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IMDbPro

The Silent Scream

  • 1979
  • R
  • 1h 27m
IMDb RATING
5.8/10
1.9K
YOUR RATING
The Silent Scream (1979)
During her first semester at college, a co-ed finds housing at a seaside mansion where, following the death of a fellow-student, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery surrounding the property and its secretive tenants.
Play trailer1:16
1 Video
45 Photos
HorrorMysteryThriller

During her first semester at college, a co-ed finds housing at a seaside mansion where, following the death of a fellow-student, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery surrounding the pro... Read allDuring her first semester at college, a co-ed finds housing at a seaside mansion where, following the death of a fellow-student, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery surrounding the property and its secretive tenants.During her first semester at college, a co-ed finds housing at a seaside mansion where, following the death of a fellow-student, she becomes entangled in a murder mystery surrounding the property and its secretive tenants.

  • Director
    • Denny Harris
  • Writers
    • Ken Wheat
    • Jim Wheat
    • Wallace C. Bennett
  • Stars
    • Rebecca Balding
    • Cameron Mitchell
    • Avery Schreiber
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    5.8/10
    1.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Denny Harris
    • Writers
      • Ken Wheat
      • Jim Wheat
      • Wallace C. Bennett
    • Stars
      • Rebecca Balding
      • Cameron Mitchell
      • Avery Schreiber
    • 57User reviews
    • 47Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:16
    Watch Trailer

    Photos45

    Grande Movie Poster, 47 x 63
    The Silent Scream (1979)
    The Silent Scream (1979)
    Tina Tyler in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Barbara Steele in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Rebecca Balding in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Juli Andelman in The Silent Scream (1979)
    The Silent Scream (1979)
    John Widelock in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Brad Rearden in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Juli Andelman and Rebecca Balding in The Silent Scream (1979)
    Rebecca Balding in The Silent Scream (1979)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rebecca Balding
    Rebecca Balding
    • Scotty Parker
    Cameron Mitchell
    Cameron Mitchell
    • Lt. Sandy McGiver
    Avery Schreiber
    Avery Schreiber
    • Sgt. Manny Ruggin
    Barbara Steele
    Barbara Steele
    • Victoria Engels
    Steve Doubet
    Steve Doubet
    • Jack Towne
    Brad Rearden
    Brad Rearden
    • Mason Engels
    John Widelock
    • Peter Ransom
    Jack Stryker
    • Police Chief
    Thelma Pelish
    Thelma Pelish
    • Housing Lady
    Tina Tyler
    Tina Tyler
    • Victoria at 16
    Yvonne De Carlo
    Yvonne De Carlo
    • Mrs. Engels
    Juli Andelman
    Juli Andelman
    • Doris Prichart
    Annabella Price
    • TV Rape Victim
    Joe Pronto
    • TV Rapist
    Jason Zahler
    • Mason at 3
    Joan Lemmo
    • Rooming House Lady
    Ernie Potvin
    • Boarding House Husband
    Virginia Rose
    • Boarding House Wife
    • Director
      • Denny Harris
    • Writers
      • Ken Wheat
      • Jim Wheat
      • Wallace C. Bennett
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    The Silent Scream

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The film was originally shot in the summer of 1977. However, the original version was considered unreleasable. Director Denny Harris turned to screenwriters Jim Wheat and Ken Wheat to help improve the story, but they had the radical idea to reshoot the bulk of the film. The actors and actresses who played the college students were brought back for reshoots in March 1978. Yvonne De Carlo, Barbara Steele, Cameron Mitchell, and Avery Schreiber were all brought in during reshoots for name-recognition value, replacing the actors who originally played their roles. In the end, only 12 minutes of footage from the original version was retained in the final finished film.
    • Goofs
      When Mason and Mrs. Engle are struggling to gain control of the pistol, several shots are fired. In the close ups, you can see that the hammer is forward. The pistol used is a model 1911 variant and will not fire unless the hammer is cocked to the rear.
    • Connections
      Featured in Sneak Previews: Windows/Heart Beat/The Runner Stumbles/Rape of Love (1980)
    • Soundtracks
      I Love You Baby, Oh Baby I Do
      Words and Music by Roger Kellaway

      Vocal Solo by Ken Barrie

    User reviews57

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Family comes first.
    Let it begin. Post-Halloween slashers are in force. But this just made it in before the major onslaught, and admirably it's a above par entry. Actually it probably has more common with "Psycho" , and touch of "Black Christmas", than most brain-dead slashers. The one-note story is quite typical and fairly bare on building much in the way of sub-plots, but it's the dreary, underlining atmosphere that smothers the gloomy seaside mansion and invokes a real unsteadiness of slow-burn tension. Even the performances lend well, and the central outlook on a dysfunctional family (who rent out spare rooms in their mansion to students) grows incredibly eerie. A silently steely Barbara Steele is memorably striking in her support role, while Rebecca Balding is competently fine as the main heroine. Cameron Mitchell and Yvonne De Carlo also show up. There's a subtle stylishness to Denny Harris' direction in many effective sequences, where obviously his less concerned about a body count and ghastly shocks. The feel is more like an old-fashioned Gothic-tale, with psychotic-drama currents. A problem though, would that there happened to be many flat (or dead-air) moments. Dead silence, and believable actions aplenty. It's low-budget shows, and minimal scope gives the film a tight, dank and creaky vibe that works. Even the vast, forlorn coastal location choices, and shadowy, cob-web house-bound settings are nailed down to perfection. Roger Kellaway's hysterically sombre music score had that familiar sound to it, but Michael D. Murphy & David Shore's murkily prying cinematography really sneaks up onto the viewer. Even within the empty passages, it still emit's a spine-tingling ambiance and workably solid performances by the cast.
    helpful•11
    2
    • lost-in-limbo
    • Mar 4, 2008

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • January 18, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Silent Scream
    • Filming locations
      • Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Denny Harris
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $600,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      1 hour 27 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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