And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)

England, 1795: the young Catherine has just married Charles Fengriffen and moves into his castle. She becomes the victim of an old curse that lays on the family. On her wedding night she is raped by a ghost and gets pregnant.

Director:

Roy Ward Baker

Writers:

Roger Marshall (screenplay by), David Case (novel)

Stars:

Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Peter Cushing	...	Dr. Pope
Herbert Lom	...	Henry Fengriffen
Patrick Magee	...	Dr. Whittle
Stephanie Beacham	...	Catherine Fengriffen
Ian Ogilvy	...	Charles Fengriffen
Geoffrey Whitehead	...	Woodsman / Silas
Guy Rolfe	...	Maitland
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Mrs. Luke
Gillian Lind	...	Aunt Edith
Sally Harrison	...	Sarah
Janet Key	...	Bridget
John Sharp	...	Henry's Friend
Norman Mitchell	...	Constable
Lloyd Lamble	...	Sir John Westcliff
Kay Adrian

Storyline

In 1795, in England, the young woman Catherine moves to the house of her fiancé Charles Fengriffen in the country to get married with him. When she arrives, she feels interest in the portraits of the Fengriffen family, particularly in the one of Charle's grandfather Henry Fengriffen, which seems to have a sort of evil entity possessing it. While admiring Henry's face, a severed hand attacks Catherine through the picture on the wall. Later, she gets married with Charles, beginning her journey of mystery, eerie apparitions, secrets and deaths, and having her days filled with fear and the nights with horrors in a cursed family.

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Plot Keywords:

psychotronic film | supernatural power | death | hand | ghost | 

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Taglines:

And Now the Screaming Starts. And the suspense. And the horror. And the drama.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 February 1982 (Norway)

Also Known As:

Now the Screaming Starts

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Middlesex, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Amicus Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although he is second-billed as one of the stars of the film, Herbert Lom does not appear at all until the last quarter of the film, and only in an extended flashback sequence..

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Goofs

The ghostly hand is a right hand throughout the film but when it appears to kill Mrs Luke it is suddenly a left hand.

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Quotes

[Charles explains that his family's ancestral manse is haunted]
Charles Fengriffen: Ghosts galore. Headless horsemen, horseless headsmen, everything.

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Alternate Versions

US version is missing two scenes from the original British release: Peter Cushing's discovery of an eyeless corpse and Ian Ogilvy's smashing the skeleton against a gravestone.

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Connections

References Rebecca (1940)

User Reviews

Sexual Relations With Demons.

-- And Now the Screaming Starts! Was an attempt by Amicus Productions to move away from the Portmantaeu movies that was their stock in trade, to make a horror movie of only one story. The reason is not to compete with Hammer Films, since there really was no rivalry between the two companies, but just to show that they could if they so chose to go that route as well. What is evident is that their inexperience in this department shows greatly, making the film an enjoyable misfire, if ultimately a frustrating experience.

Story is set in the late 18th century and newlyweds Charles and Catherine Fengriffen move into Charles' family estate. Almost immediately Catherine starts to have terrifying visions, even experiencing what she feels is definite contact with something not of the natural world. Is she going mad? Or is there something seriously malevolent lurking around the dark corridors of Fengriffen Mansion?

What follows is a number of fun and creepy horror sequences very poorly glued together by a minimalist back story and thin characterisations, the Amicus production team just hurtling as quick as possible to the next scene involving Stephanie Beacham being freaked out and screaming. And of course for us to observe her quite magnificent heaving bosom. On reflection it's a collage of more famous and better movies, so a portmanteau movie that's not actually a portmanteau movie!

The cast list features Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom and Patrick Magee. Cushing doesn't show up until late in the day, and as classy as he was as an actor, he is phoning it in here. Lom only appears in an extended cameo flashback, which is annoying since the character is deliciously warped, sort of what Emeric Belasco was for Legend of Hell House. While I'm still not sure what Magee's purpose in the film was? Seriously!

Beacham and Ian Ogilvy's new marriage just sort of sits there without rhyme or reason, interesting threads such as Cushing taking an interest in sexual relations with demons never get expanded upon, and really there's no big finale to crown the story; though skeleton abuse does hold some macabre enjoyment value. Yet in spite of all its problems, it's still a fun night in with the lights off. Beacham's bosom, severed limbs and a vengeful curse from the past ensure it's worth watching for sure. 6/10