If you’ve ever wanted to watch a slasher movie starring a crooner who looks like he wandered in from a Vegas lounge act, The Comeback delivers—though not in the way you’d hope. Directed by Pete Walker, this British psychological horror tries to mix music-industry melodrama with masked murder, and instead serves up a lukewarm pot of tea steeped in fake blood and bad decisions.
The Premise
Jack Jones plays Nick Cooper, a once-famous American singer trying to record his comeback album in a creepy Surrey manor. Unfortunately for Nick, the place comes with two live-in staff members—Mrs. B and Mr. B—who give off “last people you’ll ever see alive” energy from their very first scene. Meanwhile, a killer in a hag mask hacks Nick’s ex-wife to death in the opening, which the movie treats as a mystery but telegraphs so hard you half expect a neon arrow to point at the killers during the first reel.
The Tone
This is a film that thinks it’s a classy Hitchcockian slow-burn, but it plays more like a made-for-TV soap opera where everyone occasionally remembers to scream. The soundtrack is half eerie atmospherics and half “middle-of-the-road AM radio,” which is fitting, because Jones often looks like he’s wondering if this is cutting into his actual tour schedule.
The Masked Killer
Let’s talk about that hag mask. It’s supposed to be terrifying, but in reality it looks like something your aunt would wear for a gag at the retirement home’s Halloween party. The real horror is that the killer manages to pull off murders without anyone noticing their disguise is essentially latex and mothballs.
The Scares (or Lack Thereof)
Pete Walker throws in ghostly visions, severed heads, and the occasional jump scare, but none of it lands with much weight. Instead, most of the suspense comes from wondering if Jack Jones will break into song before or after the next corpse turns up. And when the “big reveal” arrives—surprise! the Bs did it—it’s less shocking than it is “yes, we know, thanks for catching up.”
Final Note
The Comeback isn’t the worst horror movie of the late ’70s, but it’s certainly one of the strangest mash-ups: part slasher, part ghost story, part awkward romance, and part career promo reel for Jack Jones. If you’re in the mood for suspense, you’ll be disappointed. But if you want to watch a horror movie where the scariest thing might be the fashions, pour yourself a drink and settle in.
