Lâchez les monstres

Gordon Hessler was not all that great a director. He wasn't particularly good at setting up interesting shots or getting good performances out of his actors, but occasionally he managed by default to create a movie that was so completely off-the-wall and bizarre that those shortcomings could be forgotten.

SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN is a good example of that. It is by no means a good movie; in fact, it's really pretty bad. But you literally have no idea where it's headed, and by the time you get there, even though it's a tad underwhelming, it's still just oddball enough to keep you hooked.

Basically, it's the story of a serial killer who preys on bar-hopping women, and who, incidentally, seems to have superpowers of some sort. Or, maybe it's the story of a military conspiracy of some sort? Or is it the story of some kind of body parts black market? Believe it or not, all these seemingly unrelated plotlines eventually come together, and it's a wacky ride all the way.

The biggest disappointment for me, is the scarce screen time of headliners Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They literally have less than twenty minutes of screen time combined, and only Lee and Price even appear together, in one very brief scene. The main characters seem to be a disgruntled Scotland Yard detective, and a younger, less cynical police officer.

I recommend this movie to any fan of AIP or any of the three horror stars, but most people will not have the patience to sit through it. Fans will enjoy it, if only for it's sheer weirdness.

'Scream and Scream Again' is one of my favorites, even though it is ratherly poorly put together. The director tried to make the movie mysterious -- and succeeded too well, making it nearly incomprehensible. However, if you have patience, the final explanation at the end will tie enough of the film together to make rewarding sense.

The main attraction for this movie is its subtle atmosphere of horror. The movie mainly consists of fragmented images that come to gether to paint a darker picture than just what the movie shows. A good example of the texture and flavor of the film is the scene which, to my disappointment, was removed from the version I rented (I originally saw the film in a college Halloween movie festival). A coroner while alone investigating the death of a lovely women begins to move forward as if to kiss the corpse but is interrupted by the inspector entering the room. The surprised coroner quickly straightens up and tries to look very official and busy, but obviously is upset at having almost been caught being amorous to the corpse. No further reference was made to the scene.

This is an example of the extremely dark and upsetting images that lie just beneath the surface of the film. It is unfortunate that the director's attempt to involve the audience by making them work hard to piece together fragments of action into something comprehensible was mostly unsuccessful. Still, I think the film is worth the patience. My rating: 8 of 10.

A killer who has a literal thirst for blood is prowling the nightclubs for fresh young victims. The police decide to set a trap to catch this man. A young policewoman poses as his new victim while wearing a wire. The killer meets the young policewoman and takes her with him to a secluded spot where he proceeds to drink her blood...

Vincent Price in interviews a number of years after the film was made, said he never understood the script at all. Not surprising, as the novel featured aliens and the film changed them to Communists (or something like that). And that is probably the least of the problems...

I mean, the choking of women and the pointless blood sucking? A jogger who is getting his legs removed? Yellow acid for some sort of research? It does not really all add up. Really sweet cars, though.

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee appear, though not much. Heck, even Vincent Price does not really show up until the second half. But if you like these guys, do not mind waiting, and are okay with not really understanding what you are watching, check this one out.

Scream and Scream Again seems to want to be a very deep and complicated film. After all, it starts out by presenting three different, and apparently unrelated, plot lines, introduces new characters seemingly at the writers whim through the run time, and seems to pride itself on a grim and "realistic" portrayal of violence and death (while still allowing itself plenty of latitude for shock sequences and super-powered antagonists). Does it all work? Well, not entirely, but I have to give it some credit for trying.

Let's start with the biggest problem I have with this film, the bait-and-switch billing. Price, Lee, and Cushing sit majestically at the top of the credits, yet get precious little screen time, virtually none of it shared. Price is a doctor/mad scientist introduced early on, and then forgotten until the film starts winding down, Cushing has one scene and then dies, and Lee isn't even introduced until late in the film, where he serves as a plot device to tie everything together and wrap up.

Then there's the whole three-plot lines thing. The bulk of the film follows a police inspector on the trail of a psychotic, blood drinking, super-strong serial killer. (Gee, could he be a vampire? Ummmm... well, no.) Alongside that we have the story of a spy for some unnamed, oppressive regime. The over-the-top tone of these scenes clashes with the more mannered presentation of the inspector's story. The costumes and sets suggest a combination of Stalinist Russia, Nazi Germany, and rampant Satanism. (Sure, the symbol displayed on armbands, banners, windows, and any other available surface is probably supposed to evoke the bundled arrows of fascism, but it looks more like the head of a demonic pitchfork to me.) Then we have a series of scenes about a man who collapses while out jogging, and finds himself in a hospital room, where he is kept sedated most of the time while his limbs are gradually stolen in off-camera surgeries. None of this seems connected in any way until the end, when the true plot is revealed, and turns out to be something not particularly suggested by anything in the film up to that point.

Theoretically, this movie could still have worked, and if they had pulled it off, it might have been quite clever. But, even beyond the mismatched feel of the three plot lines, there are other problems which make SaSA feel like several different films forced to share one screen. The inspector becomes irrelevant to his own plot once things get rolling, his leading-man status usurped by the young assistant coroner, who was no more than a minor player for the whole first half of the film. The psycho leaves a nightclub with his latest victim, just in time to go out for "one last drink," and is followed and eventually chased by the police... in broad daylight. Apparently, the bars in England close much earlier than I thought. Add in an unnecessary shock scene or two (like the evil spy's interrogation of a pretty would-be defector, which doesn't seem to have any connection to the rest of the film), and you're starting to make a real mess of things.

Still, the resolution, while coming out of left field, does do a reasonable job of tying things together. But I still cannot recommend this film, mainly because I still feel cheated at the under-utilization of three of the greatest horror actors of all time.

What a bizarre movie! Scream and Scream Again is all over the place. It's a combination horror/sci-fi/mystery/espionage/thriller with sort of a James Bond twist. And it's a lot of fun.

To be honest, at the beginning of the film, I was lost. There are about four different plot lines that don't seem to have anything to do with each other. (1) There is a runner who collapses. Every time we see him after the collapse, he's in a hospital losing his limbs one at a time. (2) There is a vampire killer on the prowl in London. He attacks young women and drains them of their blood. (3) There are scenes of some fascist regime in some unknown country. The leaders of the regime are being killed one at a time. Also, people are being tortured for no apparent reason. (4) There are discussions going on in the uppermost levels of the British government that appear to have nothing to do with anything else. But, by the end of the film, most everything fits together quite nicely as a story about creating a master race.

Scream and Scream Again 'stars' Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. I say 'stars' because Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing are barely in the movie. In fact, Cushing has all of about 5 minutes of screen time. Alfred Marks as Supt.Bellaver is actually the star. He's a no nonsense policeman investigating the string of murders in London. In the end though, Price takes over and is wonderful. His mad doctor routine is terrific to watch.

There are some excellent moments in the film worth mentioning. The chase scene is one of the longest I've ever seen, ending with the killer losing a hand after being handcuffed to the front of a car. Another is the fight scene at the end between Vincent Price and leader of the fascists. There are also moments of tension as when the young doctor is snooping around Vincent Price's house.

This is a movie that you have to be patient with. Trust me, it all makes sense in the end.