Scream Baby Scream

Uuuugh this is an ugly movie. The ultimate bargain basement thriller. I bought my copy for three bucks @ a video store in Hopkinsville, KY. The acting is really bad, the plot has potential, sort of, but is instantly killed by the aformentioned bad acting. The jazzy, lounge music soundtrack doesn't fit the film at all. I will be co-hosting a movie review show at my college next semester, and will be reviewing this movie to show the host that the Hammer classic Frankenstein Created Woman is NOT a bad movie compared to other stuff out there.

The script is probably the best thing here, the make-up maybe the worst. Larry Cohen would later revise this idea for THE AMBULANCE. There is some fun 70's elements to this movie like chicks dancing in unison and a, rather disappointed trippin' on acid scene, though it does have the characters imagining they are animals at the zoo. There is some good dialog and though the script provides lots of opportunities the pacing of the film though does get a bit sluggish at times. Still a typically odd and interesting Larry Cohen script, would be great to see him or a better director remake it with better actors and better make-up. More naked butts than anything else but for those who wonder is there nudity as part of a decision to see something or not, the answer here is yes some. Fun credit sequence as well.

I can't explain my adoration for this film. I initially saw it sometime in the mid-80's and it was love at first sight. Perhaps it's because it reminds me of Hershell Gordon Lewis with less gore and (somewhat) better acting? Who knows and who cares?! Hot tunes, bad hair, and acid-washed brains make for good times. SCREAM, BABY, SCREAM is a riot and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys those preposterous '60's tripped-out monster movies (you know who you are). For a double dose of groovy gory fun, track down a copy of BLOOD FREAK and you'll never be the same.

I collect horror, ranging from the deranged bloodlust of Guinea Pig to the campy fun of Video Violence. I recently got my hands on a Camp Video VHS copy of this movie under the name "Nightmare House" the trailer seemed good and it was released under Troma as well so how could this go wrong? Well, to start, the acting is about what you expect for a movie from the late 60s, not great. The writing is flawed and makes the movie a snooze fest. An hour in and nothing happened. People do acid, guy in face paint chases a girl, random sex scene.

Though a few things that saves this movie for me, the acid jazz coupled with the cloudiness of the vhs copy I own really makes it feel like a fever dream. The last half of the movie isn't awful. It feels like the first hour of the movie is a completely different script thrown in to tie the whole "Nightmare House" part in at the end. It feels like an unfinished Herschell Gordon Lewis movie.

What about Scream Baby Scream is supposed to make me not feel like a fool for buying it? I bought it because, God help me, I'm a sucker for old B-cinema even as worthless as this. Nonetheless, Something about this movie irritates me, it's probably Janet, Janet comes off cold & snooty, seemingly, with the intention of coming off as deep and noble, with a look on her face that screams constipation, she can't seem to agree to anything her uptight boyfriend wants. I'm glad that this is her only role. What really irritates me is that this is a 1960's gore film gone terribly awry, and as we all know, awry is Floridian for "zero gore". It's like the director started with a Herschell Lewis style but backed out of the gore scenes when his wife found out, so instead we end up with one dull conversation after the other, and basically, a whole lot of irritating nothing. In other words, we end up with Florida Bore. Joseph Adler should be embarrassed. Janets boyfriend, Jason is almost as ridiculous as she is, this guy has something negative to say about absolutely everything, come to think of it, he's probably the least likable good guy in horror history. The only thing this movie really has going for it is that it carries that 60's/early 70's B-gore vibe that you can find in stuff like Undertaker & his pals, Blood Freak, or most anything from Herschell Lewis. Even Rodney from the Gruesome Twosome is in this, I Ithought his caveman comedy routine was irritating, most everything from reel to reel is stupid, even the trip scene was stupid. The only positive thing at all is the small amount of beach scenery, but that mostly includes Janet whining about life not being perfect. In the only real ironic twist, Scream Baby Scream gets even less interesting once the story finally gets started, around the 45 minute mark. If you happen to be indifferent to whether or not your entertainment is watchable, but are offended by the color red, you might not hate this. Why does Troma distribute this? Wouldn't this be Something Weird Video's area? Scream Baby Scream very well may be the worst in Florida horror/gore of its era, but, I suppose, underneath the unlikeable characters, and the incoherent plot, lies potential. Scream, Baby, Scream really just seems like it should follow the Blood Feast pattern, so, to steal a quote from Janet, "If it doesn't fit, I throw it out". 2/10