the plot is paper thin but what it lacks in story it makes up for in good acting, excellent cinema photography like visual poetry, and a creepy moody atmosphere. I watched it in black and white and it looked beautiful.. I may watch again in color just to compare. This is the kind of movie that needs to be remade.. fix some of the clunky dialog and establish a more cohesive story arc.. but then again the feeling of being lost as to what exactly was happening on screen is part of this movie's charm.

A young woman named Helen (Angela Pleasence, daughter of Donald P.) invites her friend Anne (Lorna Heilbron) to her country estate. Helen clearly has some mental problems, so it's unsurprising when she starts acting strange. She has a fixation on another young woman named Cora (Marie-Paule Mailleux), and also acts suspicious of the handyman on the grounds, Brady (top British character actor Peter Vaughan).Given that "Symptoms" is co-written and directed by Jose Larraz, the man who also gave the world "Vampyres" and "Black Candles", it's actually interesting how sleazy this film *isn't*. There is some out of left field T & A (for which Ms. Pleasence had a body double) and a *very* brief lesbian scene, but Larraz concentrates first and foremost on atmosphere. And "Symptoms" has tons of that, with many lovely shots of the English countryside. It also has quite the sombre quality, with precious little in the way of humor. The screenplay, by Larraz and Stanley Miller, doesn't play out in a particularly shocking way if you're familiar with this kind of psychological horror.But the actors all make this journey worthwhile. The striking young Ms. Pleasence does a nice job in the lead, with heavy assistance from a minimal cast of strong supporting players: Heilbron, Vaughan, Nancy Nevinson as the housekeeper Hannah, and Raymond Huntley (in his final film) as storekeeper Mr. Burke."Symptoms" may not deliver a lot when it comes to the sex quotient, but viewers may still appreciate the quick bursts of violence, which aren't overly gory.Worth a look if you enjoy this genre.Seven out of 10.

José Ramón Larraz will always be best remembered for his excellent 1974 lesbian vampire flick Vampyres; and for good reason since its his best film, but it wasn't the only film he made in 1974 - he also made a Spanish film called "Emma, Dark Doors" - which I haven't seen (nor did anyone else it would seem), but it does look interesting. Oh, and he also made this little British film 'Symptoms' and I'm not surprised to find that this one isn't too well seen either as despite some interesting elements; it's all a bit dull and doesn't have a great deal going for it. The film takes place in the English countryside and focuses on a mansion. A young woman gets an invitation to stay there as the mansion is owned by her friend, and accepts. However, her stay at the mansion takes a turn for the strange and the woman soon realises that neither her friend - nor the mansion itself - is quite what it seems.I can't really say I'm a fan of José Ramón Larraz - mostly due to films like The House That Vanished and Black Candles. The director clearly has a good eye for atmosphere but unfortunately the same cant be said for his plotting and Symptoms' main problem is undoubtedly the lack of intrigue. The film does benefit from the presence of Angela Pleasance; Donald's daughter has a very creepy screen presence and the director was obviously keen to capitalise on that as much as possible. The setting is good and the isolation of it all benefits the film in terms of atmosphere. However, the fact is that the story doesn't really go anywhere for large periods of the film. It's obvious that the director was trying to build up steam for the ending, but I was starting to lose interest long before then. It's a shame actually as well because the ending of the film is actually rather good and would have worked well with a more interesting build up. Many people consider this to be the director's second best film; and actually I agree with that, but that's more because Larraz's other films are so bad rather than because this one is good.

"Symptoms" or "The Blood virgin" is the favourite movie shot by Joseph Larraz, the catalanian director of such horror movies -Whirpool, Deviation, Scream and die or masterpieces as this "Symptoms" or "Vampyres"- that nobody did with their particular sight and their personal style. "Symptoms" is a very traditional horror tale with vampiric reminiscences and a very special study of a crazy lesbian woman obsessed with their dead mistress. The phantom of Cora, their lover is in the middle of this sensitive story and the reason of their crimes around the movie. The atmosphere and climatic shots are superb and the music score by John Scott are wonderfully executed with gothic images and dark places. "Symptoms" appeared in 1976 in british theaters and received cool opinions, specially in "Monthly Film Bulletin" and other prestigious movie magazines in United Kingdom. Twenty five years after "Symptoms" is a disturbing masterpiece of the horror movies and one of the most romantic studies of crazy love that other prestigious directors in the seventies, for example Truffaut, De Palma, Rivette, Richardson or Losey, did in this past prodigious '70 decade. Joseph Larraz, 70 years old now has a clear head yet and a great sense of humor. He is one of this rare spanish directors that made movies in United Kingdom or Demmark. He has their particular obsessions about sex, horror and movies and he showed us their talent in fashion magazines, in spanish comics or erotic pictures of beautiful women as Marianne Morris, Anulka, Lorna Heilborn, Teresa Gimpera, Helga Line, etc. "Symptoms" is a rarely piece for collectors and fans of darkness dreams and inmoral tales. The film has their soul and force in the face of Angela Pleasence as Helen Ramsey, the predator woman that kills everyone around her and use the people to take to their mortal manor where occurs all the drama. The movie is great in the beginning and in the end and offers to the audiences a clever entertainment that intelligent people will love with passion.