Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24188 in VHS
• Released on: 1989-06-08
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Color, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, German
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 81 minutes

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Great suspence. Very well done!!
No nudity, no cussing, only implied violence. This is a masterpiece that you will enjoy.

nifty little shocker
It`s strange how some movies stay with you from childhood. I saw this on television when I was just around 6 or 7 years old and have remembered it for the past 35 years. I just saw it again recentley for the first time since and it still has some great moments of suspense. Strasberg and Todd do wonderfully in their roles and the suspense builds from the very first. If you like Hitchcock films, or other classics of suspense such as "Les Diabolique" then you won`t want to miss this one. Terrific!!

A True Classic
Of all the movies I've seen, there are only a handful that have left a lasting impression. This is one of them. The atmosphere is creepy in that hazy/gray surreal way. The storyline is not the typical and the ending can still make me jump just thinking about it. If you like being scared without lots of blood and gore, check this movie out.