Pure nuclear family insanity. James Mason's character becomes a psycho after he is given a notice that he is on spared time.

He worked himself to deaths door to keep the 1950s squeaky clean nuclear family and he decides to scrape all of that away after he is prescribed cortisone.

Ray does a great job at portraying the fall of Mason's character and flipping this from a family drama to a horror movie in its last act. Mason becomes controlling and gripping of his family berating his wife and son for them not being good enough.

Even saying "GOD WAS WRONG"

Pure nuclear family insanity. James Mason's character becomes a psycho after he is given a notice that he is on spared time.

He worked himself to deaths door to keep the 1950s squeaky clean nuclear family and he decides to scrape all of that away after he is prescribed cortisone.

Ray does a great job at portraying the fall of Mason's character and flipping this from a family drama to a horror movie in its last act. Mason becomes controlling and gripping of his family berating his wife and son for them not being good enough.

Even saying "GOD WAS WRONG"

Literally me when i eat too many sweets

Literally me when i eat too many sweets

What a horrid watch. This puts you right in the house with them

What a horrid watch. This puts you right in the house with them

that shot of lou closing the vanity cabinet which causes the mirror to break and forces ed to look at this broken reflection which symbolises his broken state of mind…james marson’s acting after that, the melodrama!

that shot of lou closing the vanity cabinet which causes the mirror to break and forces ed to look at this broken reflection which symbolises his broken state of mind…james marson’s acting after that, the melodrama!

Good lord, I did not expect something like this out of this era of cinema. A pained, overworked and underpaid family man gets addicted to his cortisone treatment, resulting in the psychosis driven manifestation of his id that threatens to harm his family. It does play a tad melodramatic, but there is a frankness as well that is really unnerving even to a modern audience, which is best represented by James Mason's performance. Definitely will return to this at some point, and definitely would recommend for fans of this era and psychological dramas.

Good lord, I did not expect something like this out of this era of cinema. A pained, overworked and underpaid family man gets addicted to his cortisone treatment, resulting in the psychosis driven manifestation of his id that threatens to harm his family. It does play a tad melodramatic, but there is a frankness as well that is really unnerving even to a modern audience, which is best represented by James Mason's performance. Definitely will return to this at some point, and definitely would recommend for fans of this era and psychological dramas.