I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Blistering performances.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Cuckold husband of a London medium gets himself involved in the kidnapping of a child for publicity purposes. Well-crafted British drama, adapted from Mark McShane's novel by director Bryan Forbes, features acclaimed performances by Kim Stanley (Oscar-nominated) and Richard Attenborough (also the producer), and yet none of these ingredients is enough to make the plot palpable--it's dreary instead of darkly comic or macabre. Stanley's visit to the little girl's worried parents should have been a high-point in the narrative, but Forbes drags the scene out until the overall effect becomes melodramatic (it goes limp). The classy filmmakers do not have the knack for pulpy suspense; their combined sophistication and intelligence work against them in this regard, turning the film into a precisely-mounted, anticlimactic downer. ** from ****

This is an awesome lesser known film that fans of crime-thrillers and horror should watch! I did not expect the movie to be so interesting. The longer I watched the film the more I became fascinated with the events unfolding on screen. It's not the greatest movie but yet something about it is captivating... very good. I did not expect the movie to end exactly the way it did - so I was a little bit surprised, but pleasantly.The movie *almost* has an Alfred Hitchcock(ish) feel about it - I can't quite place what that is... but maybe it's just me. It is, however, right up their with some of Hitchcock's works.I love movies like this on stormy late nights... snuggled in a blanket deeply engrossed in an older creepy thriller horror flick like this one! 8.5/10

This is one of my favourite films of the 1960s. The black-and-white widescreen format induces nostalgia in those of us who were movie-going at that time. The plot: a woman who believes herself to be a 'psychic' (superb performance by Kim Stanley) talks her downtrodden husband (great performance by Richard Attenborough) into kidnapping a schoolgirl so she can reveal her powers to the world by 'finding' the girl. The atmosphere of the film is creepy and the music by John Barry seems slightly at odds with it at times, but this is a minor quibble; 'Seance' is a fine piece of work. As far as British DVD releases are concerned, the Network 2006 edition has good picture quality but lousy sound (the dialogue is far too quiet and the music and effects are too loud). The Carlton 2004 edition had better sound plus optional subtitles in English for hard of hearing, but the picture is grainier and not as good.

A psychotic psychic and her meek husband kidnap the daughter of a wealthy family in an elaborate plan to generate publicity for her séance business. Stanley creates an interesting character, but her background as a stage actress is evident in fits of over-emoting. Attenborough is likable as her weak-willed husband. The small roles are well acted. The film takes too long establishing the relationship between Stanley and Attenborough. Forbes creates a creepy atmosphere in the old mansion in which the couple resides, but is letdown by an uneven script. Some of the plot elements are highly implausible and the conclusion is rather abrupt and unsatisfying.