The Oblong Box / Scream and Scream Again (Midnite Movies Double Feature)

This review is for the Blu-Ray edition of Scream and Scream Again released by Kino-Lorber in April, 2019.For those who are unfamiliar with this movie, it is a very unusual 1970 horror movie made by Amicus Productions. It is quite interesting and stars and co-stars 3 horror icons, Vincent Price, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. To give you a brief explanation about the plot would not do this movie justice. You just have to see it to understand how unusual of a movie it is, especially for the time period in which it was made.WHAT MAKES THIS MOVIE UNUSUAL OR DIFFERENT THAN OTHER HORROR MOVIES?: This movie was made shortly after the ratings system came into effect. Therefore, lots of blood, violence and nudity were now allowed in movies. Those things, of course, do not make this movie different than others. What does differentiate it is the plot structure. There are 3 stories that are taking place simultaneously. One focuses on a serial killer, another is about an Eastern European man trying to take over his country and the third is about a hospital where body parts are being removed from people. This movie also has 3 horror icons in it. This was the first time that Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing all appeared in the same movie. They do not all share screen time together in any particular scene. Though, Christopher Lee and Vincent Price appear together in a scene at the end.BLU-RAY: The picture is decent but not spectacular. This seems to be the norm with Amicus Blu-Ray editions. It doesn't look like any restoration was done to the transfer. There are some parts that are grainy and unclear. For instance there are parts of the first nightclub scene and a few parts after that that are problematic. This probably has to do with some of the original elements not being available for the entire film. There was probably a decayed reel in there somewhere. There aren't any major flaws but the picture isn't all that sharp. Again, this probably has to do with how the movie was filmed as well as the original elements. It isn't bad, it's just nothing to get excited about. However, if you compare the picture of the U.S. version to the U.K. version then it is a completely different matter. In comparison to the U.K. version in this release, the U.S. version picture is a 10 out of 10. The movie is shown in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. I'll give the picture a 6.5 out of 10.EXTRA'S:-In addition to the U.S. version of this movie, the U.K. version is provided. The U.K. version is in standard definition and is not restored. The U.K. version is 10 seconds longer.-There is alternate poster art on the inside cover of the Blu-Ray case. You can see a picture of both covers in the images for this review.-Audio Commentary with film Historian Tim Lucas - I listened to this and it is a good commentary. It pretty much covers everything you might want to know about the movie. Lucas explains the unusual style of the movie and the reasons for the strange plot and short appearances for the headline actors.-3 radio spots-Trailers from Hell with Mick Garris-Trailers for 6 other movies from Kino Lorber-Subtitles*****WARNING - SPOILERS BELOW THIS POINT*****PLOT/SUMMARY: The movie opens with a jogger collapsing on a street in England. He wakes up in a hospital bed only to discover that a leg has been amputated. Each time he wakes up he finds another body part missing.An Eastern European man named Konratz arrives at his country (unnamed). Once inside he kills an officer merely by grabbing his shoulder. He then does the same thing to the leader, Benedek (Peter Cushing) of the country.In London, Detective Bellaver is investigating some strange deaths of young women. The bodies are discovered to have the blood drained out of them. The police know that the women are being picked up in a nightclub. They plant a female officer in the nightclub in order to find the killer. She wears a wire. The killer picks her up and brings her to a secluded location. Once there, he begins to suck her blood like a vampire. The police get to the car in time to save the officer but the killer gets away. He seems to have superhuman strength. A long chase ensues in which several officers are badly hurt or killed. At the end of the chase, the killer jumps into a vat of acid out in the barn of a well known doctor named Browning (Vincent Price). The police become very suspicious of the doctor when it turns out that one of the killers victims worked for him. However, they are told to lay off the doctor by the head of Intelligence, Fremont (Christopher Lee).PRODUCTION: This movie is a joint British-American Production that was made by Amicus Productions and American International Pictures in 1969 but released in the U.S. in 1970.-Amicus used a strategy of hiring 'name' actors for small parts in their movies and then giving them top billing. This worked well for marketing purposes. It is a strategy used quite often today for low budget movie makers. In this movie, Peter Cushing is barely in the movie and was probably hired for just one day. Christopher Lee appears in just a few scenes. Of the three, Vincent Price has the most screen time.-The movie was based on a science fiction novel called 'The Disoriented Man' by Peter Saxon. In the novel, the villains are aliens.-Judy Huxtable, who plays Sylvia, was a well known model in England and was featured on Bacardi Rum ads.-Reviews at the time were mixed. Some thought it was distasteful despite the fact that you never really see any of the worst violence.-Vincent Price hated the title of this movie.-Michael Reeves, the director of 'Witchfinder General', was supposed to direct this movie but unfortunately he passed away at a very young age.-The scene in Trafalgar Square was filmed silently. The words were recorded afterward and dubbed in.COMMENTS: WHY SUCH STRANGE BEHAVIOR FROM COMPOSITE PEOPLE?: You might wonder why people being made from other body parts might become 'vampire-like' and rapists. The answer lies in the book in which the movie was based. In the book, the composites malfunction. That is the reason why they might become rapists. The need for blood can be attributed to their need for some sort of nutrition since they don't have normal functioning bodies. VULCAN DEATH GRIP: Yes, you read that correctly. Konratz uses the Vulcan death grip to kill his victims. This movie was filmed in 1969, shortly after the 'Star Trek' series ended. Mr. Spock made his 'grip' famous and the director of this film, Gordon Hessler was obviously very familiar with the show. Konratz one ups Spock by squeezing so hard that blood comes out of his victims mouths.-I like that this movie has several subplots that develop separately. You know that the plots have to merge at some point but you are never really sure how or why, at least not until the very end.-At first, I thought the chase scene went on for too long but then after thinking about it, I sort of changed my mind. Normally, I'd say they were doing this to pad a movie with a weak plot. I can't really say that for this movie. While the chase was very much extended, each part of the chase revealed something new. First we find out that the killer is a vampire, then we find out he has super human strength, then it is revealed that he can rip off body parts and has very little blood and finally, he deliberately destroys himself.-The jogger who gets his limbs amputated is supposed to be an Olympic runner. It makes you wonder why they would abduct him. Somebody of note is bound to attract a lot more attention than an average 'Joe'.-It is unclear as to what happens at the end of the movie. Christopher Lee says something about it being "the beginning" and our heroes smile and laugh but nobody really knows what that means. None of the actors ever really understood the movie and said so in interviews in later years.CONCLUSIONS: As I stated at the top of this review, this movie is both very unusual and very interesting. You never really figure out where it is going until you get to the very end. For those reasons, I rate this movie very highly. It's great when you get a movie that deviates far from the norm the way this one does.RATINGS: I'm giving this release 5 stars because I like the unusual nature of the movie. It is interesting until the very end. The picture is decent, though not great. There are a few problems with the transfer but I'm going to overlook that.You get a commentary track which is always a nice positive.Recommended for fans of Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.Recommended for 60's horror fans.

