SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN (1969)

Director: Gordon Hessler

Writers: Christopher Wicking, based on the novel The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon (pen name)

Producers: Milton Subotsky, Max J. Rosenberg

Cast: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Alfred Marks, Michael Gothard, Marshall Jones, Uta Levka, Christopher Matthews, Judi Bloom, Judy Huxtable, Anthony Newlands, Yutte Stensgaard, Clifford Earl, Peter Sallis, Kenneth Benda, Julia Holloway, Nigel Lambert, Amen Corner (the band as themselves)

A jogger collapses in London and awakens in a hospital bed to find one of his legs has been removed with no explanation from his cold and silent nurse. There is also a series of brutal murders of young women being committed by someone draining the victims’ blood. Meanwhile in a fascist country, a cold-blooded member of its military rule is killing to ascend to a higher position of power. All three of these scenarios eventually prove to be related. 

The Flashback Fanatic movie review

I don’t like to reveal spoilers when reviewing films. In this case, I hate to discuss too many story developments, because the wild and crazy ride this film takes you on is all the more satisfying for seeing how three seemingly unrelated plots connect. This eccentric approach to the story has drawn a lot of criticism or indifference over the years. The same people that can’t appreciate it are probably thinking Quentin Tarantino was a genius for doing the same thing twenty-five years later in Pulp Fiction (1994). I am not suggesting Tarantino ripped off this film in any sense. I will say that the tying together of different parallel events and characters in a screenplay was much more unusual back in 1969. I will also say that this can create a sense of unease and dislocation in the viewer that enhances the paranoid feeling that Scream and Scream Again strives for.

Scream and Scream Again is a very unique film with a mix of genres that keeps it constantly moving and unpredictable. It is first and foremost a horror film with science fiction, sociopolitical, and police procedural elements. The ultimate concerns the story raises are that we may not know who the hell is really in charge and we may not be able to do anything about it.

Most horror fans are drawn to this flick because of the three heavy-hitters of horror in the cast: Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Some of those same fans are soured because all three actors are not featured more prominently. Cushing’s role is really just a cameo and he only interacts with one other main cast member, but not with Price or Lee. Price gets the most screen time, but only shares a single scene with Lee. However, the absolutely cold and brutal Marshall Jones as Konratz interacts with all three. This character is one truly despicable badass. His idea of a chicken dinner isn’t fingerlickin’ good.

Other cast members of note are Alfred Marks as detective superintendent Bellaver and Michael Gothard as “the vampire killer.” Marks is just great as the acerbic and weary member of law enforcement trying to catch the serial murderer. I am not familiar with Marks’ other work, but his main forte is comedy, which explains how good he is with his offhand humor in his role. Gothard is just plain mean once he stops being mod and charming. He provides plenty of surprises for the cops and the audience.

Gordon Hessler’s direction keeps things edgy and energetic. The film has a pretty cold and brutal tone throughout. Hessler kept pretty busy around this time on horror assignments. This film, as well as his work on The Oblong Box (1969), should have been much more appreciated in their day. Fortunately, both films were quite successful and are becoming more appreciated in recent years. Some consider Scream and Scream Again a cult film, though almost any offbeat and fondly remembered old movie seems to earn cult status these days. The famous German director Fritz Lang was supposed to be crazy about it.

Christopher Wicking’s script is also largely responsible for the unique qualities of this movie, yet it is surprisingly faithful to the novel it is based upon, The Disorientated Man by Peter Saxon (pen name). The film’s omission of an extraterrestrial basis for the plot is an improvement. This makes the origins of the menace more vague and disturbing. It doesn’t let man off the hook as being his own worst enemy when science is used to achieve power.