From the early 1970s, and boasting three horror film stars Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing.  Scream And Scream Again is a decidedly unpredictable blend of serial killer mystery, medical thriller, and totalitarian drama- all edged with light touches of horror & gore. So, it’s certainly a rather distinctive creation- which it’s not wholly successful- but it has its moments. Here from Radiance Films is a Blu-Ray release of this difficult-to pigeonhole film- taking in an HD scan of the film, a new audio commentary, and a few extras- be they new or archived.

 
Scream And Scream Again ( aka Screamer) is from the year 1970. It was filmed in London and Surrey- been produced by Amicus Productions- who of course are most known for their Horror Anthologies in the 60s/ 70’s. The film was directed by Berlin-born Gordon Hessler- who had forty-eight credits to his name- with these evenly split between TV work & feature lengths. Feature length-wise he helmed the Supernatural thriller The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die (1965).  Gothic horror The Oblong Box(1969),  Adventure fantasy The Golden Voyage Of Sinbad (1973), and ninja action film Pray for Death (1985).
 
I’ve been aware of Scream And Scream Again for at least twenty-plus years- and with its cast, and very neat body in an acid bath poster artwork I always wanted to see it. I wasn’t very sure of quite what it was about- but its title & poster artwork suggested some form of acid bath serial killer- but the reality is definitely not that clear cut, and to be honest it’s an often rather confusingly plotted affair, with only really Mr Price having a lead part in the film- with Cushing only appearing in the scene, and Lee popping up a few times.
 
The film opens with a man jogging through London as the credits roll- he grabs the side of his chest, and next, we know he’s in a hospital bed- though it’s clearly not a standard facility- and this is very much impacted as the man pulls back his bed sheets to find one of his legs has been removed.
As the film opens up we get introduced to three sets of stories/ characters there's a series of Sex murders being carried out in London, which is been investigated by moustached  & often grumpy Detective Supt. Bellaver( Alfred Marks).  We have a totalitarian state- which feels rather Nazi-like in its presentation, and here we find the power-hungry Konratz(Marshall Jones) who is coldly focused on where he wants to get. Lastly, we have Dr Bowning (Vincent Price) who is doing some form of experimentation in his country house/ lab. 

The just over one hour and thirty-four-minute film unfolds in a decidedly awkward at points jarring manner. For much of the film, it’s difficult to figure out actually what’s going on/ who is who/ and how it all connects.  I guess the sex murder investigation/ all that surrounds it, and Dr Bowning elements are the most rewarding parts here- the totalitarian state elements feel too vague/ badly painted, and it’s really unclear where it’s actually meant to be.

Really, I can’t detail the plot more than above- as it would reveal major spoilers. The film largely plays as a drama/ thriller- yes there are horror touches, and fliting gore attacks- but nothing really feels scary or creepy in any way.  Considering Gordon Hessler's background in TV work- the film does often play as a longer more wacky 70’s TV  series episode.
 
Moving onto our three horror stars- and as already mentioned only Price is 
key/ main cast member- and he does a good job of playing a research doctor who is trying to do his best for mankind- though is clearly somewhat unbalanced. Cushing plays one of the high-ranking officers in the totalitarian state- having just a fairly short scene. And Lee plays  Fremont- a rather shadowy bureaucrat, and he gets maybe a total of ten minutes of screentime all round.
 
I’ll certainly say Scream And Scream Again is one of the more unique genre of films of the 70s- and there certainly is entertainment to be had here- it’s just a pity it's all rather muddled in its plotting/ flow. So, I’d say if you enjoy genre blending give this a go- but don’t expect an out-and-out horror film, and or see much of either Cushing or Lee.
 

On this recent region B Blu-Ray, we get a nicely clean and crisp HD print of the film.  Moving onto the new extras side of things- and first out we get a commentary from track pros Kevin Lyons & Jonathan Rigby. This is as always a wonderful researched, informed, and wholly rewarding track. They begin by talking about the London locations where the jogger runs in the credits, as well as discussing the credits themselves which were originally going to be made by Terry Gilliam. We find out the film started filming on May 5th 1969, going onto get a wide release in February on the next year. They discuss Alfred Marks, and the sardonic quipping dialogue of his Detective Supt- which was mainly improvised.  They talk about how the film was marketed on the three horror stars- and how on this side it rather fails due to their lack of screen time.  They point out the rather shabby & rundown house look of the police station, and how this is contrasted by the bad guys sleek/ plush locations.  They talk about how the film was very much of a game changer- as it was one of the first British horror films to be set in the rather grotty looking then present-day 70’s, and how the whole thing is more about atmosphere instead of plot. Later on, they discuss the groovy club filmed scene with Welsh rock band Amen Corner playing- talking about how their mix is rather low in the soundtrack, and the not-so-great editing in this scene.  They talk about the impressive car chase/ fight scene in the film.  Discussing elements that vary between the film and the 1967 novel The Disorientated Man, and of course much, much more. Simply put a must-play track!.

Otherwise, on the new side, we get the following on-screen interviews. With actors Julian Holloway and Christopher Matthews (7.36),  editor Peter Elliott, and propman Arthur Wicks(3.39), and horror novelist Ramsey Campbell( 11.12) on Christopher Wicking- who wrote the original novel under the pseudo name of Peter Saxon. 

With archive interviews from actor Clifford Earl (18.00), and actress Uta Levka (9.00). Super 8 Version - a reconstruction of the cut-down version distributed as The Living Corpses of Dr. Mabuse, Deleted scenes Mick Garris trailer commentary - the filmmaker provides a short overview of the film (2.00), trailer & gallery. The finished release comes with a booklet featuring new writing by critic Anne Billson, and the character postcards of classic images from the picture.

With its mix of serial killer mystery, medical thriller, and totalitarian drama Scream And Scream Again is most certainly a real 70’s curio, and while it doesn’t complete work/ flow- it’s an experience. And this Radiance Films is most deserved- with a clean ‘n’ crisp print, and a nice selection of extras to boot.