skeebwilcox I had not seen this movie since the early 1980's (shortly after it came out and hit the cable networks) until this past week. Unlike many movies and TV shows that I remember as being "great" and then upon seeing them again after 30 years realizing that they were not as great as I thought they had been, "The Comeback" did NOT disappoint! Jack Jones, for some reason, looked and sounded and...for the most part...acted like Robert Redford! I kept hearing Robert as Jack talked throughout the whole movie! And aside from the one moment of "could have done without that and it would have been just as gruesome" gore at the beginning when Gail is killed (some fake limbs fly off), the movie held up REALLY well. If you have never seen this great little thriller, you need to.

Coventry After having unleashed no less than FOUR genuine cult-shockers upon the British horror market in collaboration with David McGillivray ("House of Whipcord", "Frightmare", "House of Mortal Sin" and "Schizo"), Pete Walker falls back on the writing skills of Murray Smith, with whom he made his very first horror film ("Die Screaming Marianne") as well as a couple of light-headed sex-comedies. Smith's imagination isn't as offensive or twisted as McGillivray's, and thus "The Comeback" is an overall politically correct horror effort. That DOESN'T mean it's bad or unmemorable, mind you! The story's subject matter is fairly original, the character drawings are morbidly eccentric and Walker masterfully alters long scenes of suspense with some of the grossest killings in 70's cinema I've ever seen. Real life singer Jack Jones stars as crooner Nick Cooper, working hard on making a comeback after he divorced his dominating wife Gail. His former record producer still believes in his qualities and even arranged for Nick to live in a large mansion, complete with two loyal – albeit oddly behaving – servants at his disposal. Troubles appear when the rotting corpse of Nick's ex-wife, who has been violently murdered in their former penthouse, begins to haunt him at night along with petrifying sobbing sounds of a small child. It soon begins to look like someone intends to boycott Nick's new career and even hurt him personally. Despite most of the red herrings and sub plots being implausible and far-fetched, the whodunit-element of "The Comeback" keeps you alert and interested up until the satisfying denouement (that I didn't see coming, I may add). The faster the ending approached, I began to fear that Murray Smith would make the same mistake as he did in "Die Screaming Marianne" – loose control and drown in all the deceptive plot twists -, but experienced director Walker neatly fits everything back together during the shlocky finale. He also makes great use of terrifically sinister set pieces, like the creepy penthouse and the totally uncanny rooms in the mansion. The film contains multiple homage references to classic films (although some people tend to call them rip-offs), such as "Psycho" and "Citizen Kane" and I wondrously even loved the corny song called "Traces of a long forgotten tune". The acting is adequate, although Sheila Keith's performance is a cut above the rest as usual. "The Comeback" was one of Pete Walker's last achievements, followed by only two more movies. His work may very well be an acquired taste, but I definitely consider him to be among the most talented horror filmmakers that were active in Europe.

bensonmum2 It has taken me a while to become a Pete Walker fan, but you can officially include me in the club. The Comeback may be one of his weakest films that I've thus far seen, but it's still a solid little thriller with a few great moments along the way. For example, Walker handles the first murder scene quite well. The murderer comes out of nowhere to commit an incredibly brutal and violent act against his victim. Walker is able to catch a real sense of malice and hatred on the part of the killer – something quite nice when compared with the usual unemotional serial killer. Another real plus for The Comeback is the presence of Walker regular Shelia Keith. She may not have as much to do here as in something like House of Whipcord or Frightmare, but she's incredible in the scenes she does have. The woman could chew scenery with the best of them. She has an air about her that works in Walker's films. The creepy old house, the elevator scenes, and Walker's use of red herrings are also among my favorite bits of the movie.But, as my rating would indicate, it's not all good. My biggest problem is the casting of Jack Jones in the lead. He's dull and unappealing. He can't carry most of the scenes he appears in let alone the entire movie. During the film, I began to dub him "The Anti-Shelia Keith" as he lacks anything approaching the screen presence of scene-stealing Keith. My other big problem is with David Doyle as Jones' manager. As is evident even in his performances on Charlie's Angels, Doyle cannot play "serious" believably at all. He comes across as far too goofy to add the required gravity to a given scene. He's just bad.If you're a fan of Pete Walker and enjoy his work with Shelia Keith, you should be able to find something enjoyable in The Comeback. If you're new to Walker, I would suggest starting with another of his films.

christopher-underwood True, this is rather more pedestrian than Walker's infamous horror trilogy and this clearly would have benefited from a McGillivray script. This is much more one dimensional and at times rather plodding with the fabulous Sheila Keith unfortunately sidelined. However, this is nothing like as bad as has been made out, has vigorous kills a most eerie atmosphere and decent performances from both Jack Jones and Pamela Stevenson, not to mention a restrained but most effective one from the aforementioned Ms Keith. Keeps you guessing but by the end there is nobody else it could be. Despite comments I have seen elsewhere, both leads do disrobe even if the flesh is carefully shot. Enjoyable.