Review of And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) by Tony P — 02 Nov 2015

Early 1970s UK horror from Amicus productions who were more known for their horror anthology films such as Asylum and The Beast Must Die.

Here the film isn't an anthology but a straight horror cum period drama.

Set in the 18th Century this film focuses on a rich family haunted by demons from the family past some fifty years prior.

The demons involve graphic scenes of rape and limb dismemberment resulting in a severed hand cropping up in several scenes involving the supposed madness of Stephanie Beacham's character Catherine Fengriffin.

However after a good hour we find she isn't mad at all but the victim of a vendetta resulting from the barbaric acts of her newly related ancestor grandfather (Herbert Lom as Henry Fengriffin).

Peter Cushing makes a brief appearance as surprise, surprise a doctor.

Cushing (the legend that he is) gets top billing for a few minutes appearance in the film that could have been filmed in a day.

The film is slow moving until the story of the Fengriffin family unravels in the final act.

The credits at the beginning reveal the story is based on a book Fengriffin. One wonders if is in print?

The review of Cushing work goes on.