The Night God Screamed

Great early 1970's "shocker"...if you are a fan of "Don't Look in the Basement", "Last House on the Left", or various late-night cheapie thrillers. The double shock ending on this one, is surprising and chilling! I'm surprised this movie is not well known by Psychotronic movie fans. The plot is original enough, the cast is a mixture of battle-worn old people and "blah" newcomers. The family / "teens" that Jeanne Craine goes to babysit for...are too old, and all the same age! This movie moves quite well (no boring parts) I think the producer was responsible for the equally obscure and weird 1973 movie "The Baby" (which also has a shock ending). Not on DVD, I had to buy the VHS on E-Bay. Look for this! "The Night God Screamed" must have played at drive ins at one point.

There are certain films that are really well written and very scary, but they are totally unlucky. I recall "Let's scare Jessica to death", which is a very very creepy movie, and you just hope this tension would end, at mean time you hope it would never end. Nobody talks about "Let's scare Jessica to death", and you can't find a DVD or data about it, or even watch it on TV. The same is applicable to "The night God scream", which is a very well written movie, that captures the real essence of horror. There are no zombies or special effects. No bowels or beheading and certainly no rotten corpses, but it's a hell of a movie that makes your blood freeze. You breathe with difficulty and you sit at the edge of the chair. Nobody really understands what the real horror is.. What you see in "Saw", "Van helsing" and "Scream" is just gore. I am not amazed that there was only one comment about such a great movie, because it was born unlucky like "Let's scare Jessica...". If you are not into gore and rotten corpses, and you think that apprehension is the real essence of horror, then do yourself a favor and go find this movie.

This unimaginably obscure gem of horror perfectly epitomizes why I, and surely many regular members of this website with me, absolutely worship the 70's decade! "The Night God Screamed" is genuinely creepy without there being much of a budget for make-up effects, the concept is very original and I even daresay unique, the tone throughout the whole film is devastating and grim, the acting performances are far better than they have any right to be and – even though it didn't even need one – the script provides a very clever and almost unpredictable twist near the end. Quite a number of 70's horror movies revolved on satanic cults and devil worshiping ("Enter the Devil", "The Devil's Rain", "Race with the Devil"…), but this film centers, or at least partially centers, on the members of a fanatic Catholic movement and I assure you these Jesus freaks are equally uncanny as Satanists; if not uncannier. Billy Joe, a self-acclaimed prophet oddly resembling Jesus Christ himself, and his herd of brainwashed disciples crucify a preacher before the eyes of his poor and defenseless wife Fanny. The woman testifies in court and the culprits are sentenced to death, but naturally not before Billy Joe swears he'll avenge himself. A certain time later, Fanny becomes stalked and terrorized by religious maniacs, not coincidentally whilst she's babysitting the (adolescent) kids of the judge that sentenced the verdict. In case of movies like "The Night God Screamed", the lack of budget is actually the biggest trump. Director Lee Madden obviously searched for different ways to create suspense and an atmosphere of disturbance, other than the usual visual shocks effects and grisly murders, and he definitely succeeded! The remote rural settings are sublime, the music is chilling and all the characters are terrifically cast. Jeanne Crain is excellent as the dame in distress and especially the Jesus freak dude is supremely eerie. But, undeniably, the biggest triumph here remains the simple yet effective story. "The Night God Screamed" doesn't rely on zombies, vampires or supernatural phenomena. The menace here comes from seemingly normal human beings, with their unpredictable moves and dark twisty minds. It's a truly great film, and I know it's difficult to track down, but luckily enough the people looking for this type of cinematic gold are very persistent.

What is it with the 70's and religious Horror? What is it with the 70's and Charles Manson? Who the hell knows? All I know is, I'm glad I gave this movie a chance. I've been collecting obscure Horror for years, and I've never even heard of The Night God Screamed until just recently. It's never been on TV, at least not where I live, and there's certainly no DVD's to be had. I just got my hands on an old VHS. It's always extra satisfying to unearth something this rare. This is true quality Horror. Billy Joe Harlan has it pretty good, this guy has a cult of followers, plenty of dope, aspirations to be like Charles Manson, and an ego outweighed only by a God-complex. So, why all the hate? I mean, The uni-brow problem is easily solved, I'm certain they had tweezers in '71, so, it can't be that. Maybe it's the fact that there's a new preacher in town, and this lunatic thinks he's entitled to all the Church's offerings. Mr. Preacher won't give it up so easily. Charles... I mean Billy Joe then does what any insane uni-brow with a God complex would do. Yep, a crucifixion, right in front of the wife, nonetheless. Although unharmed, the now widowed Mrs. Pierce walks away slightly damaged, yet more than sane enough to help put Billy Joe and his accomplices away. Let's not forget the uni-brow has other followers who are more than willing to avenge their leader. Revenge is coming, and you'll probably think you see it coming a mile away, but chances are high you won't. Truly incredible Horror with a truly incredible twist. I can't praise this movie enough. The Night God Screamed is every bit as effective as others from the era, like Don't Look In The Basement, if you liked that one, you'll like this, and if you haven't even seen that one, forget about this one for now, because Don't Look In The Basement should be a bigger priority, trust me. If you're not impressed with all that modern, big-budget, PG-13 garbage that clogs up the theaters, then maybe an unknown, Horror gem which relies on nothing but suspense and atmosphere, is just what you need. Recommended to real Horror fans... and of course, any Charles Manson enthusiasts out there. 8/10

Jeanne Crain is one of the best actresses ever, and in this, one of her last performances to date, she proves that talent never fades away. The plot is hard to explain without giving the ending away, but it is SCARY. It is not a slice-and-dice, this film uses real terror, the kind where you have no idea what's going to happen. A fabulous movie, but don't watch it alone.