“Scream and Scream Again” was released in January of 1970. Based on the novel, “The Disoriented Man” by sci-fi author Peter Saxon, the film was the second of three American International Pictures productions to feature the team of director Gordon Hessler and star Vincent Price. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee appear as well, in only one of the two films to feature all three horror icons. The latters roles are little more than cameos though - Lees screen time clocks in around six minutes, and Cushings less than three. Even Price, despite top billing, is in the film for less than twenty minutes. The story opens with a number of seemingly disassociated episodes that culminate in the discovery of an international conspiracy masterminded by a scientist – Vincent Price as the maniacal Dr. Browning - bent on world domination. Tried-and-true if not the most original motivation. The film is regularly criticized for its fragmented story, but media information site AllMovie reviewer Donald Guarisco opines that this “is a stylistic choice, designed to set the viewer on edge and breed a feeling of paranoia that pays off when the storys plot threads merge at the finale to create an insane, unnerving conspiracy theory explanation for it all.” He further praises Hessler for maintaining “the kind of nervously energetic style (the story) requires, keeping the many plot threads on track while engaging the viewer with flashy visuals and energetic action setpieces.” Guarisco may be alone in his opinion; most viewers find the film incomprehensible, an opinion supported by a quick read of some entertaining Amazon reviews. These reviewers shouldnt feel alone; Vincent Price admitted years after the film was made that he never understood the script. To be fair, the Amazon reviewers found the film entertaining for the most part, although many express dismay at the brief screen times for the name actors. Say what you like about the film, I give AIP props for the tag-line: “Composite beings, half synthetic, half human transplant. The live, they love, they kill, but they cannot die. Only boiling acid will dissolve them, halt their unearthly lust.” Not exactly the soul of brevity, but it had me by “boiling acid”. MGM made “Scream” available on DVD in 2002 as one of their excellent, low-priced Midnight Movie collection packages. As with other MM titles, it was released both on its own, and on a 1-disc double-feature – in this case paired with the first Hessler/Price collab, “The Oblong Box” (1969). TGG released a double-feature DVD of “Scream” and the popular Price vehicle, “The Abominable Doctor Phibes” (1971) in 2012. Its not yet available on Blu-ray, but t Scream can be streamed in standard definition on Amazon Instant Video.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Jan 2015 05:11:50 +0000
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