In SCREAM BLOODY MURDER, young Matthew is sent away to a mental hospital, after running his dad over with the family tractor (aka: bulldozer). The tyke also lost a hand when he jumped from the tractor.
Years later, adult Matthew (Fred Holbert) returns home, only to find that his mum has remarried. Looks like it's time for another "farming accident". Luckily for Mat, he now has a mechanical "claw" hand, making a double-bladed ax easy to use!
THWACK!
Instant annulment! Unfortunately, mama is slaughtered by accident! So, Matthew heads out on his own to seek his fortune, and to kill more innocent citizens.
Matthew is an interesting character, going from being semi-likable to pathetic to absolutely bananas! Sometimes, within seconds! No kidding! In this movie, someone is brutally murdered every few minutes with only the thinnest semblance of a plot to hold it all together! At least Matthew doesn't discriminate- young, old, male, female, black or white, he kills just because he's cray-zee! Hell, not even the dog is safe!
Then, when Matthew "falls in love", he really flies off the rails! This movie is one of those oddities that could only have been produced in the early 1970's.
THINGS THIS MOVIE TEACHES US: #1- Our mental health system has always been broken! #2- Hitchhikers should never be picked up! Ever! #3- Rotary wall phones can be dialed by tongue! Ah, we learn something every day!
Be on the lookout for Angus Scrimm (PHANTASM 1-4) as the terminally nosy Dr. Epstein!...
