Scream... and Die!

Valerie and her boyfriend Terry witness a murder in an old abandoned house. They had heard the sound of a car arriving and they hid themselves. A couple had come in. They could only see the girl because He remained always in the shadow. She undressed herself and sat on his lap. Suddenly a switchblade flashes out. She's stabbed to death.

Valerie in her panic rushes blindly out of the house. Outside she waits for Terry. He doesn't come. Then she hears footsteps. Again she runs and runs.... Somehow she manages to get home in the morning.

In London Valerie goes back to her routine. She tries to contact Terry, be he's disappeared from sight. And worst of all, when Valerie looks out of her window she sees Terry's car parked in front of her house. The killer knows who she is and where she lives! When Valerie speaks with her friends about it, they advise her to not contact the police. After all Terry is a shady dealer, and she could get involved in a very nasty business. But what happened to Terry? Is he still alive?

The killer is stalking her, and he will strike again...

By the description, you could think that "Scream and Die" is a very suspenseful thriller. But you would be wrong.

"Scream and Die" (the title is misleading) should be seen by those that like a weird atmosphere: the thick fog that envelops the house when Terry and Valerie arrive there, Valerie's friends and neighbors, the early 70s mood, the subtle and effective soundtrack, and the bizarre! Most viewers will guess from the beginning who the killer is. But that's not really important. I enjoy "Scream and Die" because it's atmospheric and feels natural (characters and environment), but it is at the same time dreamy, and sometimes surreal. The beautiful and delicate Andrea Allan is Valerie. She is a joy to behold!

If you like the films of Larraz this is another one to add to your collection

Decent and intriguing movie in the great Giallo tradition including horrible murders . A terror film with a twist dealing with a beginner fashion model called Valerie, in search of adventure, is invited by her boyfriend on his expedition to some empty mansion, at a lonely English country house , hoping to take some money there . The estate, however, isn't quite what it seems and things go wrong when strange events start happening . Suddenly , the girl discovers that they are not alone in the house . But the owners are not going to notice the uninvited guests while making love passionately . That's just ending their caresses that a man brutally kills his partner. In horror, she runs out of the house, losing a thief friend on the way. When the fear passed the next morning, she decides to go back to the place of the strange incident, but there was no mansion there. But her search leads to an acquaintance with Paul , a suspicious young man , passionate about classical music and the secular manners of the last century. Is it too soon to talk about '72...that time Paul and Valerie fell in love at first sight and began searching for a place to have an affair -- and they kept searching until they found... Are You Planning an Affair? We Can Give You 7 Good Reasons Not to Have Your Next Affair at "The House That Vanished"-And They're All Dead !! 1. George 2. Marsha 3. Ted 4. Linda 5. Ronnie 6. Alice 7. Larry 8 . If You Have Ever Lived Alone, You Will Never Forget..

An interesting and terrifying movie with tension , thrills , chills, slashing suspense and predictable conclusion. It is an enjoyable film by taking parts here and there of other films , although , of course , inferior to the Italian Giallos that quickly established themselves as classics in its field and whose frames have been very imitated since , especially the series killer wearing gloves with which commits astonishingly bloody crimes . ¨The house that vanished¨ packs a chilling feeling of incipient madness that has seldom been realised with such imagination and skill , containing some creepy and surprising scenes . Larraz's direction is slow but deliberate , never missing a chance of jolting the audience with a sudden shock . This disturbing horror movie was such a critical and public success at the time , but unfortunately after being forgotten , and nowadays recuperated from obscurity and considered to be a cult movie . Acceptable acting from Andrea Allan who shows efficiently all the agony of a tormented mind in her eyes due to a continuous stalking . Also passable interpretation from a mostly unknown cast , such as : Karl Lanchbury , Maggie Walker , Peter Forbes-Robertson and Judy Matheson. Special mention for the thrilling and suspenseful musical score by Terry Warr.

The motion picture was professional and stylistically directed by Jose Ramón Larraz . Larraz was a much-loved 70s , 80s creator of shockers who deceased in 2013 ; he started in cinema world by casual way when he meets the famous director Josef Von Stenberg running a cinematographic course in Brussels . Larraz was a director of horror and erotic films and former comic book illustrator and fashion photographer . Worked in England as Joseph Larraz, and in Spain, using the pseudonym Joseph Braunstein . Larraz subsequently shot horror classics , cult obscurities , euro-trash , and even some sexploitation . As he filmed his first movies in England , plenty of terror , suspense and sex , such as ¨Whirlpool¨ (1970) , ¨Deviation¨(1971) , ¨La Muerte Incierta¨(1972) , ¨Scream or die¨(1973) and including ¨Symptoms¨ (1974) that owes a lot to ¨Polanski's Repulsion¨ and ¨Hitchcock's Psychosis¨, starred by Angela Pleasence and Peter Vaughan . He also shot soft-cores and then Jose Ramón returns Spain filming horror and semi-exploitative movies , such as ¨Estigma¨ , ¨Ritos Sexuales Del Diablo¨, ¨Al Filo del Hacha¨ and ¨Descanse en Piezas¨ , imitating the American Slashers of the 70s and 80s¨. His most successful film is this ¨Vampyres¨ about bloodsuckers who get victims to pull over hitchhiking , played by Playboy young models with sexy bodies , blending arty house , horror and erotic situations . Scream... and Die!, rating : 6/10. Decent terror movie . Most hardcore Euro horror fans will appreciate the kinkiness of this film as that is what gives it its distinctive flavour . A compelling movie that's a must for connoisseurs of the cinema's darker corners.

