(1973)
Dir - Roy Ward Baker
Overall: MEH
A rare Gothic horror outing from the Amicus production company, (who generally left period pieces to the more famous Hammer studios, Amicus instead utilizing more contemporary settings), And Now the Screaming Starts! does not quite live up to the higher quality of other films in their catalog. Though the gruesome, ghostly goings ons begin almost immediately and are quite campy and memorable, the mystery of it all becomes far too frustrating. It is because Stephanie Beacham, (Dracula A.D. 1972, House of Mortal Sin), begins seeing supernatural occurrences within minutes of walking into her new home and said occurrences do not let up that it is all too aggravating that every single person surrounding her refuses to divulge any information at all, even whilst admitting that they are keeping everything from her. By doing so, they also keep it from the viewers while at the same time testing our patience to constantly believe that everyone, (especially her husband), would just watch this poor woman loose her mind. On the other HAND though, (that is a pun for anyone who has seen the movie), it is rather the point that keeping us in the dark for so long very much mirrors the film's main damsel's plight. Still, the "she's just imagining everything and needs a nap" excuse does get stretched a little too thin.
(1977)
Dir - Richard Loncraine
Overall: MEH
The first film adaptation from one of the works by author Peter Straub, Full Circle, (The Haunting of Julia in the U.S.), is a rather confused realization of the source material it is based on. Mia Farrow, (who would portray a tormented woman in a number of horror films), is fine as the main protagonist caught up in the ghostly goings on, which is more than you could say about her estranged husband Keir Dullea who seems to be trying to win an award for having the least convincing/minimally even trying British accent in all of cinema. The story follows many familiar beats as Farrow's Julia takes all the standard steps towards solving the mystery, like having a psychic medium freak out in her house, going to a library to look up old newspapers, interviewing a number of participants who partook of some wickedness when they were children, and finally a visit to the movie version of a loony bin where patients roam the hallways, walk in circles, spout nonsense, stare blankly at walls, and an old woman smiles creepily at her and then gets angry and threatening. Yet there are a handful of loose ends along the way with characters whose deaths are never followed up upon, plus the point A to point B maneuvering of the plot seems to be missing a number of pit stops along the way.
(1979)
Dir - Leslie Megahey
Overall: GOOD
Broadcast during the same time slot as A Ghost Story for Christmas, Schalcken the Painter is based off the renowned Irish Gothic horror writer Sheridan Le Fanu's fictions "Strange Event in the Life of Schalcken the Painter". Though a completely fabricated story, it nevertheless was part of the BBC's Omnibus documentary series, in part not only because it features real historical painters Godfried Schalcken and Gerrit Dou as characters, but also because it provides insightful reenactments into the Leiden Fijnschilders period of Dutch art. John Hooper's cinematography, (based off Johannes Vermeer's paintings from around the same era), is the star of nearly every frame. Utilizing natural candle lighting and period sets to showcase both deep shadows and layers of details, an ideal atmosphere for the film's more fantastical elements is created with such elements appearing to be subtly lurking in the background throughout. The few actual horror movie moments could not be more successfully displayed and director Leslie Megahey cultivates a deliberate mood throughout the just over an hour running time, with very little dialog and sparsely used music working in unison to keep things delicately spooky.
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