The Offspring

Of the many horror films I used to alleviate childhood boredom, this one was indelibly etched into my brain and probably will be forever. A cinematic achievement of unparalleled depravity, this Vincent Price vehicle (filmed in the Autumn of his life) contains incest, rape, child molestation, necrophilia, voodoo, glass-eating, slavery, mutilations, dismemberment, vengeance and allusions to cannibalism. By genre standards, the scripting, filming and performances were, for the most part, excellent and the work contains enough scatology to hold the interest of even the most reluctant horror/exploitation filmgoer. View this work if you would like to see an exaggerated depiction of humanity at it most malignant neatly condensed into four vignettes.

From a Whisper to a Scream (1987)

*** (out of 4)

After the execution of a serial killer, a reporter goes to a small Tennessee historian (Vincent Price) who tells her four stories dealing with a small town's history.

The first story centers on a man (Clu Culager) who takes care of his severely ill sister but it leads to murder. The second story has a white trash man (Terry Kiser) getting shot and running into the woods where he ends up under the care of an elderly black man (Harry Caesar) who knows voodoo. The third story deals with a carnival side show where the glass eater falls in love with someone outside the troupe, which doesn't sit well with the owner. The fourth and final story is set during the Civil War where an evil Union soldier (Cameron MItchell) ends up in a house of horrors led by children.

This film is also known as THE OFFSPRING but no matter which title you want to call it the film itself is actually pretty darn good. Director Jeff Burr will always be remembered for the disastrous studio tampering of LEATHERFACE: Texas CHAINSAW MASSACRE III. This film here is certainly a real gem among the type of horror films that were being released during this period. It perfectly captures the anthology films of the 1960s but adds a touch of violence and gore that was so popular during the 80s. While none of the four tales are excellent, each of them are at least entertaining and make for a fun movie.

Again, none of the four stories are wonderful and all four are rather predictable but they are fun. The first one has a very weird incest vibe that runs through it but it also offers up some memorable gore as well as a very good performance from Culager. The second story is familiar voodoo material but the two performances are quite good and the final twist is wonderfully sinister. The third story with "going against the circus" is again predictable but the ending is just perfect. Once again the gore effects from Rob Burman really pack a nice little punch. Finally, the Civil War sequence gives us a terrific performance from Mitchell and the story itself is the most original and once again it adds some nice twists.

Of course, one of the biggest draws are the wrap around events that feature Vincent Price. While he basically just sits and talks, it's great fun seeing the actor in good form. You'll also want to look quickly for Laurence Tierney, Martine Beswicke and Angelo Rossitto who some will remember from Al Adamson's Dracula VS FRANKENSTEIN. Director Burr does a nice job with the low-budget and he certainly makes the film look very professional on such a budget. The film really does a nice job at building up the atmosphere of the anthology and all four films really work well together. FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is certainly a good little gem.

The magnificent Vincent Price can be seen in several great Horror omnibuses from the 60s ("Tales of Terror", "Twice Told Tales"), and while the Horror-deity's screen-time is sadly limited in "The Offspring", this 80s feature is yet another highly recommendable omnibus starring Price. The popularity of Horror omnibuses/anthologies (more or less) began with the British 1945 classic "Dead of Night" and had its heyday in the 60s with films such as the aforementioned Vincent Price classics or the great Mario Bava's masterpiece "I Tre Volti Della Paura" ("Black Sabbath"/"The Three Faces of Fear", 1963, my choice for the greatest Horror omnibus out there), and 70s. The British Company Amicus even specialized in only doing Horror omnibuses, which resulted in such wonderful flicks as "The House That Dripped Blood" (1970) or "Torture Garden" (1967). A thing most of these anthologies have in common is that the separate tales they tell usually differ in quality, with one or two (depending on how many tales per film are told) usually standing out from the others. This cannot really be said about "From a Whisper to a Scream" as each of the tales is quite creepy and atmospheric and about equally memorable, and the question which is the best lies in the personal taste of the viewer.

The film, which is entirely set in the small town of Oldfield, Tennessee, starts with the execution of a female serial killer (cult siren Martine Beswick). When reporter Beth Chandler (Susan Tyrell), who witnessed the execution, pays a visit to the convict's sinister uncle Julian White (Vincent Price), he tells her that the town of Oldfield has always been evil, which he exemplifies by telling her four macabre stories.

All four stories are macabre, morbid and delightfully creepy. The first one (starring Clu Gulager) is a weird, quite explicit and very creepy tale deals with delicate psycho-sexual topics. The second chapter, a haunting tale about a lowlife crook who stumbles upon the secret of eternal life, is more elaborate and maybe even creepier than the first one. The third tale is about a traveling circus and voodoo, and as everyone who knows anything about Horror knows, circus folks are amongst the creepiest creatures one will ever stumble upon. Rosalind Cash is fantastic as a diabolical voodoo witch. Another creepiest species present in Horror cinema have always been... creepy children, and the fourth and final tale is another proof that kids can be more terrifying than anything. Set in the final days of the Civil War, the fourth story tells the tale of a bunch of brutal and ruthless soldiers, who happen to find an equal in a town full of orphans....

