Neither the Sea Nor the Sand — Neither the Sea Nor the Sand ( Blu Ray)

From the early 1970s, Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is a windswept and seawater-lashed mix of moody romantic drama & low-key folk horror- with light touches of undead mystery and eerie unease. Here from 88 Films, as part of their Tigon Studios series, is a release of the film. Available as either DVD or Blu-ray- it features a new HD scan, two commentary tracks, and a selection of new interviews.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (Beneath Sea and Sand, The Exorcism of Hugh) was released in 1972. It was largely filmed on location in a glum and grey off-season Jersey. It was the only feature film helmed by Fred Burnley, a British director who was best known for his TV such as episodes of Wickers World, Omnibus, and Pretenders.

The film centres around our two leads- there’s blond-haired and well-spoken Anna(Susan Hampshire) and tall, dark and moody Hugh(Michael Petrovitch). She’s on an off-season holiday to Jersey, leaving her husband at home in the UK. And he works at the local airport, and lives with his smug/bespectacled, antique shop-running older brother George (Frank Finlay).

The pair first meet staring up at a lighthouse, which is only accessible at certain times of the day due to the tide path that leads to it. Fairly quickly, the pair fall for each other, and aside from very subtle moments of unease/disquiet, the first half hour or so of the film plays like a moody and windswept Mills and Boons romance.

It’s only when the pair decided to go for a few nights away on the barren & sea-lashed Scottish coast that things shift. And for the rest of the film, we have a blend of drama and low-key folk horror, with subtle touches of undead unease & generally disquieting moodiness. In this part of the film, we move from skulking in half-light eeriness, through to creepy eyes turned black horror, and to its decided downbeat/ grim resolve.

 Acting-wise, Hampshire is somewhat mixed- shifting between posh vapidity and being generally emotional. Petrovitch is much more consistent, shifting between charmingly tall, dark-haired and handsome, and deeply haunted. There’s a small surrounding cast, who are largely fine, with honourable mention going to Finlay, as Hugh’s condescending & belittling brother.

I must admit that with my first play through the film, I wondered what I had got myself into- as for the first half-hour it played like a straight romantic drama, with very subtle undercurrents of foreboding/ unease. When the horror elements do kick in, they largely remain very low-key/ subtle. But on re-considering the film, the slow-building sense of mystery is done well, and towards the end things do start to get deeply foreboding & unsettling.

I know it’s a very much overused cliché, but Neither the Sea Nor the Sand truly is a prime example of a (very) slow-burning 70s. On the whole, I enjoyed the film- I just wished they had picked a more consistent leading lady, and removed some of the more clichéd/cringe-inducing romantic elements.

 

Moving on to this new region B release, and the HD scan looks good- enhancing the 70’s greyness and creepy unease of the whole thing. We get a good selection of extras on the disc- all of these being (as far as I’m aware) new.

So first off, we get two commentary tracks- one from author/ genre expert  Jasper Sharp and John Hamilton, who wrote Beast In The Cellar, the definitive book about Tony Tenser/ Tigon Films. And the second is with genre experts Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw. I played the first of these tracks, and it was most informative/interesting. They start off talking about how it got a small UK release in November of 1972, later going out to the States as The Exorcism Of Hue- trying to cash in on the popularity of The Exorcist, though it doesn’t feature an Exorcism. They discuss the 1969 novel of the same name by Gordon Honeycombe, who was best known as a UK TV newscaster. We get bios of our two leads, who both originally came from ballet backgrounds. They discuss whether the film is Folk Horror or not. Later on, they talk about the film's telepathic elements, which didn’t appear in the novel. We get quotes from the press of the time, and more.

Otherwise, we get a selection of interviews with the cast/ crew- Both the Sea and the Sand(8.55) with actress Susan Hampshire. Jersey Journey (11.08) with editor Norman Wanstall. Where Credit is Due (7.54) with standby propertyman Brian Lofthouse

Finally, we have Slight Return ( 34.49) which finds author/ cult horror film commentator  Stephen Thrower taking about the original novel/ it's creator, the film, and beyond. As we’ve come to expect with Mr Thrower he does a ton of research to come up with an in-depth/ excellent featurette.

The finished release comes with a booklet with notes by Barry Forsaw and Andrews Graves.

Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is going to appeal more to those who enjoy low-key/slow-burning horror. And this new Blu-ray from 88 Films is most certainly packed with interesting/ informative extras.