The US and UK versions are both here on this Blu-ray, and that's the good news. The bad news is that for some strange reason, only the US version seems to have been remastered and blessed with subtitles.When I review a film that I've bought for my Blu-ray collection, the main thing I like to ask myself is, "Would I want to watch this again?" If the answer is yes, I count the title as a worthwhile purchase and something I'm happy that I've decided to spend money for. In the case of this movie, I have to say that while I wasn't bored and found myself intrigued enough all along to follow it, I doubt pretty seriously if I'll be re-screening it any time soon, or even at all.Why? The various plot threads managed to intrigue me enough to hold on here to wait for the payoff and see how they all coalesce. But the payoff turned out to be not all that much, really. This is an urban paranoia thriller with science fiction and horror trappings, but other movies from the decade of the '70s have done a much better job with this sub-genre of conspiracy paranoia, like The Parallax View.Much is made in the packaging of Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, and Peter Cushing all sharing screen time for the first time in a single film. But nothing is really done with this exciting selling point, and all three seem pretty much wasted. Chris Lee gave up doing Dracula films for Hammer for this?

"The Oblong Box"/"Scream and Scream Again" is an excellent pair of Vincent Price horror fare from MGM. Price is in top form and, in both movies, he stars with horror icon, Christopher Lee, who is most notable for his Dracula role in the Hammer productions. Unfortunately, however, they only share one scene in each film. "The Oblong Box," based on an Edgar Allan Poe story, is gothic horror sent in 1865 and is the best of the pair. This is the tale of the two Markham brothers who own an African plantation. A native boy is seriously disfigured in a riding accident. The tribal voodoo witch doctor curses Edgar Markham with a disfiguring illness that drives him insane. Upon returning to England, Julian (played by Price) keeps his brother Edgar locked in the attic. Edgar escapes by feigning death and is buried alive. His co-conspirators betray him and do not dig up his grave. Meanwhile, Lee is an evil doctor who needs fresh bodies for his experiments. His ghouls dig up Edgar's grave. Donning, a red hood, Edgar begins killing those who betrayed him. "The Oblong Box" is a good slasher film and a good mystery for those who love gothic horror. The plot is intricate, the acting is good, and the throat slashings are graphic and gory. "Scream and Scream Again" is another high body count horror film set in the "groovy" sixties. A new political Communist-like party has taken over England; they utilize strong, ruthless mad men who are robots (i.e., composites) to carry out their evil plans. Price is a government funded scientist who created the composites. Lee is a politician who wants to cover up Price's projects because one of his earlier experiments has been murdering beautiful young women and draining them of blood like a vampire. The plot for "Scream and Scream Again" is very complex, almost too complex, and it has too many villains. There is never a dull moment as the bodies begin piling high. Three horror icons star in this movie. One of them, Peter Cushing, has a cameo. Christopher Lee is underused . The lead character appears to be the young medical examiner who performs the autopsies on the "vampire" victims; he investigates Price. The ending was a little disappointing, almost contrived as if the writers were struggling about how to wrap it up. This movie double feature is a must have for fans of gothic slashers, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee. Neither feature has any extras except for the trailers.

