After his quarrelling upstairs neighbors leave town separately, Steve (Goodeve) hears noises in their apartment. Going up to investigate, he finds the jealous husband Barry (Lembeck) lying in wait for wife Claire (Kay), who Barry believes to have been serially unfaithful. Steve realizes that Barry intends to kill her: can he talk him out of it?
When two-thirds of a cast would list "Eight is Enough" as their most significant credit (Goodeve and Kay), the expectations would not normally be set very high, which is why "Who's There?" is such a welcome surprise. Brian Clemens' script is delightfully clever, and Goodeve is excellent as a man on a proverbial tightrope, trying to keep is seemingly paranoiac friend at bay. Lembeck is equally good, balancing the intensity of his paranoia against what comes off as a genuine love for his seemingly unfaithful wife. Rounding out this triad is a nice performance from Kay who, like Goodeve, keeps her motives sufficiently ambiguous to keep the audience on edge.
Paul Lynch's direction is also quite good, using claustrophobic camera setups and effective use of shadows to heighten the tension in the scene between Steve and Barry, all of which helps to accentuate Clemens' dual plot twist that would do Roald Dahl or Cornell Woolrich proud.
When two-thirds of a cast would list "Eight is Enough" as their most significant credit (Goodeve and Kay), the expectations would not normally be set very high, which is why "Who's There?" is such a welcome surprise. Brian Clemens' script is delightfully clever, and Goodeve is excellent as a man on a proverbial tightrope, trying to keep is seemingly paranoiac friend at bay. Lembeck is equally good, balancing the intensity of his paranoia against what comes off as a genuine love for his seemingly unfaithful wife. Rounding out this triad is a nice performance from Kay who, like Goodeve, keeps her motives sufficiently ambiguous to keep the audience on edge.
Paul Lynch's direction is also quite good, using claustrophobic camera setups and effective use of shadows to heighten the tension in the scene between Steve and Barry, all of which helps to accentuate Clemens' dual plot twist that would do Roald Dahl or Cornell Woolrich proud.
