Cold Light Of Day — Cold Light Of Day(Blu Ray)

The Cold Light Of Day certainly stands as one of the starker & more terminal bleak serial killer films ever made. The late 80’s very low budget British production roughly told the story of 1980’s London based killer Dennis Nilsen, with largely gore-less but very gruelling strangulation murders, sleaze( at times necro bound), and a grim ‘n’ grimy bed-sit setting. For many years this film has been one of the lesser-seen/ known films of the serial killer genre, which is a great pity- as yes it’s a real downer, but it’s both powerfully disturbing & harrowingly memorable. So it’s great to see this new Blu Ray release of the film from Arrow Video- bringing together two new commentaries, interviews & more.

Appearing in 1989 Cold Light Of Day- was written & directed by Fhiona-Louise, this was her one & only feature film-  though she had a few acting parts in late 80’s to early 90’s arty shorts. From the outset the film has is a very brooding & unease air with an effective use of stabbing & churning industrial ambient soundtrack, blended with the decidedly grim & stark interiors- be it grimy bed-sit, barren interview rooms, or catastrophic stairways. So as troubling debut films go, this is largely well-executed & unsettling in it unfold.

For the film, Nilsen character is given the name of Gordon Marsh- and he’s a bespeckled, grey, and chunky matt of haired man, who works in the jobcentre. Playing the killer is English actor Bob Flag( 1984 & Eat The Rich)- and aside from a slightly dodgy look wig- he managers to portray well enough the switch between helpful/ caring & strangling manic. The film largely follows the real-life story of the Neilson case- with the killer living in a top flat, taking back his victims back there after late-night meets, then later the flat drains get clogged up with flesh from the bodies that he hacks & boils up. The whole thing is largely shot in the night/ early morning London- with much of the film's runtime taking place in the stark-yet-claustrophobic flat, which has a mattress on the floor, a grimy bathroom, and barren kitchen. From time-to-time, we get effectively grim & sleazed shots of Soho (before it got cleaned up), smoke hazed bars, and shadowy unclean streets. When the strangulation attacks occur – they are both jarring & disturbing, as the killer huffs/ puffs on top or behind his victims. We get a few shots of bodies been put under the floorboards, cut-up limbs & heads boiled- though it’s largely a fairly low-key film when it comes to gore/ violence, with the focus been on creating an unpleasant & grim atmosphere. I first saw the film back in the early ’90s, when it got a brief/ fleeting release on VHS- and it’s certainly a film that had a real unsettling effect on me then. Now seeing the film thirty years late, aside from some of it’s slight amateurish/ low-budget moments, it still has a hell of an impact in both it grim & at times gruelling flow, and terminal stark/ hopeless tone.

 

Moving onto this new Blu Ray presentation,  and we get two commentary tracks- first is with Australian film historians/writers Dean Brandum and Andrew Nette. Here the pair go from talking about the real-life case, the grim British feel of the film. Moving onto talk about the director, when/ where the film played on its original run, and the critic response at its time of release, which was largely negative -even in the horror zine scene. They go onto discuss why there are  so few British made serial killer films, and discussing as they go on more details about the case the films is based on. All in all a most worthy track. The other commentary track is from the films director/writer Fhiona-Louise & Arrows Ewan Cant. This starts with them talking about how Fhiona-Louise got involved in film, and her fine art background. Moving onto talk about why she decided to make the film, and her personal connection with the real-life crime. They move onto discuss the actors chosen, certain scenes, shooting on the film- at both Bray studios ( for the interiors) & locations in London, and a scene that was cut by BBFC- all in all, a most interesting track. Other extras wise we get a tour of the film's location with Fhiona-Louise & Ewan Cant- this runs for around thirteen minutes, and it sees the pair visiting the Soho locations, Covent Garden & a few other places- also featured is a brief interview at Covent Garden Fhiona-Louise talking about the films more bizarre fans and a few other things. Next, we have a twelve-minute interview with actor Martin Byrne-Quinn who played one of the films victims, and a five-minute interview with actor Steve Munroe- who played the brief part of a drug dealer. Next, we get the promo made to get finance for the film- this runs around four minutes. We get two shorts staring Fhiona-Louise, one runs around nine minutes & is all black & white footage of the city, with an atmospheric blues-rock/ spoken word pieces on top. And a shorter six-minute film about a woman who is having a host of different dreams with Fhiona-Louise playing the dreamer.

In finishing I was excited, though a little wary when I saw Arrow were going to put out Cold Light Of Day, as it’s thirty-plus years since I last saw the film- was it going to as shocking & as impactful as when I first saw it?- and I’m happy to report it is- and it still stands as one of the more  stark serial killer films your likely to see. Arrow Video has really done a great job with the extras- with the two extremely worthy commentary tracks, actor interviews & location tour. If your interested in either serial killer films or grim & troubling filmmaking this new release is a must buy!.