Taste of Fear (Scream of Fear) (1961)

82% of users liked it
(542 ratings)

The British writer/director team of Jimmy Sangster and Seth Holt was never satisfied unless it scared the bejeepers out of its audience. Scream of Fear stars Susan Strasberg as the crippled daughter of Ann Todd, whom she meets for the first time during a vacation on the Riviera. There's something… More The British writer/director team of Jimmy Sangster and Seth Holt was never satisfied unless it scared the bejeepers out of its audience. Scream of Fear stars Susan Strasberg as the crippled daughter of Ann Todd, whom she meets for the first time during a vacation on the Riviera. There's something unsettling about Strasberg's surroundings and her mother's behavior. But when Strasberg insists that she's seen the dead body of her father, it is she who is considered off the beam, while everyone else is treated as normal. Perhaps the authorities are right; perhaps Strasberg is merely neurotic and overwrought. And perhaps there's more than one plot twist ahead of us as we draw nearer and nearer the truth. Scream of Fear was originally released in Great Britain as Taste of Fear. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 20 min.
Directed By: Seth Holt
Written By: Jimmy Sangster
Genres: Drama, Horror, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Aug 22, 1961 Limited
Studio: Columbia Pictures

Critic Reviews

Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
The story has more twists than a pretzel, and they're all just as delicious.

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Featured Audience Ratings

Michael G

Scream of Fear is a modern (modern for the time at least) Hammer thriller that gets its point across very well with beautiful black and white photography, moody (in a good way) direction and some subdued acting. The story starts off pretty decently and to avoid becoming predictable… More
Scream of Fear is a modern (modern for the time at least) Hammer thriller that gets its point across very well with beautiful black and white photography, moody (in a good way) direction and some subdued acting. The story starts off pretty decently and to avoid becoming predictable takes a turn which offers up a great twist. Unfortunately its explained so horrendously and complexly through a bit of Rube Goldberg dialogue that not even Susan Strasberg's foxiness can save the whole Scream of Fear experience. I'm not the kind of moviegoer that needs things explained so simply that anything else is incomprehensible. The final scene traded in ghastliness for a bit of comedy but that's just me. If it weren't for the ending Scream of Fear could've been great.
Emily B

A solid thriller from Hammer studios. Very Hitchcockian with a great twist at the end.