* AdaptationDisplacement: Is based on a little-known novella by Creator/DaphneDuMaurier.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic: Music/PinoDonaggio's score, particularly [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Re91P4UNh8 "Christine is Dead"]] and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZJ0df1LZVE "Laura's Theme"]], makes an already sad film all the more affecting. The latter later showed up in ''Series/{{Euphoria}}'' of all places.
* BigLippedAlligatorMoment:
** Why are the sisters laughing? It almost feels like it's a setup for a [[TheReveal Reveal]] that Heather is really a PhonyPsychic, but the rest of the story seems to contradict that idea.
** The sex scene seems like a NonSequitur meant more for titillation than anything else, until you realize at the end of the film that [[spoiler:it was the last time John would ever make love with Laura, and he probably had a premonition of that, so that's why he got so passionate.]]
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Who else? [[spoiler:The dwarf]], who only appears for a few seconds, but is impossible to forget.
* JustHereForGodzilla: ''That'' sex scene, and [[spoiler:the dwarf]].
* {{Narm}}:
** John's SkywardScream comes across as this because it is ''severely'' lacking in emotion.
** The reveal that [[spoiler: a dwarf in a red rain coat is killing people looks pretty silly, especially if you didn't pay attention to all those dead bodies extracted from the river]]. In fact, Creator/DaphneDuMaurier {{Lampshades}} it in the closing line of the original story.
--->[[spoiler:''"Oh God," he thought, "What a bloody silly way to die."'']]
* NightmareFuel:
** The ending plays out like an actual nightmare, and climaxes the sense of dread that's been building up throughout the story.
** Originally released on a double bill with ''Film/TheWickerMan1973''. Seeing those two films back-to-back pretty much guarantees a few sleepless nights afterwards.
** Admit it: [[spoiler:the dwarf]] freaked you out a little bit.
* OnceOriginalNowCommon: The sex scene between Creator/DonaldSutherland and Creator/JulieChristie was ''very'' graphic for a mainstream film in 1973 [[note]]to the extent that there are persistent rumours that they ''were actually having sex'', although everyone involved with the scene has denied it[[/note]], and was extremely controversial (with Creator/NicolasRoeg needing to trim it slightly so the film could avoid an X rating in the United States). Partly because of changing standards and partly because it was influential on future sex scenes, it's not terribly shocking anymore.
* ParanoiaFuel: If you're a parent, you'll never want to let your child play in the garden again after seeing this film.
* SpecialEffectFailure: [[spoiler:The neon-bright blood spraying out of John's neck at the end.]]
* TearJerker: [[spoiler:As John dies, you can ''see'' all of his hopes crumbling to pieces.]]
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