The Screaming Skull

C'mon, people. This one's just fun all the way. The main villain is a skull who is rather unconvincingly underhand-pitched towards his enemies by an off-screen technician. Plus, free coffins if you die of fright from the movie! What's not to love?

OK, I could easily bash this film for its many...many flaws. Looking for scares, then steer away from The Screaming Skull. Aside from a scene where you hear knocking on a door with or by a skull, nothing in this film is even remotely chilling. The story is the biggest problem as we know what is going to happen way before it happens. No creativity here. The acting could be a lot worse though for a movie of this type. Lead actor Tony Hudson is below average, but everyone else is at least mediocre. Well, that means the other four in the cast of the entire film. Peggy Webber, busting out literally, plays a woman that was scarred seeing her parents drown as a child. Now, she moves into her new husband's estate where his wife died under questionable means. We then find out he has no money of his own and his new wife is loaded and has a history of mental hysteria. Where is this film going I wonder? Though it is short on scares, has grossly cheap special effects, and a story with virtually no "flesh," The Screaming Skull is one of those fun, bad movies to watch. A lot of other viewers were bored with all the talking, but I found the incompetence in this film quite charming for some inexplicable reason. Director Alex Nicol, also playing the "not-quite-there" Mickey, uses what few resources he has and at the very least makes a film with some unity and flashes of mediocrity at times. I have seen much, much, much worse!

Despite the catch-penny title and stupid "warning" to viewers, this is a well-crafted thriller. In fact, it's a mix of thriller and horror as we can't be sure of what's behind the infernally sneaky skull. Seems poor troubled Jenni accompanies new husband Eric to his dead first wife's empty mansion. It's empty except for loony gardener Eric, who bumbles around like a gimpy zombie. Now strange sounds and happenings that surround a mysterious skull start haunting Jenni. Is it her troubled past and imagination, or maybe the loony gardener devoted to Eric's first wife, or maybe even a truly evil spirit. Old movie fans may notice echoes here of 1940's classic Hitchcock, "Rebecca".

The horror aspect as a whole is downplayed in favor of actress Webber's truly impressive performance as Jenni. In fact, she runs a gamut of emotions in convincing fashion without the self-mockery of many horror flicks. In fact, I'd give her a hooded Oscar for carrying the tricky narrative in compelling style. For guys, her traipsing around in a see-through gown also works. Outstanding too are camera-man Crosby whose b&w shadings are A-picture atmospheric, along with director Nicol who manages to blend the somewhat awkward parts pretty effectively.

I wish IMDB were able to post the movie's budget, with a cast of five and just a few sets, it couldn't be much. But they got their money's worth and so will viewers if you can get past the title and stupid warning.

I agree with Shane Man, Screamig Skull may not be the best picture ever made or fine art, but it is a very good scary, chiller movie. All of the parts are taken by fine character actors. The black and white photography, setting and music give the whole thing an eerie atmosphere. The end is pretty scary too. Like I said, it may not be art, but it is the perfect thing to curl up on the couch on a Friday or Saturday night with a bowl of popcorn.

I can't believe the low rating this great film has gotten!

I remember watching "The Screaming Skull" on the late show (when TV actually showed decent stuff) and it scared the living hell outta me. It disappeared from TV, and of course years later having found it on video, it's not gonna scare me under the covers but it's still one of the best and most clever horror films of the 50's.

The plot is good enough - the ghost of a man's first wife haunts his new wife in their super-large house. But the film has a lot of great horror elements that work in its favor - the big house, the creepy house grounds, the grave on the grounds, the path through the woods area, the "odd" person (the gardener), the howling wind, the noisy windows, the scary painting, and much more, especially the skull that keeps on showing up all over the place.

The husband is the guy who played the husband in "50-Foot Woman" and he's just as good here. All the other actors/characters are just fine (there aren't many as the whole film takes place at the house), especially Mickey the Gardener, who loved the first wife (as a friend) and still talks to her as if she was alive.

The whole film has great horror atmosphere, one of the best instances ever of such I believe. There are many genuinely creepy scenes in the film, with the topper being the final incredible sequence, especially when the husband hears the knock on the front door. The look on his face is absolutely priceless as he goes to answer the door. Even after seeing the film so many times, when that door knocks, and the husband's face shows pure fear because he probably knows what's behind it, and he slowly goes to answer it, still gives me shudders!

It's great that "The Screaming Skull" is on DVD. This film definitely deserves a lot better than the films it often gets lumped in with.