Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Lawbolisted Powerful

Pluskylang Great Film overall

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

BA_Harrison Virginal newlywed Catherine Fengriffen (Stephanie Beacham) moves into her husband's ancestral home where she suffers from horrific visions of a man with a severed hand and bloody eye sockets. Catherine thinks she's losing the plot, but hubby Charles (Ian Ogilvy) knows better: his family is under a curse brought about decades earlier by his wicked, hedonistic grandfather Henry (Herbert Lom) who violated a woodsman's wife on her wedding night. Psychologist Dr. Pope (Peter Cushing), who has been brought in to treat Catherine, slowly begins to unravel the mystery...And Now The Screaming Starts sets out to do two things—jangle the nerves, and stir the loins of its male viewers—both of which it does well. Seasoned horror director Roy Ward Baker expertly handles his spooky material, carefully crafting a creepy atmosphere that keeps the viewer on edge throughout, and peppers proceedings with a few effective jump scares for good measure; meanwhile, gorgeous star Beacham sets the pulses pounding, her heaving bosom barely restrained by her long line of cleavage enhancing outfits.Admittedly Beacham's incessant histrionics can get a little irritating at times, and the pacing is perhaps a little too slow for some, but there's enough good stuff here to keep most fans of Gothic '70s British horror more than happy, including a cool crawling hand (a nifty 'clockwork' special effects creation), Cushing in a foppish wig, Lom being utterly despicable as horrid Henry (the actor delivering his debauched dialogue with relish), and Ogilvy desecrating a grave with an axe, pulling the mouldy corpse out and giving it a damn good kicking!

Spikeopath -- And Now the Screaming Starts! Was an attempt by Amicus Productions to move away from the Portmantaeu movies that was their stock in trade, to make a horror movie of only one story. The reason is not to compete with Hammer Films, since there really was no rivalry between the two companies, but just to show that they could if they so chose to go that route as well. What is evident is that their inexperience in this department shows greatly, making the film an enjoyable misfire, if ultimately a frustrating experience.Story is set in the late 18th century and newlyweds Charles and Catherine Fengriffen move into Charles' family estate. Almost immediately Catherine starts to have terrifying visions, even experiencing what she feels is definite contact with something not of the natural world. Is she going mad? Or is there something seriously malevolent lurking around the dark corridors of Fengriffen Mansion?What follows is a number of fun and creepy horror sequences very poorly glued together by a minimalist back story and thin characterisations, the Amicus production team just hurtling as quick as possible to the next scene involving Stephanie Beacham being freaked out and screaming. And of course for us to observe her quite magnificent heaving bosom. On reflection it's a collage of more famous and better movies, so a portmanteau movie that's not actually a portmanteau movie! The cast list features Peter Cushing, Herbert Lom and Patrick Magee. Cushing doesn't show up until late in the day, and as classy as he was as an actor, he is phoning it in here. Lom only appears in an extended cameo flashback, which is annoying since the character is deliciously warped, sort of what Emeric Belasco was for Legend of Hell House. While I'm still not sure what Magee's purpose in the film was? Seriously!Beacham and Ian Ogilvy's new marriage just sort of sits there without rhyme or reason, interesting threads such as Cushing taking an interest in sexual relations with demons never get expanded upon, and really there's no big finale to crown the story; though skeleton abuse does hold some macabre enjoyment value. Yet in spite of all its problems, it's still a fun night in with the lights off. Beacham's bosom, severed limbs and a vengeful curse from the past ensure it's worth watching for sure. 6/10

Joseph Brando Catherine has just married her husband Charles and moved into his family's castle and before their wedding night arrives she is seeing haunting visions and is raped by by a ghost. As she slowly unravels the mystery of her husbands' family history, anyone trying to help her is killed off. Sound like a good plot? It really should be and is about as nasty as these types of films tend to get, but the way the production is handled just does not make the most of the story and instead relies too much on poorly executed, for the most part, special effects and jump- scares. Amicus Studios, the 2nd runner up of 1960's British Horror, and most famous for their portmanteau horror films (Tales From The Crypt, Asylum, Torture Garden etc...) brings us this so-so Gothic thriller from 1973. There are some good things going for the film, including a decent cast comprised of Ian Ogilvy, Stephanie Beacham, Peter Cushing and Herbert Lom, some very nice settings and lots of interesting camera-work. Unfortunately it is also anchored down by a slow-moving story and some poorly done special effects. However, you certainly could do a lot worse than this. And if you are a fan of the Hammer/Amicus films, you will certainly want to check it out at least once.

caprice1221 This movie screamed me to death when I was sixteen hiding under the covers, eating butter popcorn. I saw this not too long ago on AMC.It is about a recent married couple moving into a huge mansion-castle, in late 1700s in England. The Bride is haunted by a painting of her husband's grandfather's portrait. She is frighteningly drawn to it. She sees a floating severe hand coming out of the portrait. Her husband at first thinks it is nerves and brings a doctor to come to her side. The doctor wants him to tell her the truth of a dark family secret, her husband refuses insist that it is fairly tale. The doctor tells him, "If you don't I will." Then suddenly he is afraid and does not.What Dark Family Secret is her husband hiding? Why won't he tell her the truth? Why is portrait of his grandfather haunts her so?