Scream Baby Scream (1969) User Reviews

Worth a look

[HEFILM · 5/10 · 25 February 2006]

The script is probably the best thing here, the make-up maybe the worst. Larry Cohen would later revise this idea for THE AMBULANCE. There is some fun 70's elements to this movie like chicks dancing in unison and a, rather disappointed trippin' on acid scene, though it does have the characters imagining they are animals at the zoo. There is some good dialog and though the script provides lots of opportunities the pacing of the film though does get a bit sluggish at times. Still a typically odd and interesting Larry Cohen script, would be great to see him or a better director remake it with better actors and better make-up. More naked butts than anything else but for those who wonder is there nudity as part of a decision to see something or not, the answer here is yes some. Fun credit sequence as well.

Florida Bore: The History of Scream Baby Scream

[Tromafreak · 4/10 · 3 July 2008]

What about Scream Baby Scream is supposed to make me not feel like a fool for buying it? I bought it because, God help me, I'm a sucker for old B-cinema even as worthless as this. Nonetheless, Something about this movie irritates me, it's probably Janet, Janet comes off cold & snooty, seemingly, with the intention of coming off as deep and noble, with a look on her face that screams constipation, she can't seem to agree to anything her uptight boyfriend wants. I'm glad that this is her only role. What really irritates me is that this is a 1960's gore film gone terribly awry, and as we all know, awry is Floridian for "zero gore". It's like the director started with a Herschell Lewis style but backed out of the gore scenes when his wife found out, so instead we end up with one dull conversation after the other, and basically, a whole lot of irritating nothing. In other words, we end up with Florida Bore. Joseph Adler should be embarrassed. Janets boyfriend, Jason is almost as ridiculous as she is, this guy has something negative to say about absolutely everything, come to think of it, he's probably the least likable good guy in horror history. The only thing this movie really has going for it is that it carries that 60's/early 70's B-gore vibe that you can find in stuff like Undertaker & his pals, Blood Freak, or most anything from Herschell Lewis. Even Rodney from the Gruesome Twosome is in this, I Ithought his caveman comedy routine was irritating, most everything from reel to reel is stupid, even the trip scene was stupid. The only positive thing at all is the small amount of beach scenery, but that mostly includes Janet whining about life not being perfect. In the only real ironic twist, Scream Baby Scream gets even less interesting once the story finally gets started, around the 45 minute mark. If you happen to be indifferent to whether or not your entertainment is watchable, but are offended by the color red, you might not hate this. Why does Troma distribute this? Wouldn't this be Something Weird Video's area? Scream Baby Scream very well may be the worst in Florida horror/gore of its era, but, I suppose, underneath the unlikeable characters, and the incoherent plot, lies potential. Scream, Baby, Scream really just seems like it should follow the Blood Feast pattern, so, to steal a quote from Janet, "If it doesn't fit, I throw it out". 2/10

What the Hell is This?

[chanvat · 3/10 · 6 January 2004]

I found this movie at a XXX store for $1 on VHS. The interesting thing about it is that Camp Video bought up the rights to it and slapped on a 1986 copywrite date in the credits. Anyways, enough of odd facts.

This film is absolutely not scary. To even call this horror or a "thriller" is laughable. There were only maybe 5 minutes at most of what you would call horror in this 80+ minute film, and that consisted of the acting, because it was HORRORible! All puns aside, the writing for this film was absolute garbage as well, just as the special effects and makeup was laughable. No wonder this is such an obscure film, probably the director has spent the last 35 years scouring the country for all existing copies of it and burning them in one big pile so no one else could be subjected to it.

'Scuse me...while I kill this guy...

[cconner · 8 November 2004]

I can't explain my adoration for this film. I initially saw it sometime in the mid-80's and it was love at first sight. Perhaps it's because it reminds me of Hershell Gordon Lewis with less gore and (somewhat) better acting? Who knows and who cares?! Hot tunes, bad hair, and acid-washed brains make for good times. SCREAM, BABY, SCREAM is a riot and I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys those preposterous '60's tripped-out monster movies (you know who you are). For a double dose of groovy gory fun, track down a copy of BLOOD FREAK and you'll never be the same.

