I used to love Public Information Films when I was a kid. Some of them were masterpieces of tension and scares. Always filmed on 16mm, always stark and to-the-point and mostly always featuring children as the victims. You were glued to the screen. There's just something so hauntingly brilliant about them and The Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water is no exception.
Directed by Jeff Grant, the film had Donald Pleasance play the voice of The Spirit-a sinister, robed apparition who would always be present when some foolish person ended up in a lake/pond/etc when they couldn't swim or when no one else could help.
Of course the Spirit was powerless against sensible children but the echoing warning of 'I'll be back-ack-ack-ack' reminded you that going for a dip in a flooded quarry would probably be dumb thing to do.
Directed by Jeff Grant, the film had Donald Pleasance play the voice of The Spirit-a sinister, robed apparition who would always be present when some foolish person ended up in a lake/pond/etc when they couldn't swim or when no one else could help.
Of course the Spirit was powerless against sensible children but the echoing warning of 'I'll be back-ack-ack-ack' reminded you that going for a dip in a flooded quarry would probably be dumb thing to do.
