I Start Counting is based on the 1966 novel by Audrey Erskine Lindop and stars Jenny Agutter as 14 year old Wynne who lives with her adopted family. Wynne has also has a crush on her much older stepbrother, George who one morning while spying on him getting changed notices he has scratches on his back and later gets rid of a bloody jumper Wynne had knitted for him.
Outside of the home the town has been plagued with a serial killer who has been assaulting and strangling young women. Wynne assumes maybe George could be the killer as he is very secretive about what he has been up to when he has been out.
Wynne's best friend Corinne is aware of her crush on George and there is a funny scene when they are at school and having what appears to be a talk about the birds and the bees from a nun and priest where she tries to embarrass Wynne about having a crush on her stepbrother.
When not in school, Wynne visits her old family home which is due to be demolished to make way for newer modern homes. She spends her time cleaning it up and also dreaming about being married to George and the things they could do.
We also see in a flash back that George's first wife accidently died in that house when she fell down the stairs in the basement. This further adds to Wynne's suspicions that it could be George that is committing the murders.
However after hiding in Georges van she finds out that George has been seeing a woman who recently slit her wrists and was the one who had scratched his back as she has been mentally unwell, hence the blood on his jumper.
Wynne and Corrine fall out later while out at a picnic with George and their other brother, when she tried to flirt with him and George loses his rag at her so she storms off.
Corrine, later does call Wynne to tell her see has met a boy and that she is going to stay out all night with him. When she doesn't return, Wynne gets worried and starts to look for her friend and goes to her old house where she finds her body and the murderer.
Wynne is chased through the forest until she bumps into the police who then arrest the murderer...
The movie ends with Wynne and George watching their old home being bulldozed to the ground.
I really enjoyed this film, story as good and the way it was filmed is brilliant. I think how they show the old parts of town slowly being replaced by the new modern buildings is good and with the added scenes of Wynne and Corrine going shopping and hanging out in town showing how times were changing in the UK.
I've not read the book so can't compare the two. I did try find a copy but from some of the prices I've seen I assume it is long out of print. Did see one for sale for just over £200!
Agutter plays a really good part, and apparently at the time it was seen as controversial her character being 14 and in love with her stepbrother in his 30's - though not sure if people assumed she was 14 but she was 16 when she filmed this, again not sure if people were shocked at her doing a scene where she is in the bath though all you see is the top of her head.
In the recent blu ray release by BFI in the booklet she does comment on something similar with her role in Walk About and how a lot of people always mention her nude scene in that film as if that's the only reason to watch it.
I Start Counting is a great British thriller, maybe to an extent a British giallo and glad that BFI put this out on blu ray for all to enjoy. There is also an American blu ray on Fun City Editions available.
One fact I didn't know is that Phil Collins, from Genesis has a small role as an ice cream seller!
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