In the 1970s, gothic and period horror was in decline and Hammer were experimenting with updating their classic stories (Dracula A.D. 1972
(1972) went some way to proving the folly of this. Amicus had spent
most of their time shooting contemporary stories in their anthology
stories, and had had little success with their period horror films,
such as I, Monster (1971).
However, co-owner Milton Subotsky saw the potential for shooting a
classic ghost story, to fill the gap that Hammer had left in the market.
In 18th
Century England, Catherine (Stephanie Beachham) is arriving at her new
home, she is pledged to be married to young Charles Fengriffen (Ian
Oglivy), a suitably wealthy landowner. After the wedding she is waiting
expectantly in the bedroom, when she is brutally attacked and raped by
the ghost of a one-armed man. The family doctor, Dr. Whittle (Patrick
Magee) suggests that it was simply a hallucination brought on by a case
of nerves and Catherine believes him, but the servants seem unsure and
very afraid, and when several of them are killed, she becomes highly
suspicious of a man who lives on the estate called Silas, who strongly
resembles the spirit she saw. As the problems worsen, Dr. Whittle calls
in Dr. Pope (Peter Cushing) from London, who eventually manages to get
Fengriffen to admit to the curse placed on the family, two generations
ago...
Based on the novel Fengriffen by American writer David
Case, the story and screenplay hark back to the classic Victorian-era
ghost stories; with large country mansions, mysterious secrets and
restless spirits, and although hardly the most original tale it
manages to stay out of mere cliché territory. It starts off very well,
building up the horror and mystery and keeping the audience (along with
Catherine) in the dark as to the causes behind everything - there is
some wonderful subtlety behind the hauntings that makes them genuinely
scary. Unfortunately the film does soon reject the subtle tones with
four deaths in quick succession that almost becomes parody-like by the
end - one or two deaths would have been fine, especially considering
that only one of those involved was actually going to take her away,
the others would have just told her the story behind the legend (which
she later hears about anyway). Fortunately after this sequence the
films picks up again and builds to a good and quite unexpected
climax. The dialogue throughout the film is fitting for the
period, although not the beautiful lyricism of the AIP Poe films, it
avoids anachronism well. The pacing is quite sedate, as per
the classic ghost stories by which it is inspired, but it could perhaps
have used a little more run-time to build up Catherine's character
between the scares.
Roy
Ward Baker's direction however is completely flawless, combining with
the script to make the film tangibly scary in several places and
bringing a strong
atmosphere to the production. The use of long tracking shots,
particularly combined with some special effects shots is very effective
and really helps to ratchet up the tension, clearly proving the
ineffectiveness of the modern MTV-style editing. The special effects
themselves are a product of their time and don't look great, but Baker
keeps them in the background and subtly lit so that the flaws are less
noticeable. The sets and location shots (using Hammer's old studio
Oakley Court for exteriors) are beautifully fitting, none more so that
the fog enshrouded graveyard that perfectly encapsulates the Victorian
ghost story ambiance. Composer Douglas Gamley provided most of the
later era Amicus soundtracks, and does the duty again here with what is
certainly his best work, really helping to boost the atmosphere even
further.
Top
billed are three cult movie stars, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee and as
always, Peter Cushing (who appeared in all bar one of Amicus' horror
titles). Dr. Pope is a very Holmsian character and Cushing is the
perfect choice to play it, allowing his performance to be rather more
abrupt than his usual, almost fatherly roles (cf. Van Helsing in Dracula A.D. 1972
(1972)). Herbert Lom only gets a brief role (although his visage, in
the form of a painting, is a centrepoint of the film), and he certainly
seems to be enjoying himself playing the debauched Henry Fengriffen.
Future Saint Ian Ogilvy gives
a strong performance as Charles, but the best performance of the film
is certainly given by Stephanie Beacham as the tortured Catherine and her descent into madness. She
manages to elevate the role above the mere "scream queen" performance
it could have been, with some wonderfully understated acting throughout, the best example in the sequence at the start as
she awaits her new husband in their marital bed, where she manages to
convey nervousness and excitement without a line of dialogue. Boasting some very strong acting, solid production, beautiful music and an inspired directorial turn from Roy Ward Baker, And Now the Screaming Starts
is a near-perfect horror film, with only some elements of the script
letting it down. Still, it remains the most effectively scary horror
film that Amicus ever released, and competes with the best that Hammer
and their European or American rivals had to offer. Highly recommended
to Amicus and Brit-horror fans, and generally recommended to all horror
fans.
Roy Ward Baker - the British director best known for the impressive Titanic film A Night to Remember (1958) who also shot three Amicus pictures, Asylum(1972) and Vault of Horror (1973) as well as this film.
Is it scary?
Several scenes that are atmospherically scary and a few jump shocks.
Any
violence/gore?
Nothing vivid.
Any sex?
A couple of sex scenes and some glimpsed nudity.
Who is it for?
One that all Amicus and classic horror fans must see, and generally all horror fans should enjoy this.
The
DVD
Visuals
Original
Aspect Ratio - 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Colour. The print is generally good, good colours - some light damage and grain.
Audio
English original mono sounds good, plus rather unnecessary 5.1 and DTS remixes.
Subtitles
None.
Extras
The disc
includes:
Audio
commentary with director Roy Ward Baker, actress Stephanie Beacham
and Hammer expert Marcus Hern - full of interesting stories and
information about the film.
Audio
commentary with actor Ian Ogilvy and Darren Gross - more stories about
the film, Gross asks lots of questions and the pace is a bit quicker.
Theatrical trailer, plus a low quality print of an alternative trailer, and trailer for The Beast Must Die.
Photo and stills gallery, manual scrolling, runs to 27 images.
Text notes about the film, plus biographies of Roy Ward Baker and Stephanie Beacham.
All
text in this review written by Timothy Young - 13th September 2007. Part of Horror September 2. Text
from this review not to be used without authorization.
