Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)

80% of critics liked it
(10 reviews)
80% of users liked it
(1,140 ratings)

Kim Stanley plays a crooked medium who has become slightly unhinged since the death of her son. Craving money and publicity, she concocts a scheme with her weak-willed husband (Richard Attenborough). The pair will kidnap a wealthy young girl, collect the ransom, then use her "powers" to help the… More Kim Stanley plays a crooked medium who has become slightly unhinged since the death of her son. Craving money and publicity, she concocts a scheme with her weak-willed husband (Richard Attenborough). The pair will kidnap a wealthy young girl, collect the ransom, then use her "powers" to help the parents locate the child. The scheme falls apart, but not in the way that anyone might expect. Adapted by director Bryan Forbes from a novel by Mark McShane, Seance on a Wet Afternoon is a compelling psychological melodrama made doubly powerful by Stanley's mesmerizing performance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 54 min.
Directed By: Bryan Forbes
Written By: Bryan Forbes
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1964 Wide
On DVD: Sep 24, 2002
Studio: Artixo

Critic Reviews

Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Kim Stanley received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for playing a disturbed medium who conspires a kidnap in Bryan Forbes' erie and suspensuful tale.
Daniel Eagan, Film Journal International
Riveting thriller about a kidnapping that goes wrong
Jake Euker, F5 (Wichita, KS)
The undertakings are as spooky as the title; Kim Hunter shines; and the theme song haunts your mind.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
The film's extraordinary power derives from the way in which actress Kim Stanley convinces us of her character's conviction, no matter how misguided and, ultimately, pathetic.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
It's a claustrophobic experience and an interesting study of grief-induced insanity, but the pacing is the obvious reason why you've never heard of this film before.
Gil Jawetz, DVDTalk.com
While the disc may be no great shakes in the tech departments there is something beyond razzle-dazzle to Seance. It gets under your skin.

Read all 6 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

A powerhouse, a haunted house, of a psychological thriller as a curious London couple plan and execute the kidnapping of a wealthy family's daughter. Stanley and Attenborough deliver pitch perfect performances as the couple with an ugly past.
AJ V

This movie has both an interesting story and interesting characters. If you like psychological thrillers, you'll like this movie. I really liked it.
Stella D

decent mid-60's suspense thriller starring richard attenborough, who kidnaps a child to please his delusional wife, played by kim stanley. primarily a stage actress, stanley made only a handful of films and this is worth seeing for the fine performances.
Stephen M

An eerie little drama about a medium and her hen-pecked husband who carry out a kidnapping to prove the former's powers of clairvoyance. It goes without saying that the performances of Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough could not be bettered, but the film really needed a… More
An eerie little drama about a medium and her hen-pecked husband who carry out a kidnapping to prove the former's powers of clairvoyance. It goes without saying that the performances of Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough could not be bettered, but the film really needed a Polanski or a Claude Chabrol to realise its full creepy potential. It is, however, easily the best Bryan Forbes movie I've seen, with a couple of fine suspense sequences.
jay n

time has taken the edge off this but the acting by the two leads is great.
Laura C

The title sets up this eerie, atmospheric film that left me with an unsettled feeling, as good thrillers should. Very interesting character study of Myra who works as a psychic out of her home and dominates her soft-spoken husband, Billy. Quite incredibly, Myra convinces her husband… More
The title sets up this eerie, atmospheric film that left me with an unsettled feeling, as good thrillers should. Very interesting character study of Myra who works as a psychic out of her home and dominates her soft-spoken husband, Billy. Quite incredibly, Myra convinces her husband to kidnap a child and hide her somewhere so she can then use her "powers" to help find her hoping that this will validate her work and give her some much desired fame and recognition. These characters are quite piteous and while they do something that is quite wrong there is a sense that they truly believe they are causing no real harm, they are quite delusional really. They are sympathetic characters in that they seem to be outsiders in their society and that interestingly enough their marriage seems strong in that their commitment to one another is evident. Worth watching for the performances alone. That in addition to the rich atmosphere and complex characters makes this film a highly effective thriler.
Emily B

Don't let the title fool you, this is not a horror, but a brilliant British thriller involving a medium who along with her push-over husband kidnap a young girl just to gain celebrity. The acting of Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough is probably the best thing in the film.… More
Don't let the title fool you, this is not a horror, but a brilliant British thriller involving a medium who along with her push-over husband kidnap a young girl just to gain celebrity. The acting of Kim Stanley and Richard Attenborough is probably the best thing in the film. Stanley was nominated for an Oscar for her performance and should of won. A creepy, suspense thriller which is defiantly recommended.