You wake up in a cold sweat, breathing heavy. His voice still ringing in your ears, “I’ll be back”. This was the effect that Donald Pleasence had on those who saw Dark and Lonely Water, in 1973. Pleasence had a long and successful career, starting out on the West End, moving to television dramas in the 1950s and then to film. He is known for Halloween, 1978, and made the horror genre his speciality. With PIFs being likened to horror films, it is no wonder that he was cast as the chilling spirit in Dark and Lonely Water. As Chris Alexander writes in his review, Dark and Lonely Water is not a bombardment of violence, but it provides “atmosphere and dread”. This attests to how talented Pleasence was, by making an incredibly effective PIF by voice alone. 

 

Donald Pleasence died in 1995 at the age of 75, survived by his fourth wife and five daughters. His talents are remembered by many when walking by bodies of water.