Vintage hippie schlock horror bore

[capkronos · 2/10 · 24 February 2004]

Maybe you have to be a former hippie to fully appreciate this, because aside from some dated fashions, music and dialogue, it doesn't really have a thing going for it nowadays.

Four fun-loving college art students enjoy carefree days of painting nude models and riding on motorcycles. They take acid in one scene and go to a zoo. A sign flashes on the screen that says "Do Not Feed The Animals," and suddenly they're in a cage laughing and hanging from a chain tire swing (?!) An evil artist (Larry Swanson) tells (in flashback) how his art career was almost ruined because of a crippling hand disease. He sends out zombie henchmen dressed in black to kidnap people, then injects them with a serum that distorts their faces. He's trying to create some new form of abstract act (I'm guessing here, the details given are a bit fuzzy, to put it mildly). Meanwhile, Jason (Ross Harris) sets out to save the day after his friend Scotty (Chris Martell) is killed and his girlfriend Janet (Eugenie Wingate) is kidnapped. I thought the zombie make-up in ZOMBIE LAKE was awful, but wait until you see it here! It's by Douglas Hobart, the star of DEATH CURSE OF TARTU. A small role is played by Brad Grinter, the director of the Z-classic BLOOD FREAK, which is much, much more enjoyable than this deadly dull turkey (aka NIGHTMARE HOUSE).

Useless trivia note: The 1984 Regal video release features the wrong cast (for THE BRIDES WORE BLOOD) printed directly on the video label!

Score: 1 out of 10.

Is this the wrong movie?...

[emm · 1/10 · 3 May 1999]

...Or is this another way below the bottom-of-the-barrel masterpiece? Preferably both! Somewhere between 1969 and 1972 came a host of several horrible horror movies that are all but lost again. Nothing more needs to be explained, asked, or screamed out loud. If you followed closely at my writings about CARNIVAL OF BLOOD or GURU THE MAD MONK, then you know what's in store with SCREAM BABY SCREAM. The title sounds cool; it's just the weak script that should have gone someplace else! Even so, this is hands down, the most dreadfully written piece of cinematic mastery ever worked on film!

If you thought this is an early slasher (which benefits the average IMDb user to write up another comment), better luck next time! The real truth behind the script has NOTHING to do with the movie, which supposedly tells of a blue-faced psychopath out to "kill" and make some ugly facial sculptures on his victims. It feels like you're watching another early "SCOOBY-DOO" episode. My favorite scene is the monkey cage where the four young hippie teenagers play in. And hooray for an actress under the name "Eugenie Wingate" for giving us the worst facial makeover, ever! 1969 has never been this bad, but it is!

Try finding this 30-year old rarity at a bargain basement for five bucks; it makes the perfect novelty item for going back to those psychedelic days of flower power, bad fashions, and trashy music! Interesting note: SCREAM BABY SCREAM is also listed in Troma's film archives on the company's website. Only time will tell when this reaches the top of the Bottom 100 List along with a few more early 70s cheapies; gosh knows they NEED to!!! PLAN 9 is history!!!

Scream

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 31 October 2022]

Also known as Nightmare House, this was directed by Joseph Adler, who mostly directed theater in South Florida as well as the movies Sex and the College Girl, Revenge Is My Destiny, Doubles, Sammy Somebody and Convention Girls. The script was written by Larry Cohen, who went onward and upward from here.

Charles Butler is famous of his art which is filled with blood and gore. The truth? He's working with Dr. Garrison - I mean, they have mutants to do their dirty work - and kidnapping models and using them to take his artwork further, saying wild stuff like "Yesterday's nightmare is today's dream and tomorrow's reality."