Ein wahrlich seltsamer Film mit hochkarätiger Besetzung. Sicherlich kein Mainstream, aber ansehen kann man sich den auf jeden Fall mal, als Fan von Price, Lee und Cushing sowieso.Schade, dass die drei keine Szene zusammen haben.

Vincent Price, Christopher Lee et Peter Cushing en tête de gondole, vous je sais pas mais moi je cours plus vite vers la télécommande qu’Emile Louis dans un jardin d’enfants. Le film dont il est question est « lachez les monstres » paru dans une très belle édition en VOST dans la collection « British terror ».Je freine tout de suite votre enthousiasme en vous disant que c’est réalisé par Gordon Hessler qui n’a pas vraiment une réputation de premier de la classe. Malgré l’affiche on est à des encablures des productions Hammer ou Amicus, d’ailleurs les 3 stars (à part peut être Christopher Lee) apparaissent si peu qu’on est à la limite du foutage de gueule.Tant dans la musique (presque un plagiat) que dans l’ambiance on sent combien en cette année 1969 « chapeau melon & bottes de cuir » a marqué l’époque.Un pékin moyen fait son jogging, tranquille comme Baptiste, pour se réveiller dans une clinique avec une jambe amputée au niveau du genoux. A partir de là on se balade dans une dictature dont le symbole est un trident noir dans un rond blanc sur fond rouge (ceux qui ne trouvent pas ça inquiétant ont le droit d’ouvrir un livre d’histoire en couleur) et dans la perfide Albion ou se déroule la majeure partie de l’action. On tardera d’ailleurs à faire le lien entre les 2 contrées, faute à un scénario décousu.J’adore les films britanniques des années 60 car on a l’impression que les acteurs ont des coiffures en plastique et les paupières des filles sont tellement fardées qu’on a envie de leur offrir un labrador. Les flics sont tous désarmés mais on de jolis sifflets pour souffler dedans ce qui est d’une utilité relative dans la chasse au dingue.Une petite scène aussi courte que rigolote nous montre qu’une main féminine sur un levier de vitesses peut faire penser à tout un tas de choses ayant très peu de rapport avec l’industrie automobile.En résumé une sorte de Frankenstein science-fictionnesque qui mérite à peine de figurer dans une collection contenant le mot « terror ». 1.5 / 5

Whilst London's police are baffled by the murderous attacks of an apparently vampiric serial killer (Michael Gothard), in an unnamed Eastern European police state an automaton-like military enforcer (Marshall Jones) eliminates his superiors to ensure his own rise to power through the ranks. Eventually, these two seemingly unrelated storylines come together through their links to a mysterious doctor's creation of a new, synthetic master race...Bizarre in conception, uneven in execution, and in 2013 the kind of film that only the most die-hard fans of the classic British horror movie would be able to tolerate enough to sit through, 1970's Scream and Scream Again is a weird goulash (or ghoul-ash?) that snags itself a place in the history books by virtue of the fact that it is the only chiller from the period to team up the three horror icons Peter Cushing, Vincent Price, and Christopher Lee; that it is hardly worthy of that honour is another story.A co-production between Amicus and American International Pictures, the movie certainly looks like it had some money thrown at it, with extensive location photography and some well-paced action sequences that are largely responsible for the better reviews the film generally gets. However, as a relatively simple thriller, it is needlessly obtuse in its storytelling style, a problem that can be laid squarely at the feet of screenwriter Christopher Wicking (To the Devil a Daughter). This is not helped by the fact that the three actors receiving top billing are hardly in the film at all, and when they do appear, their roles amount to very little. Price gets the most to do (probably because he was AIP's marquee star), but even his part as the meddling scientist gives him no more than no more than around fifteen minutes of screen time, and it's the kind of character he could play in his sleep. Lee's small role means precisely nothing until the movie's closing moments, and even though he eventually manages to squeeze a bit of menace out of his shadowy spymaster figure, you have to question exactly what the appeal of this part was to an actor who by the end of the 1960s was supposedly getting increasingly disenchanted with his typecasting as a fixture of weak horror flicks. Cushing comes off worst of all, with a three-minute cameo as a military higher-up marked for execution, and whilst his single scene is effective enough in isolation, it sees him in a part that could have been easily filled by just about any stock supporting performer you could mention.Conversely, the film's real leads are actually quite well-served by both the direction of Gordon Hessler, and their characters. Jones, an almost completely unknown actor whose most prominent credit appears to have been a recurring role on Crossroads in the late 1970s, is quietly menacing as the vicious envoy of the mysterious state behind the Iron Curtain (notwithstanding the stupid bobble hat he inexplicably wears to his secret meeting with Lee in Trafalgar Square); playing the senior copper heading up the hunt for the `vampire killer', Alfred Marks is a welcome comic presence, whilst the always-creepy Gothard (For Your Eyes Only) is also memorable as the bionic murderer.Unfortunately, these strong parts do not make a cohesive whole, and overall the movie is a choppy affair with a climax that is in no way good enough to justify the considerable amount of time viewers will have to put in to get to that point (the final couple of minutes feel particularly rushed). Scream and Scream Again is one of the gorier and meaner-spirited films of its period (Gothard's sex-murder attacks are especially nasty), but that doesn't mean it's one of the more notable ones. However, it's nice to see the movie turn up on Region 2 DVD at long last, with David Whitaker's original music and the hideous title song by Amen Corner (heard in one of the nightclub scenes) fully intact (for copyright reasons, it has previously been available on VHS, and shown on UK TV, only with a replacement generic synth score).

