Fanatic (aka Die Die My Darling) (1965)

A young American girl (Stefanie Powers) arrives in London with her fiance (Maurice Kaufmann). Before her marriage, she decides to visit the mother (Tallulah Bankhead) of her former fiance who is dead. It isn't long before she realizes the woman is a religious fanatic and mad as a hatter and intends to keep her a prisoner. Based on the novel NIGHTMARE by Anne Blaisdell and direccted by Silvio Narrizano (GEORGY GIRL). Yet another entry in the 1960s hag horror (or psycho biddie, if you prefer) horror genre. But this is one of the more effective ones. By this stage of her acting career, Tallulah Bankhead had become a caricature of herself so it's surprising how relatively restrained her performance is. She doesn't go over the top and while there's some subtle black comedy moments, it never descends into camp. It's not particularly fresh but the film delivers what's expected of it. The cinematography of Arthur Ibbetson (WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY) is stylish enough that you wonder if he was familiar with Mario Bava's films. With Donald Sutherland, Yootha Joyce and Peter Vaughn.