer, and a selection of trailers for other films by Mastorakis) and image galleries comprising the bonus features offered.
One of the stronger slasher/thriller hybrids from the eerie eighties, The Wind is a taut, nail-biter that features a superb cast and plenty of sinister suspense!
