Review of And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) by Shelly B — 29 Sep 2008

I'm not even a fan of GREAT horror movies, so a middle-of-the-road cheepie like this one doesn't stand a chance. Between a dull story that takes WAY too long to get going, terrible special effects, poor atmosphere that can't support the film that relies ENTIRELY on creepiness, and the inexcusable crime of utterly wasting Peter Cushing, there's very little good to say about Now the Screaming Starts.

Nobody in the cast manages to generate any interest in their characters, and the plot mostly meanders from one set piece to the next without creating any sort of forward monentum. Also, the strangely abrupt editing causes the film to feel like a clip show, as if we're watching the key points of a much longer film with all the nonessential stuff clipped out.

This is not a good thing for any movie, let alone in a creepy genre that lives or dies by elements that really aren't "important" to the plot. I admit that the ending packs a bit of a punch, but it's far too little, far too late.

Forgetable.