In London, at a flat located at 10 Rillington Place, lives serial killer John Christie (Richard Attenborough, Jurassic Park). Mr. Christie is an intelligent and manipulative man who, for at least the past 5 years, has been luring unsuspecting women to his apartment under the pretense that he’s a doctor who will be performing some sort of medical treatment. But once he has his victim in a compromising position, he gasses her and strangles her, before burying her body in the back garden. The garden is getting full, and even his dog knows something’s up, constantly barking and clawing at the dirt. However John’s wife Ethel (Pat Heywood) has no idea what her husband has been up to.

In 1949, a young couple, Timothy (John Hurt, Alien) and Beryl Evans (Judy Geeson, To Sir, with Love) move into the apartment upstairs along with their newborn baby. When Christie first sees Beryl, his eyes glow with anticipation as he sees the potential for his next victim. Christie wastes no time in inserting himself into the Evans’ lives. Mr. Evans is a very simple man, who cannot read or write, and can be easily manipulated. So when Beryl becomes in need of an off-the-books medical procedure, Christie pounces at the opportunity to potentially satiate his bloodlust, manipulating the Evans’ into requesting his services. However, when things don’t go as smoothly as planned, chaos ensues as Christie tries to find a way to cover things up and prevent his activities from being discovered.

10 Rillington Place is based on a true story, with the dialogue sticking close to official documents from the case wherever possible. I had never heard of John Christie or this case before I received this disc for review, so I didn’t know where the story was going to go. I found this film to be a very interesting and sometimes tense thriller, with some fascinating twists and turns. Christie is this heartless killer who seems to feel no remorse for what he does, and just enjoys the thrill of the kill.

I had only really known Richard Attenborough from his work as the iconic John Hammond in the Jurassic Park franchise. This film was made 55 years ago, so he looks a lot different, but the actor gives a stellar performance. Christie always comes off so creepy that it makes you wonder how he is even able to get these women to come back to his flat. Even during his first meeting with the Evans’, he felt like that guest who just won’t leave, but you’re too polite to ask them to. But, at the same time, he has a way with words and can be super manipulative, always thinking 10 steps ahead, and putting his potential victims in a position where they are looking to him for help, or making them feel responsible for his actions.

John Hurt, who is quite young in this film, also gives a strong performance as this simple guy who never wants to admit to his shortcomings. When we first meet his character, we see Tim trying to pretend that he and his wife are so rich that money means nothing to them, but in fact they’re moving to this dingy, small apartment because it’s all that they can afford. Tim is also the type of guy would also rather confess to a crime than admit that he cannot read the documents in front of him. The scenes between Attenborough and Hurt are quite brilliant, especially the way that Christie manipulates Tim. It’s quite an exciting and tense movie, and sometimes really surprising the way things play out.
 

Twilight Time had originally released 10 Rillington Place on Blu-ray back in 2016 for U.S. audiences. However, their 3000-unit limited edition release is out of print. Now Alliance Home Entertainment (formerly Mill Creek Entertainment) has given the film a new Blu-ray release. The visual presentation looks very good. The film is presented in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, with some small black bars on the sides of the frame. The picture is quite impressive for a 55-year old film. with vibrant colors, a pleasant amount of grain, and a solid level of detail throughout. While it may not be a modern surround track, the mono audio track is more than sufficient, providing clear dialogue and a clean, full sound that doesn’t feel lacking.

While Twilight Time’s previous Blu-ray release contained an isolated score track and 2 audio commentaries, and other foreign disc releases contained even more bonus material, unfortunately, Alliance’s new Blu-ray release is barebones, including just the film and no bonus material. The disc is packed in a standard HD keepcase. Our review copy did not include any slipcover, and no digital copy is included.

What’s Included:

Film (1:50:57):
• 1080p / Widescreen 1.66:1
• Audio: English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 Mono
• Subtitles: English SDH

Extras:

No bonus material included.

Final Thoughts:

10 Rillington Place is a tense and interesting thriller based on the true story of a manipulative and prolific British serial killer who preyed on innocent women, which features excellent performances by Richard Attenborough and John Hurt. The film holds up quite well 55 years later (though it is a period film set in the 1940s), thanks to the strong technical presentation of Alliance’s Blu-ray release. While the disc does not contain any of the previous-released bonus material for the film, Alliance’s Blu-ray still comes recommended based on the quality of the film itself.