With having spotted beautiful British actress Linda Hayden years ago thanks to UK TV Channel 5 airing the British Sex Comedy Confessions of a Holiday Camp,I was delighted to recently stumble upon a title,which marked Hayden's film debut.

View on the film:

Filmed when she was only 15 years old,Linda Hayden gives a remarkable debut performance as Luci,as Hayden (who controversially appears naked in the movie) shows Luci's sensuality to slowly blossom,whilst also keeping Luci's deeply rooted psychological problems cast across her highly expressive,vulnerable face.Joining Hayden,Keith Barron gives an excellent performance as Robert,with Barron showing Robert to have a real sincerity towards Luci,but also being terrified about secrets from his past with Liz being uncovered.

Adapting Tina Chad Christian's novel, Alastair Reid, Guido Coen and Michael Klinger attempt to combined gritty Kitchen Sink Drama with teen coming-of-age flirtatiousness,which whilst offering a fascinating viewing,is sadly never able to be joined into a cohesive whole.For the first hour of the film,the writers superbly show Luci's unintended sensuality to be linked with the psychological scares she received from her mum,Disappointingly,as the title nears its conclusion,the writer's completely change Luci into being rather aware of what she is doing,which leads to the film ending on an incredibly ill-fitting note.

Filming a good amount of the movie on location,director Alastair Reid and cinematographer Desmond Dickinson use stylish,long running tracking- shots which allow for the actors to really dig deep into the characters.Edited in an great raw manner by future 007 director John Glenn,Reid and Dickinson also use sweeping,distorted angles to show that Robert and his family are never able to get a full view of Luci.

Warning: Explicit nudity, lesbianism and all-around bad behavior make this a very poor choice for showing your kids or your 80 year-old mother.

Wow. This is one sleazy movie and it's a shame, as a really good film seemed like it was hiding within and could have resulted had the direction and script been a little more clever and a little less sensationalistic. The disturbed relationships of all concerned did have the possibility of making a fine film.

The movie starts with a middle-aged woman (Diana Dors) committing suicide. Her 15 year-old daughter inexplicably goes to live with her old lover and his new family. This really doesn't make much sense--you'd think there'd be SOMEONE related to her or a foster home instead of this person who she'd never even met. This is very contrived, but so be it. Once in this home, you are never sure how much this girl connives or just happens to fall into bizarre sexual relationships with the son, wife and tries desperately to have sex with the father!! In many ways, she appears to seek emotional love and support in the only way she understood--with her body. All in all, a surprisingly dark and twisted series of events that is rather hard to believe--especially in the end of the film when she is revealed to be a bit less naive than in the rest of the film.

Sadly, had this movie taken more of the high road it actually could have been quite challenging but good entertainment. The Freudian aspects as well as as the idea of a sick family whose dynamics are thrown for a loop with the introduction of this troubled teen is fascinating. Think about it--because of their own inadequacies and unfulfilling relationships they each, in turn, seek it out in the girl. This could have been an interesting film that was less exploitation and more psychological. But, instead with glimpses here and there of the girl's body and lots of innuendo, the film just seemed more like soft-core porn than anything else.

By the way, the 15 year-old in the film really was 15--making you feel, perhaps, a bit dirty for watching it. I just assumed she was of consenting age and was surprised when I looked it up on IMDb to see that somehow they got away with making a skin flick with an underage girl. That's rather sad.

Looking a bit like Jodie Foster in "Taxi Driver", Linda Hayden is all innocence on the outside but a troubled little vixen on the inside. She's the daughter of Diana Dors, seen preparing for her Shelley Winters underwater playing in the opening scene and discovered by Hayden when she returns from school. Feeling sorry for her, Dors' ex-lover Keith Barron takes her in where she begins to have a series of horrifying nightmares and eventually begins to make plays for members of the entire family, even Baron's wife. Obviously the presence of this troubled girl will turn the family upside down, but they kowtow to her every emotional need, hidden through sexual desire on the surface.

A rather troubling coming of age drama, this is not how most parents want to see their children come of age and as a result, this is often disturbing to watch. Dors, not shown as a dead Dora, makes a series of quick nightmarish appearances in Hayden's dreams, one time laughing maniacally but never really saying a word. I don't see this film being for all taste, and it is definitely a product of the swinging London sixties that wasn't at all absolutely fabulous. The lack of name British stars in major roles will prevent this from having much interest today, and outside of being somewhat of a time capsule is quite forgettable.