Noticias

Stars: Susan George, Leo Genn, Judy Huxtable, Barry Evans, Christopher Sandford, Alan Curtis | Written by Murray Smith | Directed by Pete Walker

Directed by Pete Walker, Die Screaming Marianne is a British exploitation thriller that blends psychological tension with elements of a family drama and a hint of sleazy horror. The film revolves around Marianne (Susan George), a go-go dancer on the run from her corrupt father, a retired judge (Leo Genn), and her manipulative half-sister Hildegarde (Judy Huxtable), both of whom are desperate to get their hands on a hidden fortune that Marianne unknowingly controls.

The film’s storyline is thin but serviceable, with much of its appeal relying on the suspense and cat-and-mouse chase between Marianne and her family. Marianne’s dance sequences, while not particularly central to the plot, set a suggestive tone that emphasizes her vulnerability. The Mediterranean setting adds a layer of exotic danger, but the...

Robert Bloch and Milton Subotsky may have helped to codify the Giallo in this murder thriller but the results are not up to even the shaky standards of Amicus. That said, horror fans are going to flock to get their hands on a big color & ‘scope release that’s gone missing for decades. It’s a significant ‘save’ by Kino Lorber.

The Psychopath

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen Techniscope / 82 min. / Street Date April 10, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95

Starring: Patrick Wymark, Margaret Johnston, John Standing, Alexander Knox, Judy Huxtable, Don Borisenko, Thorley Walters, Robert Crewdson, Harold Lang, Gina Gianelli, Greta Farrer, John Harvey.

Cinematography: John Wilcox

Film Editor: Oswald Hafenrichter

Art Direction: Bill Constable

Original Music: Elisabeth Lutyens

Written by Robert Bloch

Produced by Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky

Directed by Freddie Francis

A look at the cast and crew of The Psychopath raises one’s hopes. Good actors Patrick...

With the advent and huge success of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960), studios were quick to hop aboard the killer train. Out were the outsized monsters of the ’50s, in were mama’s boys and socially maligned women dealing with sins of the past. Dementia 13 (’63) and No Way to Treat a Lady (’67) are just a sample of the ’60s horror films that focused on smaller scale, human dilemmas, regardless of how twisted they may be. One film that seems to have been misplaced in the schizoid shuffle is Freddie Francis’ The Psychopath (1966), a lean little thriller that acts as a gateway for one of the most revered European horror sub-genres: the giallo.

Of course, Psycho plays a major part in this association; the Italian-originated giallo wallowing in mysteries of the mind shot through with a razor-sharp emphasis on the visceral, stemming from a psychological need, a desire, to fix wrongs,...

Vincent Price's diabolical surgeon produces a new breed of supermen, except that his latest 'composite' creation is also a serial-killing vampire. While the mayhem keeps the cops busy,  the conspiracy spreads to a foreign dictatorship, where another composite is consolidating power through high-level murders. British agent Christopher Lee is ferreting out the conspiracy-- or is he part of it? Scream and Scream Again Blu-ray Twilight Time Limited Edition 1969 / Color / 1:78 widescreen / 95 min. / Ship Date October 13, 2015 / available through Twilight Time Movies / 29.95 Starring Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Alfred Marks, Christopher Matthews, Judy Huxtable, Yutte Stensgaard, Anthony Newlands, Michael Gothard Cinematography John Coquillon Production Design Bill Constable Film Editor Peter Elliott Original Music David Whitaker Written by Christopher Wicking from a novel by Peter Saxon Produced by Louis M. Heyward, Max Rosenberg, Milton Subotsky Directed by Gordon Hessler

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Scream and Scream Again hangs in there as a genre curiosity,...