In-between all that artistic murder, we have a hero named Jason (Ross Harris) who treats his girlfriend Janet (Eugenie Wingate) like trash, an acid trip freakout, Janet treats Jason poorly as well and the soundtrack is a mix of psych-out fuzzy rock and freakout jazz. I've seen Adler's direction described as "barely competent" which means that I am now seeking out the rest of his movies.

Snooze Baby Snooze!

[alleywayhorror · 2/10 · 26 October 2021]

I collect horror, ranging from the deranged bloodlust of Guinea Pig to the campy fun of Video Violence. I recently got my hands on a Camp Video VHS copy of this movie under the name "Nightmare House" the trailer seemed good and it was released under Troma as well so how could this go wrong? Well, to start, the acting is about what you expect for a movie from the late 60s, not great. The writing is flawed and makes the movie a snooze fest. An hour in and nothing happened. People do acid, guy in face paint chases a girl, random sex scene.

Though a few things that saves this movie for me, the acid jazz coupled with the cloudiness of the vhs copy I own really makes it feel like a fever dream. The last half of the movie isn't awful. It feels like the first hour of the movie is a completely different script thrown in to tie the whole "Nightmare House" part in at the end. It feels like an unfinished Herschell Gordon Lewis movie.

Fun 60's psycho horror outing

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 1 November 2011]

Famous, but deranged and hence dangerous avant-garde artist Charles Butler (a gloriously ripe and plummy portrayal by Larry Swanson) kidnaps beautiful models and disfigures them for the sake of his art. Director Joseph Adler, working from a suitably warped script by Larry Cohen, milks the inspired sadistic premise for a good deal of seedy thrills; the bits of fleeting female nudity and mild gore give this picture a reasonably racy and seamy edge. Better still, this movie astutely nails the wackier aspects of the psychedelic 60's: The whole cutting edge pop-art scene setting, the funky opening credits montage, the wild fashions, the crazy hairstyles, the then hip, now hopelessly dated slangy dialogue, a nifty acid trip sequence, and an astounding band performing a get-down gnarly song in a happening nightclub all give this flick a certain authentically far-out period charm. Ross Harris makes for a likable hero as struggling aspiring artist Jason while Jim Vance gleefully hams it up as mad medico Garrison. Moreover, several lovely ladies are on hand to keep the film watchable: Eugenie Wingate as the foxy, but shrill and bitchy Janet, Suzanne Stuart as the sweet and fetching Marika, and Naomi Fink as the attractive Laura. Chris Martell's groovy free-form jazz score hits the right-on swinging spot. The nicely ironic ending packs a pretty startling punch, too. An enjoyable item.

Colorful, warped, cheap but pretty original with fun results

[shango7200 · 25 April 2011]

Most of the comments here are thumbs down, but with all it's flaws; did anyone else find the ending completely CREEPY? This demented movie has some fun elements; the Mad Doctor/Artist is hilarious. I was laughing every second he was on screen. The song played in the club by the band Oddessy (a REAL band on White Whale Records) , is excellent! Sounds like a classic 1960s rock anthem by someone like Iron Butterfly / Vanilla Fudge/Cream . The make-up on the disfigured woman--is simply unforgettable! This movie drags about every 15 minutes , but then picks up again. The opening scene is really cool & great credits sequence too. The lead girl is dull but beautiful to look at. The worst part is the lead guy, Josh. He's kinda wooden and ugly too. Who hired him ? I love Grade Z movies from this period--YES this is a lop-sided mess; but it has enough weirdness for any Psychotronic movie lover. As another poster mentioned; why did TROMA release this?

Oh my, is this ugly.

[cameraslave43 · 10 December 2002]

Uuuugh this is an ugly movie. The ultimate bargain basement thriller. I bought my copy for three bucks @ a video store in Hopkinsville, KY. The acting is really bad, the plot has potential, sort of, but is instantly killed by the aformentioned bad acting. The jazzy, lounge music soundtrack doesn't fit the film at all. I will be co-hosting a movie review show at my college next semester, and will be reviewing this movie to show the host that the Hammer classic Frankenstein Created Woman is NOT a bad movie compared to other stuff out there.