The story starts Rebecca-like, with voice-over narration from Victorian-era bride Catherine (Stephanie Beacham), as she arrives at the family estate of her husband, Charles Fengriffen (Ian Ogilvy). The horse and carriage stop in the fog, and we see the imposing estate (
Catherine and Charles step inside, and a long row of dusty, dour-faced family portraits greet them. One, in particular, catches young Catherine’s eye: It is of Charles’s grandfather, Henry (Herbert Lom). Almost immediately, the screaming starts. It seldom lets up throughout the picture (see: title), but luckily Beacham is imbued with likeability and even in a pretty thankless, powerless role she only teeters on the edge of annoyance.
Catherine has strange visions and premonitions. She even sees a severed hand crawling around. Ghostly hands – and presumably other body parts – molest her, even before her groom can enjoy the wedding night spoils. Flashbacks flutter into focus. An enigmatic woodsman enters the picture. The servants act strange. A face with bloody eye holes appears at Catherine’s bedroom window… And the haunt is on.
When the local doctor, Dr. Wittle (Patrick Magee) pays a visit and makes the diagnosis that Catherine is with child, the question is begged: whose baby is it? Cue the creepy music and turn the lights down Gothic-low! The tried-and-true story of a family curse emerges once pre-Freudian psychiatrist Dr Pope (Peter Cushing), makes his grand entrance and tries to untangle the Fengriffen family’s wicked web.
…And Now The Screaming Starts! may be a bit repetitive and does tend to drag here and there, but it’s saved by a suspenseful sense of direction, luscious locations, atmospheric cinematography, and above-par acting from nearly all the leads (there are a few catapults over the top here and there).
This relatively tame flick pales when you compare it with its contemporary, The Exorcist. It seems easily 10 years older than that. But if you’re looking for a Gothic-soaked, period ghost story, …And Now The Screaming Starts! is a suitable cozy-winter’s-night oldie but goodie. (Plus, the grand finale is classic unintentional camp!)
The Dark Sky DVD is exceptional – not only is the print restored and presented in widescreen, but there are two commentaries on it. The first one is from Roy Ward Baker and Stephanie Beacham, moderated by Marcus Hearn. The second one features Ian Ogilvy and horror historian Darren Gross. The #2 commentary is the less-interesting, as Ogilvy doesn’t recall much about the making of the film (hey, it was only 30+ years ago!), but Gross leads the veteran actor through the scenes of the film quite well. They talk about how the opening of the novel upon which the movie is based, is different. Ogilvy ruefully recalls the day when he had to destroy a skeleton and got painfully stabbed in the hand with bone shard (listening to him, it sounds as if actual human remains were used as a prop!).
The commentary with Ward and Beacham is fun. Both of them have such enthusiasm, and her memories are not only intact, she shares some great anecdotes and has interesting things to say about her costars. The moderator does a nice job of leading, without dominating.
They talk about how the in-camera effects were achieved, and point out how many uncut, long tracking shots there are. They chuckle about the motorized crawling hands, which weren’t always cooperative. They have a laugh about “Catherine’s” fillings showing when Beacham screams.
Beacham describes Cushing as a "sweet and lovely man". His wife had died prior to the shoot and he lost a lot of weight. The physical effect was shocking – Cushing was so gaunt, that in their next movie together Beacham went from playing daughter to granddaughter. Still, Ward and Beacham say, the loss never affected Cushing’s work, who was a stalwart professional on set each and every day.
The disc also includes the original trailer, stills, bios and backstories. In addition, the DVD is closed-captioned (even though the back of the box does not indicate this – surely, it’s a selling point. Of course, the DVD also says the movie is in black & white, when it’s not.)
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson