And Now the Screaming Starts!

-- And Now the Screaming Starts! Was an attempt by Amicus Productions to move away from the Portmantaeu movies that was their stock in trade, to make a horror movie of only one story. The reason is not to compete with Hammer Films, since there really was no rivalry between the two companies, but just to show that they could if they so chose to go that route as well. What is evident is that their inexperience in this department shows greatly, making the film an enjoyable misfire, if ultimately a frustrating experience.

Story is set in the late 18th century and newlyweds Charles and Catherine Fengriffen move into Charles' family estate. Almost immediately Catherine starts to have terrifying visions, even experiencing what she feels is definite contact with something not of the natural world. Is she going mad? Or is there something seriously malevolent lurking around the dark corridors of Fengriffen Mansion?

What follows is a number of fun and creepy horror sequences very poorly glued together by a minimalist back story and thin characterisations, the Amicus production team just hurtling as quick as possible to the next scene involving Stephanie Beacham being freaked out and screaming. And of course for us to observe her quite magnificent heaving bosom. On reflection it's a collage of more famous and better movies, so a portmanteau movie that's not actually a portmanteau movie!

The cast list features Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom and Patrick Magee. Cushing doesn't show up until late in the day, and as classy as he was as an actor, he is phoning it in here. Lom only appears in an extended cameo flashback, which is annoying since the character is deliciously warped, sort of what Emeric Belasco was for Legend of Hell House. While I'm still not sure what Magee's purpose in the film was? Seriously!

Beacham and Ian Ogilvy's new marriage just sort of sits there without rhyme or reason, interesting threads such as Cushing taking an interest in sexual relations with demons never get expanded upon, and really there's no big finale to crown the story; though skeleton abuse does hold some macabre enjoyment value. Yet in spite of all its problems, it's still a fun night in with the lights off. Beacham's bosom, severed limbs and a vengeful curse from the past ensure it's worth watching for sure. 6/10

British film company Amicus were the masters of the horror anthology, but they also produced single plot movies, this being one. Here we have a delightfully Gothic tale about a curse, haunted paintings and a crawling, severed hand. The film is very well shot, has lovely sets and boasts a very fine cast. However it is not the "gory horror" that the newspaper TV guide described back in the 1980's when I first watched it, it is also slow at times. Perhaps this was a short story that has been stretched to 90 minutes, it sometimes feels like it. But is does have some effective horror moments, plus there is a rape scene which I found to be the most shocking part, so not suitable for kids. Many years ago when I was attending college one of the bus drivers was a spitting image of Silas the woodsman, we did chuckle about that! Certainly not one of the best Amicus movies but still an enjoyable late night horror.

There was something of a vogue for horror films in Britain during the sixties and early seventies, probably because there was a market for material of this nature but censorship meant that it could not be shown on television. Hammer were the best-known film production company of the British horror boom, but they had a number of rivals, and this film was made by one of these, Amicus Productions. Amicus were best known for "portmanteau" films like "Tales from the Crypt", generally with a contemporary rather than a period setting, which meant lower production costs. "And Now the Screaming Starts!" is one of their few attempts to invade the Hammer territory of a single feature-length story set in the past. It even features one of Hammer's best-known stars, Peter Cushing.

Despite the rather jokey title, complete with exclamation mark, this is not a horror spoof along the lines of "Carry On Screaming". Nor, despite the presence of Cushing in the cast, is it a Transylvanian tale of vampires and werewolves. It is rather a Gothic ghost story reminiscent of the work of M R James, although more sexually explicit than anything James would have been allowed to write. The action takes place in the year 1795. A young married couple, Charles and Catherine Fengriffen, move into the stately home of the Fengriffen family. At first the marriage seems a happy one, but soon Catherine is troubled by strange dreams and visions, all of which seem to be connected with Silas, the mysterious and sinister woodcutter who lives in a cottage on the estate, and a portrait of Charles's grandfather, Sir Henry. She comes to believe that the house is haunted and that there is a curse on the Fengriffen family. Several people who try to help her meet mysterious deaths. Eventually Charles admits to Catherine, who is by now pregnant, that there is a legend of a family curse, connected to a terrible crime committed by Sir Henry.

Despite his being the most established star among the cast, Cushing's part is a relatively small one; he plays a doctor brought in to try and cure Catherine of what her husband believes is a mental illness and fulfils that common role in horror films, the rationalist sceptic whose scepticism is inevitably proved wrong by events. Cushing is, however, very good in his role, and there is also a good performance from Herbert Lom as the cruel and debauched Henry, whose crime is seen in flashback. Stephanie Beacham was previously best known to me as Sable in that "Dynasty" spin-of "The Colbys", but here we get to see just how strikingly beautiful she was as a young woman.