My main complaint about "From a Whisper to a Scream" is the fact that icon Vincent Price, who happens to be my favorite actor of all time, has too little screen-time. He merely serves as a narrator and sadly doesn't appear in any of the stories. Otherwise, the film actually surpassed my expectations. While it isn't the best Horror anthology ever made, the tension and creepiness doesn't stop and each tale macabre and highly entertaining. The film is gory, and its sense of humor is very morbid. Apart from Price, notable cast members include former Bond-girl, cave-babe and 'Sister Hyde' Martine Beswick, as well as Lawrence Tierney.

This was only the second film by director Jeff Burr ("Texas Chainsaw Massacre III"), and for that one must say he did an amazing job. "The Offspring" is a surprisingly good and highly entertaining 80s Horror omnibus, the only disappointment being that Vincent Price has too little screen time. Highly recommended.

Next to the British TALES FROM THE CRYPT and Corman's TALES OF TERROR, THE OFFSPRING is one my favorite horror anthology film. It makes CAT'S EYE and CREEPSHOW 2 look pitiful by comparison.

The thing I liked the best about THE OFFSPRING(aside form Vincent Price being in it, of course) was that each story ran as long as it had to. If I recall correctly, there are four stories, and with the tie-in sequences, that makes for a fast-paced viewing. The film focuses on the gruesome incidents involving a semingly cursed town, and the people who had passed through it. Price is perfectly creepy as the town's "caretaker" as he unravels one story after another of strange occurrences.

The sequence with Clu Gulager is simply disgusting, the cheap effects almost ruining the ending.

The story about voodoo is good, as is the Civil war sequence.

I like THE OFFSPRING a lot, mostly because it has more balls and imagination that most of the films that pretend to be horror films nowadays. And it is the last starring appearance of the late-great Vincent Price, reason enough to check it out.

When I say that I somehow overlooked THE OFFSPRING (aka FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM) when it came out during the late 80's, I'm basically summing up this movie's history. It's unrighteously overlooked and forgotten. It's a very satisfying horror-anthology that is slightly more dark and gory than its counterparts released during that period (CAT'S EYE, CREEPSHOW 2,...). The wraparound story has reporter Bess Chandler travelling to the town of Oldfield. She's there to interview the uncle of executed serial killer Katherine White. The uncle, played by horror-icon Vincent Price, lives in this house full of books which contain the history of Oldfield. Through four stories Julian White reveals to Bess the evil that dwells in Oldfield.

The first story had me fearing the worst, because the acting was rather poor. Just when I was about to think this was gonna be a lame story about a guy going nuts and killing some women, there was the act of necrophilia (not shown, though) and the completely unexpected twist in the end. Since this was the least successful story of the four, I was in for a treat. Because every story got better and better. Just for the fun of it I made up a title for every episode (because they actually don't have any in the movie).

"Brother Dearest": Clu Gulager (best known to horror-fans for his role in THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD) plays Stanley Burnside, a timid man who lives with his ill sister. He falls in love with his boss, but it turns out she's not interested. It seems that Stanley doesn't handle rejection well, as the walls of his sanity begin crumbling down.

"Swamp Renewal": This part seemed to be made by a total different director, but it was not. The tone and camera-work was different. It revolves around Jesse Hardwicke, first rate trailer trash, who gets chased into the swamps by two gangsters. Mortally wounded he loses consciousness. An old man takes him under his care. This is more a voodoo-like tale with an anti-greed message. The music was memorable and so was the shock-ending.

"Of Glass And Pins": A very creepy carnival story with the goriest death-scene of them all. Steven Arden is known as the Glass Eater, an act of the carnival's freakshow. Amaryllis, one of the spectators, is desperately in love with him. But all the freaks of this carnival are under the spell of Snake Woman, and she will not tolerate any of her freaks leaving the circus, not even for love's sake.

"Children Of The Civil War": This is basically the gory freaked out version of CHILDREN OF THE CORN, disguised as a period piece. I really liked the way the story unfolded. The creepy kids gave decent performances and the atmosphere was terrific.

The wraparound story itself wasn't anything special, though. But still this is a decent anthology horror movie (despite its rather small budget) with good, solid short stories, all including a nice twist in the end. There's enough blood and (mild) gore to keep every horror-fan amused. When we look at writer/director Jeff Burr's resume, THE OFFSPRING might easily be one of his best genre efforts. It's worth seeking this one out.