And Now the Screaming Starts!


And Now the Screaming Starts! is a 1973 British gothic horror film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom, Patrick Magee, Stephanie Beacham and Ian Ogilvy. It is one of the few feature-length horror stories by Amicus, a company best known for anthology or "portmanteau" films.
The screenplay, written by Roger Marshall, is based on the 1970 novella Fengriffen by David Case. The film is also known as Fengriffen or Bride of Fengriffen.. The large gothic house used in the film is Oakley Court, near Bray village, which is now a four star hotel.

Premise

In 1795, newlyweds Catherine and Charles Fengriffen move into Charles' stately mansion. Catherine falls victim to a curse placed by a wronged servant on the Fengriffen family and its descendants.

Cast

The film received a lukewarm reception in Britain and America on its release. In the UK, And Now the Screaming Starts! went out on a double bill with the American horror film, Dr Death, Seeker of Souls. Jonathan Rosenbaum of Monthly Film Bulletin praised Denys Coop's camerawork and the acting performances, yet felt the film never quite realised its potential. A. H. Weiler reviewing the work in The New York Times commended Cushing's contribution, deeming it superior to the rest of the cast's, although considered its plot contrived. Mark Burger, reviewing a home video release for the Winston-Salem Journal in 2002, similarly noted the strong cast though found the muddled screenplay led to a merely "watchable" film.

Citations