Scream of Fear

source: Scream of Fear

Multiple reviews, and even the BBC announcement voice-over, are stating that "Taste of Fear" is arguably one of the greatest films Hammer Studios ever brought forward. This is quite a challenging enunciation, as Hammer were responsible for an incredibly long list of genre classics, varying from old-fashioned monster films to thought-provoking Sci-Fi movies and psychological thrillers. "Taste of Fear" definitely belongs in the last category, but personally I wouldn't say it's their absolute best film. The quality and execution of Jimmy Sangster's screenplay is on par with their similar films "Nightmare", "Paranoiac" and "Hysteria", but since "Taste of Fear" came out a handful of years before those titles, I suppose it's entitled to a little bit of extra admiration. But still, the concepts of all these films are derivative of the French masterpiece "Les Diaboliques", so we can only really praise Hammer for imaginatively imitating the original milestone at least four times. "Taste of Fear" is an atmosphere-driven and convoluted black & white chiller, but the direction of Sangster's script is slightly too predictable and it waits only until the climax before surprising the viewer with a couple of truly awesome and unexpected twists. The wheelchair bound Penny Appleby travels to her parental house in the French Riviera, supposedly at the request of her father but he isn't even there to welcome her when she arrives. According to her exaggeratedly friendly stepmother and the housing staff, her father is away on a business trip, but Penny soon begins to spot his lifeless body at several places on the estate. There are never any witnesses and the local doctor as well as the stepmother thinks she's hallucinating. With the help of the charming chauffeur Bob, Penny assumes that her father is really dead, and that it is the stepmother's plan to drive her insane and subsequently claim the inheritance. But before they can go to the police, she'll first have to proof that her father got murdered. Seth Holt masterfully builds up a brooding suspense and ominous atmosphere, but the pacing is a little too slow and the film lacks a few efficient shock elements to keep you attentive. However, there are some creepy images to enjoy, most notably the times when Penny spots her father's corpse around the house. The last 10 minutes are downright brilliant and definitely compensate for the rather tame middle section. Douglas Slocombe's camera-work is utterly stylish and surely contributes to the film's macabre atmosphere. Even though Christoper Lee always remains a truly reliable performer, the French accent isn't his strongest point.

Taste of Fear starts as a woman's body is pulled from a lake... Jump forward two weeks later as a wheelchair bound young lady named Penny Appleby (Susan Strasberg) touches down in France, she is met at the airport by Robert (Ronald Lewis) her father's chauffeur & is driven to his house. After not seeing her father for 10 years having lived with her mother until she recently drowned he invited her to live with him & his wife & her step-mom Jane (Ann Todd) who are now her only legal living relatives, however Jane says that her father suddenly left for work reasons a few weeks ago & has not returned. Penny becomes suspicious when investigating a light in their summerhouse she sees what she thinks is her father's dead body but then disappears shortly after, is Penny losing her mind or is something more sinister going on... Also known as Scream of Fear this British production was directed by Seth Holt & is a different sort of Hammer film than one might associate with the studio but is still one of their best films, period. The script by producer Jimmy Sangster is a well written & makes for an excellent & very effective psychological horror thriller. At only 80 odd minutes in length it moves along at a great pace but still manages to develop it's character's & it's engaging storyline. Then there's the really good twists which basically turns everyone & everything on it's head & completely reverses & twists almost everything that has gone before & while one might say what happens is implausible it makes for a terrific film. Director Holt does OK on what was probably a low budget, the film has a simple yet effective style to it & the 50's/60's decor gives the film a nice look. Some of the sets don't overly convince that your in France all the time & Christopher Lee's French accent isn't great but the film has a nice atmosphere & manages to build up a fair amount of tension & intrigue. Don't expect any gore or violence as there isn't any as Taste of Fear relies on excellent storytelling rather than special effects. Technically the film looks nice enough with clean, crisp & clear black and white photography & generally speaking it's well made throughout. The acting is very good by a decent cast & despite his French accent Christopher Lee is somewhat underused. Taste of Fear is a great film & it's as simple & straight forward as that really, definitely worth a watch & highly recommend if you like your horror psychological.

As my title suggests, "Scream of Fear" (UK title) is barely known and this is hardly surprising since the film is very rarely shown in the UK and last time was put on at half past three in the morning - therefore unlikely to pick up many new admirers. I consider this to be very poor treatment of a movie that serves as a great example of the sort of thriller we used to be able to produce in this country. A brief summary of the story is that wheel-chair bound Penny Appleby travels to France to re-unite with her father who she has not seen for some nine years and to meet her new step-mother. Her father is not there when she arrives however and she begins to get suspicious that all is not as it seems... This can arguably be ranked among the best of the Hammer Horror series (though of course there are some other worthy contenders) with more emphasis on the cinematography, the script, the chilling atmosphere and great acting than things like painfully obvious plastic bats on strings that mar other efforts. The story is a little predictable and cliché, but it is well-worked and contains some genuine surprises and real chills. I saw some twists coming, but certainly not all. The similarity to Psycho is clear, but the tone also reminded me a little of another Hitchcock classic, Rebecca. The setting of the creepy French villa adds a great macabre touch to the proceedings, but the brilliant swimming pool scene is the one that sticks in the mind long after viewing. The filming of it in black and white is very effective and the lack of gaudy primary colours that dominate many of the Hammer films (due to the fact they were the first horror films in colour) is welcome. Of course this was filmed in Black Park in Buckinghamshire and not France but the production looks deceptively expensive. For anybody who hasn't seen it, do not expect this to be a Christopher Lee film (though it has been billed as such on the BBC) per se as his actual screen time is limited at best, though he makes a solid contribution as always. Instead it is left to Susan Strasberg, Ann Todd and Ronald Lewis to carry the film and they play their parts to perfection. "Scream of Fear" not available on DVD anywhere as far as I know except Japan, but this is well worth looking up for anybody who enjoys a good thriller or horror.

