So Sad About Gloria (1975)
* 1/2 (out of 4)
Gloria (Lori Saunders) is released from a mental hospital and placed in the care of her uncle Frederick (Dean Jagger). Before long she falls in love with a man named Chris (Robert Ginnaven) and they are married but soon Gloria begins seeing a bloody axe murder, which may have something to do with her past.
SO SAD ABOUT GLORIA is a film that should have been a lot better than it turned out but there's no question that it has a few memorable moments that make it somewhat worth sitting through if you're a fan of the horror genre. There's certainly nothing here that is going to make you run out and recommend the movie to all of your friends but God knows the genre has seen a lot worse.
The highlight of the film happens early on with a rather over-the-top and somewhat bloody murder sequence. A woman is slowly getting ready for bed not knowing that a maniac is about to break in on her. The scene is fairly extended and the maniac breaks all sorts of items inside the room and when he slashes down on the lady there's certainly some blood flaw. This scene is easily the highlight of the film and sadly nothing like this happens again.
The entire film plays out as a mystery because we're supposed to be guessing who the killer is but I'm going to guess that most people will figure out what's happening within the first twenty-minutes. In other words, if you've never seen or read a mystery in your life then you might get caught off guard by what happens. The rest...
I thought Saunders was okay in her role and Jagger is always fun to watch. The film does offer up some scenes with a good atmosphere and the low-budget actually works in the film's favor. Still, the film is bloody dry at times and there's no question that the non-stop dialogue scenes really drag the film out. There are some good elements to be found here but overall the film is a mess.
