It's almost fifty years since this film was made, and it hasn't lost any of its potency. I saw this as a youngster, and it terrified me, watching today, I had exactly the same feeling, terror.

The film is wonderfully atmospheric, it's bleak, it's chilling, and Richard Attenborough's performance is spine chilling, he makes Reg an absolutely terrifying figure, despite being so softly spoken.

There is a harshness to this film that truly does work in its favour, there is no lighter side, it's just very bleak.

Based on real life events, it's a fascinating, but tragic story, you can only wonder at the lives that Christie ruined.

Several documentaries are available, and The BBC produced a three part series many years later, but this film version is hard to beat.

Chilling, but outstanding, 10/10.

There's been a lot of revisionist theories put forth by professional and amateur criminologists concerning the murders at 10 Rillington Place. People who lived at that address tended to check in, but not check out. It was more fatal to live there than at the Bates Motel.

Midway between the killings attributed to John Chrystie one Timothy Evans was tried and hanged for killing his wife and infant daughter. The luckless Evans played here by John Hurt and the portion of Chrystie's killing spree portrayed here in 10 Rillington Place is when Chrystie kills Mrs. Evans played here by Judy Geeson.

Watching Richard Attenborough as Chrystie he reminds me a bit of one of the heavily made up characters Kirk Douglas did in The List Of Adrian Messenger. You might remember Mr.Pithian who Dana Wynter comes across in Adrian Messenger's flat who says he's there to take care of Adrian's cat. Attenborough affects that same inoffensive mild look and voice as he lures victims to a position where he uses gas on them to paralyze them so they don't struggle while being strangled. It's chillingly effective.

In his long career as an actor Richard Attenborough played a variety of parts, both good guys and bad guys. In 10 Rillington Place he stretches the limits of his considerable talents.

This one will scare the pants off you.

This sinister and chilling true-life story of one of Britain's most infamous serial killers might well be the British answer to PSYCHO - except it's an entirely different beast of a film. Hitchcock's movie still has a layer of Hollywood gloss to it, a cleanliness that excludes any sleazy atmosphere, but 10 RILLINGTON PLACE is so realistic that it feels almost like a documentary. Made on a low budget, focusing on the facts of the story rather than gross sensationalism, this is an utterly chilling film that ably depicts the true face of evil: banality.

Christie is a boring, grubby little man, completely bald and with thick glasses. His appearance must have inspired the makeup artists on later schlocker THE LOVE BUTCHER. He's polite, intelligent and the kind of character who fades into the background, instantly forgettable, but this gave him the perfect cover for his heinous crimes. The fact that he got away with the murders so long is what makes this film so chilling - that, and one of history's most terrible miscarriages of justice. There are only a couple of non-explicit murder scenes here, so although the sexual act is hinted at, we never actually see it take place - thank goodness. The movie's disturbing enough as it is without it.

Aside from a literate script and a slow, steady pacing that gradually keeps you enthralled, this film boasts fine direction from Richard Fleischer (FANTASTIC VOYAGE) and a couple of terrific performances. The first comes from Richard Attenborough, essaying the role of Christie and making it the performance of a career. He's utterly chilling and completely nails this repulsive character. Secondly there's a youthful John Hurt in a stand-out performance as a simpleton who unwittingly gets involved in the crimes. Hurt plays his pitiable character with gusto and his cries of "It was Christie what done it! Christie!" still reverberate around my head even now. Judy Geeson steals her scenes as a beautiful young potential victim. 10 RILLINGTON PLACE is one of the best serial killer films ever made, but the grim and utterly depressing subject matter mean that it's a film I can't watch very often. It captures a sense of despair and hopelessness for human kind like nothing else.