~~And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973)
Directed by Roy Ward Baker; written by Roger Marshall, from the novella "Fengriffen" by David Case.
Some say no evil thing that walks by night,
In fog or fire, by lake or moorish fen,
Blue meagre hag, or stubborn unlaid ghost
That breaks his magic chains at curfew time,
No goblin, or swart fairy of the mine,
Hath hurtful power o'er true virginity.
-- Cromus by John Milton, lines 432 to 437
. . . for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation . . .
-- Exodus 20:5 (excerpt), King James Version
Both of these quotes feature prominently in the gothic horror film ~~And Now the Screaming Starts!. (Yes, both the exclamation point and the very strange double tilde appear in the title, making it the the typographically oddest film title I know, with the possible exception of the 1971 heist comedy $.) The first, from a 1634 masque by the great poet and seen early in the film, can only be taken as a bitterly ironic prediction of events to follow. In the universe in which this movie takes place, both human and supernatural evil have very hurtful power indeed over "true virginity." The Biblical quote, which appears just before the closing credits, is a sadly accurate commentary on the story we have just seen, although the visiting of the iniquity of an ancestor is by no means the work of God, but something much more sinister.
The story is set in the late 18th century. Our protagonist is a young woman on her way to a stately manor home, in order to be married to the young, handsome lord. They seem to be very much in love, and some parts of this movie suggest a Gothic Romance novel. As we'll see, however, events will be much more horrible than romantic.
Within a few minutes the bride-to-be sees a ghostly figure, with a bloody stump where one hand should be, and two bloody gaping holes where eyes should be, emerging from the portrait of her husband-to-be's grandfather. Very soon thereafter we see a severed hand crawling on the floor, and it's only a short time later when we witness the unfortunate young woman attacked in her bed by the spectral hand.
At this point it seems as if the movie is going to be an old-fashioned, spooky, slightly silly haunted house flick, with the gruesome but somewhat laughable crawling hand strangling folks. However, the movie has several unexpected surprises in store, and its tone grows darker as it goes on.
I will not discuss plot details, but it won't surprise you that the story involves a Dark Family Secret. Suffice to say that first-billed Peter Cushing doesn't show up until about halfway through the movie. Appropriate to the time period, he plays a man of the Enlightment, a skeptical doctor summoned to examine the young woman's mental health. Second-billed Herbert Lom doesn't show up until even later, in a flashback sequence which explains the source of the haunting. Third-billed Patrick Magee shows up pretty early, but he plays a small part. The movie really belongs to fourth-billed Stephanie Beacham as the tormented woman, and she does a fine job, worthy of those three more famous actors.
~~And Now the Screaming Starts! has a reputation of being mediocre. One of the few full-length horror films from Amicus, a studio better known for its horror anthologies, I found it compelling, growing even more so as the story progressed. It seems to me that this movie might appeal a bit more to some female horror fans than some male horror fans. Not only is there a touch of romance, in a few brief scenes of tender intimacy; not only is the protagonist beautiful, and dressed in an array of lovely gowns; but elements of the story may seem more powerful to some women.
