Customer Reviews

Scream of Fear [VHS]

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It`s strange how some movies stay with you from childhood. I saw this on television when I was just around 6 or 7 years old and have remembered it for the past 35 years. I just saw it again recentley for the first time since and it still has some great moments of suspense. Strasberg and Todd do wonderfully in their roles and the suspense builds from the very first. If you like Hitchcock films, or other classics of suspense such as "Les Diabolique" then you won`t want to miss this one. Terrific!!

No nudity, no cussing, only implied violence. This is a masterpiece that you will enjoy.

Of all the movies I've seen, there are only a handful that have left a lasting impression. This is one of them. The atmosphere is creepy in that hazy/gray surreal way. The storyline is not the typical and the ending can still make me jump just thinking about it. If you like being scared without lots of blood and gore, check this movie out.

Great movie! I saw this when in graduate school in 1961 and can remember it to this date. I haven't seen it since then and everything has changed so much that it might not apply to someone who is seeing it for the first time now but it sure is great in my memory.

One of the most underrated, suspense/horror movies ever made in the genre of 'Psycho'. I first saw this as an 11-year-old in 1963, and it left an indelible impression on me: I could not go to bed without first checking underneath my bed! The premise of this movie is not new, but it still manages to shock, owing to deft direction and good acting. The black and white photography heightens the air of suspense and foreboding. To review this classic in depth would be to betray the essential elements of this film, which is so integral to its success -- and that is the unexpected appearances of..............? JUST SEE IT!!!!!!!!

Why wasn't Susan Strasberg a bigger star? She certainly rules this movie, even though she's confined to a wheelchair for all but a few scenes, and spends a lot of time slung over the chauffeur's shoulder like a spare tire. Throughout, even when scared out of her wits, she remains lovely and even regal, like Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday. She's sort of a cross between Hepburn and Natalie Wood I think, with something of Natalie's nervous modernity. While we were watching this, we were thinking, "She's so young, was she already reduced to B-movies for Hammer?" And even though Penny Abbleby's a terrific part, it's rather sad that Hollywood apparently couldn't find a place for her.

Ann Todd is almost as good as the girl's stepmother, Jane. Todd's cool blonde good looks gave her a bit of the old Joan Fontaine authority, and in her career she specialized in playing either sweet little innocent Quaker type girls, or coldblooded tramps and killers. David Lean was addicted to her and starred her in four 50s features, but by the time of SCREAM OF FEAR she looks older than her actual age (she was 41 at the time), sort of beat up, though she wears her clothes beautifully and can turn on the allure whenever she likes.

Maybe it's cheating a bit to have cast, as Mr. Appleby Senior, someone with such a horrible look. He would be creepy as a corpse or even a human. We thought it was Boris Karloff in his Wurdalak makeup through most of the picture, that's how gruesome he looks. Whereas according to the story, he might as well have been played by a handsome fortyish man, a Tyrone Power instead of a Frankenstein. The Hammer touch?

In fact the costumes tell the whole story. Penny's little cocktail dresses, her various strings of pearls; Jane's pantsuits cut to perfection to accentuate her beautiful legs and hips, and then there's Rob, the chauffeur (played by the divine Ronald Lewis). When Rob pads out to the swimming pool and volunteers to search it, wearing a I don't know what to call it, but it's like a miniature piece of soft dark felt molding his butt and caressing his formidable package, I was like, mail me that swimsuit ASAP, please movie gods, I feel a seizure coming on.

We guessed 75 per cent of the ending but there was a good 25 percent we didn't figure on. All in all a stylish diversion with some astonishing acting (and whatever you'd say Ronald Lewis was doing to that loincloth).

I found this on DVD as part of a four film DVD set called Icons Of Horror Hammer Films. The set includes this film `The Gorgon', ` The Two Faces Of Dr. Jekyll ` and `The Curse Of The Mummy's Tomb'.

This film is the best of the lot, but there is plenty of fun to be had with the set. This film is one I never saw before and I was impressed by the film's production, pacing and atmosphere. There are some good thrills in the murder mystery wrapped in a ghost story. The DVD transfer in really nice and it includes the trailers for all four films.

Scream of Fear [Instead of the VHS, get the combo DVD -- Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon)]


After watching this movie the first thing I note is how misleading the trailer is -- what's worse, the incorrect description on the Netflix cover. Tsk tsk!

Spooky Hammer film, made at about the same time as Psycho but is certainly not a Psycho=wannabe.

Susan Strasburg plays the woman who is the daughter of a rich man, estranged for nine years. She is a cripple and tied to her wheelchair. Christopher Lee plays the doctor with his awful French accent. However, thankfully a small part.

The movie centers around three players: the daughter, the stepmother, the chauffeur (did the butler do it??) and we later find, a will. Yes, there's always a will.

In this case, where there's a will, there's a way!

The moody photography and music add to the suspense -- the loud bangs, the shocking screams and the body of father suddenly appearing, then disappearing. Is it her imagination or is someone attempting to drive her mad?

And what of the chauffeur? And what of a possible romance? And the betrayal?

The exposition at the conclusion I never saw coming, but I felt was revealed a bit early. The shocking climax satisfactorily ends this interesting murder mystery story.

Yes, a murder mystery, not a horror film, as the trailer implies.

See it!

I first saw this movie in church camp when I was about 10 years old. To this day, I still look over my shoulder if I have to get up in the middle of the night for a glass of water. If there is a noise in the house, my mind immediately goes to the darkened bedroom where Penny Appleby is awakened by...well...I won't spoil it for you. I can honestly say that this movie left an indelible mark on me. If I may brag a bit, I actually got to speak to Jimmy Sangster on the phone once. That was a great day. This is one of the top five suspense film scripts ever written, and I wish Mr. Sangster could get more recognition for it. I hope it gets released on DVD someday. Watch this movie and I guarantee you'll have trouble sleeping for the rest of your life. One more thing: Chopin's preludes will have a whole new meaning to you if you see this film.

A great 'little' thriller with twists, which is not quite psycho but really keeps your attention. The performances are convincing, though Christopher Lee tries to sound French with a French music hall accent rather than as he should, by just speaking normally, because he is creepy enough anyway. The dead body turns up regularly. The whole thing is a zillion times better than Dementia 13, but its that sort of thing. A well made movie all round.