"The Comeback" has American '70s pop star Jack Jones playing a popular but dormant pop star attempting to record a new album. After he divorces his wife, he retreats to a manor to work on the new record, unaware that his ex-wife has been hacked to death by a figure in a hag mask and left rotting in their apartment. He soon finds himself haunted by her ghost, and even worse, the hag-masked killer seems to have found him.This weird, slightly uneven proto-slasher film is one of the more conventional films by Pete Walker, though it's certainly still rather odd. It starts out phenomenally: A woman (the protagonist's ex-wife, as we later discover) ascends a ramshackle elevator in a derelict building to the deceptively luxurious apartment she shared with her famous husband. Someone else is there, though, watching her the entire time; it's clear something is going to happen, and even the protracted elevator ride to the top is a masterwork of suspense. The elevator and the building play into the film later on, and the sequences set there are among the most terrifying.Where the film goes off the rails somewhat is the underdeveloped supernatural angle, which is omnipresent but never quite clearly articulated or even acknowledged. Jones's protagonist forges a romantic relationship with his record executive's assistant, and their relationship doesn't add much to the plot, though it does have significance in the finale. Jones is likable enough in the lead, as is Pamela Stephenson as the secretary. Walker regular Sheila Keith turns in a dynamic performance as one part of the husband-and-wife housekeeping team at the manor, alongside Bill Owen. Even with the film's shortcomings, it is a remarkably atmospheric picture that oozes late-1970s aesthetics. It's also a very American-feeling film despite the central Gothic English location, with much of the cast and corresponding characters being Americans. The murder sequences in the film are also notably startling, with the hag-masked killer slicing and dicing whilst emitting a horrific high-pitched shriek-it's truly unsettling, and predates a similar villain getup from 1983's "Curtains." All things considered, I found "The Comeback" a truly engaging film that suffers only slightly by having its hand in too many baskets. Despite this, there are multiple effective, truly frightening moments in it, and a fantastic atmosphere. Its numerous weird touches and proto-slasher elements make it certainly important, no less entertaining. 8/10.

Pete Walker's The Comeback sees the director entering slasher/giallo territory with the story of a successful pop singer, Nick Cooper (Jack Jones), who moves into an old mansion to begin recording his first album in six years, only to be disturbed by a series of strange, nightmarish occurrences. Meanwhile, a crazed killer dressed as a granny (complete with old hag rubber mask) is busy bumping off his nearest and dearest.The film opens in great style with the gruesome murder of Nick's beautiful ex-wife Gail (Holly Palance), who is savagely hacked to death with a sickle by the movie's masked maniac; sadly, excessively bloody moments like this are few and far between (the only other gory murder being that of Nick's perverted pal Harry played by Peter Turner), the majority of the film being surprisingly uneventful and frustratingly repetitive, with Nick investigating strange sounds at night and romancing sexy blonde secretary Linda Everett (Not The Nine O'Clock News star Pamela Stephenson) during the day.After much hunting high and low in the creepy house, a little hanky panky with Linda in his Lotus Elite, and a brief stint in hospital for nervous fatigue (the result of finding his wife's decomposing head in a hat-box!), Nick finally finds out which of the film's suspects are responsible for his frightful experiences. Die-hard Walker fans shouldn't be too surprised by the revelation, although exactly why he is being tortured may not be so easy to guess.6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for IMDb.

Pete Walker has something of a cult following; and that isn't surprising considering films such as House of Whipcord and House of Mortal Sin, but he's a very hit and miss director; evidenced by misses such as Die Screaming Marianne and House of Long Shadows, and while The Comeback is not as bad as Pete Walker at his worst and certainly has it's moments; it's not the British cult director at his best either, unfortunately. The plot will be fairly familiar to anyone who is a horror fan as its basis has been seen in many films previously, and focuses on a man who is haunted by his dead lover. Nick Cooper is a pop star who has fallen out of public favour. His wife was violently murdered in the couple's penthouse, and Nick has gone to live in a picturesque mansion complete with a pair of odd servants. Trouble starts when Nick stars seeing his dead wife, and despite everyone believing him insane; the visions continue and the troubled pop star begins to suspect that someone is trying to meddle with his life...The main problem with this film is that for large amounts of time; it is really rather boring. Pete Walker takes time to build his characters and the situation; which is all well and good, but with this film he takes too long over it and the plot actually suffers as a result. The lead role is taken by American singer Jack Jones who is actually not too bad in the lead role despite not actually being an actor; although I have to admit that I wasn't surprised to find that he hasn't been in many other films. The rest of the cast isn't particularly memorable, although Pete Walker regular Sheila Keith has a small but pivotal role. The film does contain a few decent set pieces including a fairly graphic murder and a very well worked, although rather silly, final revelation. Walker does manage to create something of a mysterious atmosphere for the film; although it does unfortunately feel just a bit cheap. Overall, The Comeback is not a great horror film; but it's not too bad and Pete Walker certainly has done worse. Walker's fans will find something to like.

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.