Geoffrey Whitehead, Gillian Lind, Guy Rolfe

An inconsiderate young couple moves into a house already inhabited by a dismembered and disgruntled hand in the 1973 cult classic AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS. Catherine (Stephanie Beacham) is a lovel...( read more  read more... )y young bride set to start a new life with her wealthy new husband Charles (Ian Ogilvy.) But a horrid curse has haunted Charles' aristocratic bloodline, and only the help of the brilliant Dr. Pope can help squelch the supernatural evil of the disembodied hand.

Flixster Users

45% liked it

1,032 ratings

Critics

60% liked it

5 critics

PG, 1 hr. 27 min.

Directed by: Roy Ward Baker

Release Date: January 1, 1973

Invite friends to see

Stats: 48 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Your Rating



clear rating
Share on: Facebook Twitter

Flixster Reviews (48)


  • May 3, 2009
    Odd film, this. Not being the biggest fan of Hammer, I always felt Amicus a more competent stable (neither really produced a film that was actually frightening, but they could be entertaining, and Amicus were glossy and lurid.) This one is a little-known piece that always gets ba...( read more)d reviews but I happen to like it. Firstly, it has a splendid cast. Secondly, the camerawork is something to behold, the sickly lurid colours blending in with the gorgeous period costumes and attractive, dramatic locations. There is also a little more going on here than meets the eye. Perhaps a subtle nod to the Glamis Castle story...? There's a little bit of class war going on, and despite its vivid rape scene I can't help feeling this isn't quite the exploitation movie it appears. For an early 70s movie it does at least treat the issue seriously; the effect it has on the victim and the fact that no measures can atone for it are believable.

    A word to the excellent music, beautiful but interspersed with a spooky zither. And Geoffrey Whitehead is very good. The graveyard climax is pretty powerful too, and the closing shot as a camera wanders an empty room to the Bible is a cut above what one expects from this genre. The bad points are the tacky severed hand, the occasional Grand Guignol hamminess and the fact that the film does rather overplay it's hand...it spends so long building up to its revelation that by then it will always be a let down.

    And one other criticism...Catherine recovers from her wedding night ordeal ridiculously quickly, which totally contradicts the film's central premise. Still, the open window symbolism and the Malleus Mallificarum references are neat, as is the wonderful scene of Charles standing by the window as the snow falls and reading the lines from Milton's Comus. This film honestly isn't as bad as you may think and you could certainly do alot worse on a dark winter evening!
  • June 24, 2007
    This looks like a very atmospheric Hammer film but it isn't. Truly horrible! It's especially nasty on the uncut 18 certificated version.
  • April 7, 2007
    A creepy and atmospheric British horror film with wonderful work from Stephanie Beacham, Partrick Magee, Ian Ogilvy, Herbert Lom and, of course, the always brilliant Peter Cushing. This is not one of Amicus's best films, however, because it deviates from the very qualities that ...( read more)made the studio different from it's contemporary, Hammer: it is a period film, too much like your average Hammer film. Amicus worked best when it was spinning it's stories in the modern age. Still, this is a very good "family curse" horror tale with a great, thrilling finish.
  • November 9, 2007
    Nicely atmospheric ghost story that I have to admit I dozed through a short portion of. I enjoyed the film and I think the dozing refelcted how tired I was and not neccessarily the quality of the film.
  • July 14, 2007
    This one was fun. The synopsis is wretched though.
  • June 29, 2007
    Not a bad period ghost movie, and the back story was pretty racy for an old Hammer film. Once was enough, though, so no DVD in my future.
  • June 8, 2007
    That hand freaks me out!
  • April 14, 2007
    I RECENTLY SAW THIS ONE ! I LOVED IT!! THE WAY ITS SHOT ITS LIKE YOUR IN THE MOVIE!!!
  • September 28, 2006
    PCushing & HLom, need I say more. IOgilvy is hot!!
  • September 14, 2006
    This comes excellently recommended as one of the best bad movies you'll ever see. To that effect, I have added it to Flixster, to share the love :)

Comments


This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "And Now the Screaming Starts" !

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

More Like This


Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • The Gathering Storm
    The Gathering Storm (67%)
  • The Offence
    The Offence (67%)

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

And Now the Screa... : Watch Free on TV


Movie Quizzes


No quizzes for And Now the Screaming Starts. Want to create one?

Video Clips


No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Recent News


No recent headlines. Got one?

Most Popular Skin


No skins yet. Interested in creating one?