Some of the productions of the British horror cycle could be awful, and Cushing, although a talented actor, often found himself cast in the worst of them. ("The Blood Beast Terror" from 1967 and "The Satanic Rites of Dracula", also from 1973, are two particularly dire examples). "And Now the Screaming Starts!", however, is one of the better ones. Its plot may be far-fetched, but all films in this particular genre require a large amount of suspension of disbelief on the part of the viewer, and director Roy Ward Baker, who in the latter part of his career tended to specialise in horror, is able at times to conjure up a quite genuine sense of terror. Moreover, some of the most powerful scenes are those seen in flashback, and here no suspension of disbelief is needed. Ghosts may or may not exist; men as depraved as Sir Henry undoubtedly do, which from my point of view makes them far more frightening than any ghost. This is a highly watchable film, especially when seen late at night. 7/10

A goof. The Fengriffen mansion is built in the Victorian Gothic style, quite anachronistic for a film set in the late 18th century. The actual house used, Oakley Court in Berkshire, was in fact not built until 1859. The film-makers, however, clearly felt that Gothic architecture was much more in keeping with the mood of a horror film than Georgian classicism would have been.

Odd film, this. Not being the biggest fan of Hammer, I always felt Amicus a more competent stable (neither really produced a film that was actually frightening, but they could be entertaining, and Amicus were glossy and lurid.) This one is a little-known piece that always gets bad reviews but I happen to like it. Firstly, it has a splendid cast. Secondly, the camerawork is something to behold, the sickly lurid colours blending in with the gorgeous period costumes and attractive, dramatic locations. There is also a little more going on here than meets the eye. Perhaps a subtle nod to the Glamis Castle story...? There's a little bit of class war going on, and despite its vivid rape scene I can't help feeling this isn't quite the exploitation movie it appears. For an early 70s movie it does at least treat the issue seriously; the effect it has on the victim and the fact that no measures can atone for it are believable.

A word to the excellent music, beautiful but interspersed with a spooky zither. And Geoffrey Whitehead is very good. The graveyard climax is pretty powerful too, and the closing shot as a camera wanders an empty room to the Bible is a cut above what one expects from this genre. The bad points are the tacky severed hand, the occasional Grand Guignol hamminess and the fact that the film does rather overplay it's hand...it spends so long building up to its revelation that by then it will always be a let down.

And one other criticism...Catherine recovers from her wedding night ordeal ridiculously quickly, which totally contradicts the film's central premise. Still, the open window symbolism and the Malleus Mallificarum references are neat, as is the wonderful scene of Charles standing by the window as the snow falls and reading the lines from Milton's Comus. This film honestly isn't as bad as you may think and you could certainly do alot worse on a dark winter evening!

This little-seen film blends together a myriad of classic horror themes, such as ghosts, crawling hands, wrong doings and curses. It's a classic example of British horror, set in a standard haunted house (there's even a graveyard nearby). Early '70s fashions are sadly non-existent here, as it's a period piece and all the costumes are of the historical variety, although there's nothing wrong with that. While the plot for the film is a typical (and dare I say clichéd) one, it has plenty of incident to keep it moving and loads of different ingredients to make it enjoyable. However, the winning formula for this film is the cast.

Ian Ogilvy (WITCHFINDER GENERAL), Stephanie Beacham (INSEMINOID), Patrick Magee (DEMENTIA 13), and Herbert Lom (ASYLUM) all act convincingly and enjoyably in their roles. Ogilvy doesn't get to do much but look haunted as the husband, but Beacham is on top form here, giving it her all as the screaming victim. Magee is fine as usual, while the fantastic Lom adds yet another cruel character to his resumé. As soon as Peter Cushing arrives, playing a doctor with a dodgy toupee, the fun really begins and things get even better. Cushing's performance is as usual, excellent, but all performances from a cast well familiar to the horror fan are varied and good.

The sheer diversity of different ingredients in this film make it work, and I advise you to sit it through in order to witness a most amusing moment at the end, when Ian Ogilvy dashes Herbert Lom's skeleton apart against his tomb - serve him right, the nasty old man. You also get the classic "crawling hand" prop, which was reused by various studios throughout the 60's and 70's - spotting it is half the fun! AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS may not break any new boundaries in the horror genre but it's a good, solid, old-fashioned ghost story and it's very entertaining, with exactly the same quaint and brooding atmosphere as a quality Hammer horror piece.