Spanish director José Ramón Larraz made a couple of excellent UK-based chillers with Symptoms and Vampyres, this psychological horror film was another such film from this director but it is definitely less impressive. Its about a woman who witnesses a murder in a house and then forgets where the house is - how absent-minded! The killer then starts stalking her and it all goes a bit pear-shaped. This is both run-of-the-mill and completely improbable. One particular memorable sequence has the protagonist tell her friends about witnessing the violent murder and the fact that the killer is now after her, they deal with it like the whole situation is a bit of a thundering nuisance but basically relatively trivial. Thanks pals.

SCREAM...AND DIE! (or "The house that vanished" (1973))is the unknown piece of horror and sex that the master José Ramón Larraz did in England in the seventees. It's an erotic thriller with psychopatic murderer (Karl Lanchbury) perfomed by a beautiful model called Valerie (terrific Andrea Allan)involved in a haunting mistery and sadistic murders occurred in a isolated manor in the forest at midnights. Scream and die has an excellent and very particular quality in images and atmosferes. The movie is slow, yes, but this thing is normal in Larraz's movies: the story is very slow and predictable, but it's too sexy (the love scenes are really good and erotic) and brutal sometimes, and has the mark from the director of masterpieces as "Vampyres" and "Symptoms", both from 1974. The fog, tne night, the sounds of the killer walking with his black gloves following Valerie, the anguish in her face in her firsts shots, the slowly music give to the film a personal sight. The first murder seen by the hidden Valerie and husband as intimate witnesses and the escape from the manor are a classic composition of horror shots, wonderfully executed by the "voyeurisitic filmmaker" with a rare and genuine talent. It's a really brutal moment of sophisticated murder and "naïve" sex. Scream and die has the very personal "touch" of the catalanian director, all the constants that are in the most part of his baroque, sensual and horrific world (Emma puertas oscuras,La muerte incierta,Vampyres, Symptoms,Estigma,Whirpool, Deviation or Deadly manor) are present in here. The spiral of terror and tension grows very slowly -step by step- describing the world of this sexy model for fashion photographers in a continuated state of danger. Larraz creates a really personal style in a very traditional thriller that must be remembered by the tension,the british locations in Kent in winter,the quiet and dead moments of inusually fascination, the use of the photography, the artistic colors and the incredible dark shots of nights, the typical "english" fog, the horror moments and the clever sex that impressed me a lot in my adolescence. Scream and die has a kind of elegance in the horror genre that others horror thrillers hasn't. All the personal obsessions of José Larraz are here in a fine lesson of cinematography in his best period of his career, the british period. The fans of José Larraz need to know his firsts features, as "Whirpool" (1970) and "Deviation" (1971)-nobody has said anything more specific about these movies? (Please: more information and reviews in IMDB or other places,webs, etc.) and his last contribution tot the terror lately in "Deadly manor"(Savage lust, 1990)produced by his old british friend Brian Smedley-Aston. When the fans of José Ramón Larraz, Brian Smedley-Aston (editor of "Performance" ,etc.), his actresses and his horrific world will have a web or a personal page about the director? Where are the fans of this spanish/british filmmaker?. Goodbye!

The House That Vanished (1973)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Model Valerie (Andrea Allan) is with her rather worthless boyfriend as they drive around in the fog. They come upon a house and the boyfriend goes inside to steal from it but soon the two of them witness a murder. The next day Valerie manages to get back home but she hasn't heard from her boyfriend and she fears that he's dead so with the help from a friend she tries to track down that mysterious house.

José Ramón Larraz's THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED is a film that seems to be remembered thanks in large part to its American promotional material. The trailer and poster of the film played off the same tagline (It's Only a Movie... It's Only a Movie...) that made Wes Craven's THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT a hit. The promotional material on this film is quite impressive and it's clear that it worked because the film gained a cult following despite the fact that it's really not that good.

There are some good things to be found here with one of them being the atmosphere. I thought the director did a nice job at building up a rather sinister atmosphere and this here was without question the highlight of the picture. Another nice thing was the fog and its thickness as the couple drive through it. I thought these scenes were rather effective and the idea of a house being hidden by the fog was something I liked. I also thought Allan was quite attractive and helped keep you somewhat glued to the film.

As far as the rest goes, it's pretty bad. The worst thing about the film and what eventually kills it is the fact that the pacing was just awful. The film has a very slow pace, which is fine if you're able to capture some sort of slow-burn but that's not what happens here. The film continues to grow more and more boring as it comes to an end and what's worse is the fact that it's really not too hard to figure out who the killer is. We're treated to some bloody violence and plenty of nudity but this here can't stop the boring feeling.

THE HOUSE THAT VANISHED wasn't as awful as some make it out to be but there's no question that the atmosphere was wasted.