Hurler de peur

Atmospheric Hammer thriller with great sets (including a deceptively deep pool!). It feels a little slow in the middle, as it covers familiar "Gaslight"-type territory, but the final stretch has several clever twists which are worth waiting for, and a killer ending (no pun intended). Susan Strasberg is very good in the lead; perhaps the movie's only mistake is Christopher Lee's French accent! *** out of 4.

Scream of Fear aka Taste of Fear (1961) is a marvelous, unknown (at least to me) Hammer film. The story concerns a girl in a wheelchair going to live with her Dad whom she hasn't seen in years. Upon arrival, she meets her stepmother for the first time and is informed that her Dad is away on business. That night, she investigates a strange light in the summer house and discovers here dead father. In her horrified state, she falls into the pool. After she's revived, an investigation of the summer house reveals nothing. As the strange events continue to occur, the local doctor begins to doubt her sanity. But, with the help of the chauffeur, she's determined to get to the bottom of the mystery before she is either killed or driven insane. Anymore of the story would ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie.

I've seen some call Scream of Fear "predictable". While I agree to a certain extent, there are enough twists and turns in the plot to keep most anyone guessing. While I may have seen some of the events coming, I could have never guessed the ending. To me, it was an "edge of the seat" movie from start to finish.

The acting is first rate. All four of the major characters are brilliantly played. Susan Strasberg is convincingly fragile as the wheelchair-bound Penny Appleby. Ronald Lewis and Ann Todd are perfect as the chauffeur and stepmother, respectively. And, although all he does is come to dinner and talk psycho mumbo jumbo, Christoper Lee is mysterious and convincing as Dr. Gerrard.

Everything else about this film, from the beautiful black & white photography to the creepy score, is perfect. I've really got nothing bad to say.

Any fan of Hitchcock(ian) suspense and/or horror should track down this film...you won't be disappointed. This is one film where the actors really seemed to love being in their perspective roles...this is full of unexpected thrills! unpredictable twists and turns...this one will keep you guessing and watching. Don't miss it!

This is quite possibly the best of the Hammer films, it's labeled as 'horror', but is more of a classic psychological thriller. The plot revolves around Susan Strasberg's visit to her father's estate after a decade of estrangement. Her physical condition (in a wheelchair, unable to walk after a horseback riding accident) and the recent death of her long time companion set her up to be the 'perfect victim'.

Her step mother, Ann Todd, and the family chauffeur Ronald Lewis are oh-so accommodating and thoughtful, explaining that her father is out of town. But, Strasberg starts to see dead dad popping up all over, while Todd, Lewis, and family doctor Christopher Lee try to persuade her she's just stressed and overly-imaginative. Is she crazy? Are they gas-lighting her? Although the viewer will remain suspicious, we are wisely kept in the dark as to motives (of all the characters..) until the final twist. The black and white photography is really well done -moody, shadowy - and is probably as important as the characters which is not the usual Hammer screamer in intense shades of red.

Back in 1973 I had a Bell and Howell 16mm projector and used to hire films to show to family and others.

This film was one of them and I can remember it scaring people back then.

Yesterday I watched it again through a modern projector, as BBC 2 had shown it recently, and thought it was just as good now as back in 1973.

It benefits from being shot in black and white, the acting is very good from all the cast, and there are some scary moments, the swimming pool being an obvious one.

It is really good to see an old fashioned horror film with no over-the-top effects, just a genuinely chilling story, well worth waiting for it to be shown again as not sure if available on DVD or video.