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And Now The Screaming Starts!
R0 - America - Dark Sky Films Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Stevie McCleary (5th March 2007). |
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The Film
 I love apt titles. The type of title that not only offers insight into what the film is about, but also happens to be a good explanation of what it is like to endure the film. Martin Lawrence stars in "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" (2001), Jennifer Lopez stars in "Enough" (2002). This is one of those films. This is "And Now the Screaming Starts!" Indeed. Unfortunately not the intended type of terror, sadly. But oh well. At least there's ghost rape. The back of the DVD cover claims that the film has been 'mastered in High Definition from 35mm vault materials.' That's great. Why does this movie suck? I mean, who wastes their time re-mastering junk? Did it become law that every late night forty cent horror flick has to be released on DVD? And who takes that job? The leftover postal workers who need that extra motivation to go over the edge and commit mass murder? Alright, I am exaggerating here a bit, the film isn't that bad. It's just not good. And that's not a good thing. Set in 1795 England, and made in 1972, apparently blissful newlyweds Catherine (Stephanie Beacham) and Charles Fengriffen (Ian Ogilvy) move into the Fengriffen ancestral home. Catherine becomes convinced that she is being tormented by ghosts, which makes sense considering that she is. Shockingly, nobody believes her and just assumes she's going crazy, which is totally what's happening, due to the 'tormented by ghosts' thing. It's a vicious cycle of handless ghosts, disembodied hands, eyeless woodsmen and ghost rape. Pretty much a typical Sunday brunch for people in the 1700's. They bring in a specialist to cure her craziness (Peter Cushing, as entertaining as ever). He decides she's crazy. Nice. That was sure worth the money they paid him. The only way to properly explain what it's like watching this film is to give you some insight as to how much of a chore this was. These are the thoughts as they happened and as I jotted them down... -My God that's one hell of a push-up corset on her. Good gravy, that can't be comfortable. Nice house. Sure are a lot of paintings in it. Jeez, her cleavage is about to pop. She sure doesn't like this one painting. Stop zooming in on it. Stop using the same shot to do it. Hey, a big bloody hand just came through the painting. That'll wreck the canvas. Hey, it's fine now. Stop zooming in on it. Boy, I hope they stop using the same shot (they don't) and don't do this every five minutes (they do). -They seem to be married. Good for them. This...okay we get it, the painting is creepy. This is a new scene, stop going back to it. Holy balls, there's a hand crawling across the floor. The Addams Family must be thrilled right about now. -Her window opened by itself. It sure looks nice in her bedroom. When's the husband turning up? She's all wrapped up in bed. Where's the husband? Hey, he's getting changed...elsewhere. She's falling asleep...are they not going to have sex on their wedding night? What? Wow, they totally deserve what's coming next. Ah, one-handed ghost rape. Not as interesting as it sounds. What a letdown. Her husband is a tool. -She sure seemed to get over being raped by a ghost pretty quickly. Are they ever going to have sex? I would have assumed that if there were any night then it would have been... oh wait, here they go. Yup, wasn't good enough for the honeymoon but it's all on after being violated. Huh, they're being watched by a woodsman who has no eyes. That lucky sod. Oh no, she's seen the ghost. And...she's gonna jump her husband in order to ignore it. Well that...is some interesting logic. Nothing gets you randy like a guy without a handy. Where's Peter Cushing at? -Hey look, it's that shot I love of the painting. Let's zoom in, shall we? -Why is their fog in a graveyard in the middle of the day? Could these people fall down the stairs any gentler? It's like they're having a gentle roll on the grass. And so on. The second best part of the film is the character Silas' (Geoffrey Whitehead) flashback tale. It's kind of haunting and gives you insight to why the ghost is doing what it's doing. Unfortunately it is totally ruined because they make you feel all this sympathy for the ghost (something extremely bad happens to him & his new bride) and take it away when you hear Silas' revenge curse. He doesn't even plan to attack someone deserving, just the next random person who comes along. Really...that's wonderful and sure makes sense. I wish Peter Cushing turned up earlier. He isn't in the film enough to rescue it from this meandering pace. This film has a good cast. Some of the special/mechanical effects are good for the time. However it never breaks past being more than any other of the hundreds of films made like this back in the 1970s. Too much holds this film back from seeming like it was made one weekend because the filmmakers felt like being doing something. The best part of the film was the end.
Video
Presented in a widescreen ratio of 1.78:1, this anamorphic transfer is very good and holds up well after all these years. Mastered from its original 35mm negative this image is crisp and sharp throughout most of the film, although some softness is apparent whenever optical effects are seen onscreen (this is common however for films of this age as the effects do take away some sharpness). Colors are well balanced especially skin tones and blacks and shadow detail is quite good throughout. Some minor speckles pop up and also some minor grain but otherwise this is a fine presentation.
Audio
A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono track is included, and much like the other Amicus releases from Dark Sky is quite good considering it's a mono effort. The track presents the dialogue rather cleanly and without any distortion. The film's score is well placed and doesn't overwhelm the film when in effect. As expected depth is limited but otherwise there isn't much else to complain about, overall it's a very good track that suits the film. Optional subtitles are included in English.
Extras
First up we have a feature-length audio commentary by director Roy Ward Baker, actress Stephanie Beacham which is moderated by Marcus Hern. In this track the participants discuss the different titles for the film and settling on this final title of "And Now The Screaming Starts!" which the director dislikes. They also comment on cast and working with them, creating the complicated shots with intricate cameras and utilizing optical effects. Moderator Hern keeps the track moving as much as possible but there are some quiet gaps, they mainly share memories from the production and also include some interesting insights in this informative track. Next up is a second feature-length audio commentary by actor Ian Oglivy and is moderated by Darren Gross. Much like the previous track in this one moderator Gross keeps it moving with some questions for actor Oglivy who talks about the primary location of the shoot which is the same house used in many Hammer productions as well as "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975), he comments on playing sympathetic characters in horror films, his thoughts on Peter Cushing, on acting in very constricting period costumes and other interesting tidbits from his experiences working on this film. A photo gallery is next and includes 18 images of lobby cards, stills and posters. Following that is a selection of biographies for: - Peter Cushing which includes 12 text pages. - Roy Ward Baker which includes 7 text pages. - Stephanie Beacham which includes 3 text pages. - Ian Oglivy which includes 4 text pages. - Hervert Lom which includes 9 text pages. - Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotski which includes 7 text pages. The film's original theatrical trailer is included and runs for 56 seconds. Bonus trailers are also included for: - "Asylum" which runs for 1 minute 26 seconds. - "The Beast Must Die" which runs for 59 seconds. Rounding out the extras is a 2-panel booklet that features some liner notes.
Overall
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