A great tribute to the who-dunnit type movies of the 40s and 50s. Another great tip of the hat to Hitchcock by shooting in BW. The swimming pool scene is STILL one of the most frightening pieces of cinema history.

While Hammer Studios usually made horror/sci-fi films occasionally they would make thrillers that were reminiscent of Hitchcock. This story starts out with a female body being dragged out of a Scandinavian lake but later a woman in a wheelchair arrives in France where a hired driver is waiting to pick her up. Susan Strasberg plays Penny Appleby and she had sustained an injury while horse riding so she is now paralyzed. Her parents were divorced when she was young and she has been living with her mother but she died and now she has come to see her father. She hasn't seen him in ten years and he has remarried to a woman named Jane (Ann Todd). Penny is picked up at the airport by Bob (Ronald Lewis) who is very friendly and during the drive he mentions that her father is sick but doesn't know how badly. She arrives and meets Jane who informs her that her father has gone out of town on business. *****SPOILER ALERT***** Once Penny starts to stay on her father's estate she starts to see lights going on in a cabin and when she enters to see what it is she is horrified to see the corpse of her father. No one believes her and Doctor Gerrard (Christopher Lee) suggests that she has an overly active imagination. But Penny keeps seeing her father and Bob tells her that he is probably dead and his body is kept hidden away. Penny and Bob figure out that Jane is out to get the inheritance if she can get Penny out of the way. This film was made by Hammer Studio veterans and it was directed by Seth Holt who does a very good job of creating an eerie atmosphere right up until the very end. One of the things that I enjoyed were the scenes where there was no music or sound at all. In a very creepy scene Bob goes underwater to check the bottom of a pool that is dark and cluttered with debris and he finds the body of Penny's father. This scene has no music or sound as Bob sifts through the darkness with only rays of light shining down and the suspense that builds during all this could be cut with a knife. Its an incredibly effective scene that may be the best in the whole film. Small parts of the script are a little predictable but there is a pretty neat twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Strasberg is good as the frail Penny and she was a very talented actress that never received enough quality roles. This film is a hidden gem and a lot of fun to watch and it would be perfect to view on a rainy night.

Yes, this is indeed a very nice little horror film. It is chilling and suspense. The acting of the three major actors is really well done, they all fit the roles, and the whole atmosphere of the film has maked it rather stylish. Using Susan Strasberg for that role is a good choice. She's rather pretty charming actually, especially when compared with those star actresses of nowadays. This is a small production of the early 60's, but none of the big budget Hollywood horror films can compare with it even though they might have tried to copy part of its shadow. I do not know how to explain, but you if have watched the movie, you will feel something, you will feel the film having the style in its own way. You simply cannot find such kind of stylish production often on TV or in theaters. Like the other film fan from UK, I have recorded it down few weeks ago, and watched it in the afternoon the day after. It's good that I have not watched it alone at night. I am really glad that I have now the whole movie in its original theatrical wide screen format on my own DVD. Here I specially thank for the TV-listing information of the Dutch inter net site and the film information in IMDb. They made me have a chance to know and discover this nice film and take action to record it down. If you have a chance to watch this film, don't miss it! You will surely like it in a way!

I had this movie so idealized in my mind from childhood, that I was afraid when I finally found it on video (after 4 solid years of searching!), that it wouldn't be as good as I remembered, but it holds up surprisingly well, thanks to director Holt's atmospheric direction and the crisp performances. What I recalled as the movie's biggest fright (the swimming pool) isn't all that scary, but the twist-ending surprise (no spoilers here!) still caught me off guard, and the last couple of minutes of the movie are genuinely suspenseful and more than cap the film's slow, steady buildup. All in all, a wonderful little chiller. Now, if I could only find my other, hard-to-find treasure, "Twisted Nerve"--anyone know if it holds up well? Anyone know where to find it on video or DVD?

I saw this movie with my brother when we were kids. It is absolutely stunning! I remember we have been so afraid about some scenes that it was hard to close the light in our room for sleeping. Some facts are revealed at the end of the movie which makes it fascinating too! A "must see" movie! Shame on the industries, cannot get it on DVD!

Sweet, fragile, but resilient wheelchair-bound cripple Penny Appleby (a beautifully warm and touching performance by the lovely Susan Strasberg) goes to France to see her father at a remote seaside villa. Alas, her dad turns out to be away on an errand. Penny starts to see the corpse of her father all over the place. However, her kindly stepmother Jane (well played by Ann Todd) insists that he's still alive. Has Penny lost her mind? Or is someone trying to drive the poor girl mad? Ably directed by Seth Holt, with a clever and compelling script by Jimmy Sangster, a genuinely spooky atmosphere (the scenes with the father's dead body are pretty creepy), handsome black and white cinematography by Douglas Slocombe, sturdy acting from a super cast, a properly shivery score by Clifton Parker, a gradual, yet steady pace, and one doozy of an unexpected surprise plot twist towards the very end, this tidy and absorbing thriller keeps the viewer guessing right to the stirring and startling conclusion. Strasberg simply shines in a rare substantial starring role; she makes for a charming and sympathetic heroine, cuts loose with a few great full-throated screams, and, of course, looks absolutely gorgeous throughout. Moreover, there are fine supporting contributions by Ronald Lewis as affable chauffeur Bob and Christopher Lee as mysterious, concerned physician Dr. Pierre Gerrard. A solid and satisfying winner that's well worth seeing.