Scream of fear - Hammer Films

Scream of Fear (originally titled Taste of Fear in Britain), the first and best of the psychological thrillers to come out of Hammer Studios, was produced in the wake of Psycho's international success but actually owes more to the cool calculation and grueling psychodrama of Henri-George Clouzot's Les Diaboliques. Susan Strasberg stars as the estranged daughter of a continental millionaire who arrives at his Cote d'Azur estate only to find her father mysteriously gone "on a business trip." When his corpse keeps popping up in the strangest places, only to disappear when her stepmother arrives, she concludes she's the target of a campaign to drive her mad. Ronald Lewis costars as the darkly handsome chauffeur and Christopher Lee makes a memorable appearance as a suspicious doctor. Director Seth Holt deftly handles the twisting curves of Jimmy Sangster's fairly ingenious screenplay, and though at times it telegraphs its secrets, there are plenty of dramatic jolts in the beautifully realized set pieces, notably a spooky underwater swim in a weed-filled swimming pool and a startling bang smack in the middle of the film. It falters in spots (the sudden outpouring of exposition at the conclusion spoils the mood, although it's quickly redeemed by a shocking climax), but the handsome production, elegantly photographed in shadowy black and white by Douglas Slocombe, remains a gripping thriller. --Sean Axmaker

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• hammer films
• horror
• psychological thrillers
• classic