The film starts with Sir Julian Markham(Vincent Price), witnessing his brother Edward's terrible disfigurement at the hands of an African witch doctor. The story then carries on in England, with Sir Julian keeping his now mad, horribly scarred brother locked in a room. However, Edward has other ideas and enlists the help of the Markham's crooked lawyer Trench(Peter Arne, wonderfully slimy) to carry out an elaborate plan of escape. Trench gets some medecine that temporarily renders Edward into a catatonic state. However, he is mistakenly buried alive, only to be exhumed by grave robbers, who take him to the house of unscrupulous Doctor Neuhart(Christopher Lee), who shelters him, on the understanding that Edward will keep quiet about where he gets his cavaders from. Edward then sets out on a trail of revenge, to gain vengeance on those who wronged himThis was another teaming up of director Hessler, star Price, cinematographer Coquillion and scriptwriter Wicking. Its probably the most straight laced of the three, the other two being 'Cry Of The Banshee' and 'Scream And Scream Again', both wildly erratic and very entertaining. This one does seem a bit stodgy and leaden footed in comparison, but give it a chance as it does liven up considerably when Edward starts to go about his murderous work, his face hidden under a crimson mask.Vincent Price is a little lacklustre as Sir Julian, but he was always better playing evil or unhinged characters anyway. Rupert Davies is wasted in a bit part as an artist, but Peter Arne is excellent as the unctious Trench, and Hilary Dwyer and Sally Geeson also provide good support.It once again looks great, thanks to Coquillion's cinematography, and it provides some atmospheric moments, if it is a little overlong. Well worth investing a few pounds in. 4 out of 5

Vincent Price and Christopher Lee co-star in this pair of British-made not really golden oldy horrors from 1969.In Edgar Allan Poe's (oh no it isn't!) The Oblong Box, Vincent's brother has been disfigured by an African curse. Naturally Vincent keeps him in a locked room and when he gets out, boy is he mad! He's so mad he goes on a rampage of swiping peoples' throats with a rubber knife smeared in red paint -sorry, throat slitting, though you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference. His sex drive hasn't disappeared either. And he's so hideous that grown men faint at the sight of him (in the movie, that is. Anyone else would note bad case of acne and barely bother with a second glance.) Oh, and it's set in Victorian times.Scream and Scream Again (the title, because there is no other apparent explanation, comes from a guy who wakes up in hospital, finds he's a leg missing and screams; wakes up again, second leg gone,screams; wakes up, arm gone, screams; and so on until someone opens a cupboard and there's his head, audience screams -well, I suppose they did in 1969). The plot keeps jumping from the hunt for a rapist/vampire/slasher/killer to a European fascist state (it's set in the then-present day) for various obscure reasons. Vincent Price is a doctor, Christopher Lee (who was a doctor in The Oblong Box) is a senior government official. At least 15 minutes of the running time is spent on a car chase and on-foot pursuit of the rapist/vampire/slasher/killer for no real reason other than to pad out the running time but it passes the time nicely in between plot developments. Everything is tied up by the end, thank goodness as I was getting confused. And all policemen and women smoke a lot.Art these are not, good they are not, fun, well if you're in the right mood, these are.