Review of The Shout (1978) by Christopher S — 19 Jan 2010
Either this film about a mystery man who moves in and, Rasputin-style, takes over the lives of a couple is too deep for me or just incredibly inane and pointless. Either way, I want my 90 minutes back.
Alan Bates as the man is telling his story in flashback to Tim Curry (who had absolutely no reason to be here except as a sounding board for Bates) during a cricket match in a mental hospital. Looking back now, this makes me wonder whether any of this actually happened, or if it's in the mind of Bates, seeing as he's a patient in the hosptial.
Anyway, the title refers to the "Terror Shout" -- a scream that Bates learned during 18 years living in the Australian Outback. This "Shout" can -- and does -- kill any creature that hears it.
Why an entire film was based on something that only appears once in the film is beyond me. The only good thing about the film was a VERY young, very thin Jim Broadbent. He plays one of the mental patients who gets caught in the rain during the match and proceeds to strip off all his clothes down to his undies and yell and rub mud all over himself.
He must have anticipated the response of the audience to this film. Not "fun" bad. Just bad.
This review of The Shout (1978) was written by Christopher S on 19 Jan 2010.
The Shout has generally received positive reviews.
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