And Now the Screaming Starts!

And Now the Screaming Starts! is a 1973 British gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham and Ian Ogilvy. It is one of the few feature-length horror stories by Amicus, a company best known for anthology or "portmanteau" films.

And Now the Screaming Starts!
United States theatrical release poster
Directed byRoy Ward Baker
Produced byMax Rosenberg
Milton Subotsky
Gustave Berne
Screenplay byRoger Marshall
Based onFengriffen (novella)
by David Case
StarringPeter Cushing
Herbert Lom
Patrick Magee
Ian Ogilvy
Stephanie Beacham
Music byDouglas Gamley
CinematographyDenys Coop
Edited byPeter Tanner
Tony Curtis (addl)
Production
company
Distributed byFox-Rank (UK), Cinerama Releasing Corporation (US)
Release date
April 27, 1973
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$500,000[1]

The screenplay, written by Roger Marshall, is based on the 1970 novella Fengriffen by David Case. The film is also known as Fengriffen or Bride of Fengriffen.[2][3]. The large gothic house used in the film is Oakley Court, near Bray village, which is now a four star hotel.

Premise

In 1795, newlyweds Catherine (Beacham) and Charles Fengriffen (Ogilvy) move into Charles' stately mansion. Catherine falls victim to a curse placed by a wronged servant on the Fengriffen family and its descendants.

Cast

Reception

The film received a lukewarm reception in Britain and America on its release. In the UK, And Now the Screaming Starts! went out on a double bill with the American horror film, Dr Death, Seeker of Souls. Jonathan Rosenbaum of Monthly Film Bulletin praised Denys Coop's camerawork and the acting performances, yet felt the film never quite realised its potential.[4] A. H. Weiler reviewing the work in The New York Times commended Cushing's contribution, deeming it superior to the rest of the cast's, although considered its plot contrived.[5] Mark Burger, reviewing a home video release for the Winston-Salem Journal in 2002, similarly noted the strong cast though found the muddled screenplay led to a merely "watchable" film.[2]

Citations
  1. Ed. Allan Bryce, Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 102-109
  2. Burger, Mark (17 May 2002). "Video View". Winston-Salem Journal: p. 3.
  3. Ed. Allan Bryce, Amicus: The Studio That Dripped Blood, Stray Cat Publishing, 2000 p 102-109
  4. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (1974). "Feature Films". Monthly Film Bulletin, 41:480/491: p. 243.
  5. Weiler, A H (28 April 1973). "Screen: A Creepy Legend". The New York Times: p. 21.

Further reading
  • Chibnall, Steve; Petley, Julian (ed.) (2005). British Horror Cinema. Oxford: Taylor & Francis, pp. 132–134. ISBN 0-203-99676-3
  • Mayer, Geoff (2004). Roy Ward Baker (British Film Makers). Manchester Univ. Press. ISBN 0-7190-6354-X
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