Scream for Help | |
---|---|
Directed by | Michael Winner |
Written by | Tom Holland |
Produced by | Michael Winner |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Robert Paynter |
Edited by | Arnold Ross Michael Winner |
Music by | John Paul Jones |
Production companies | Miracle Torremodo Ltd. Videoform |
Distributed by | Lorimar |
Release dates | |
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | $3-6 million [3] [4] |
Scream for Help is a 1984 British horror film [5] directed by Michael Winner, written by Tom Holland, and starring Rachael Kelly, David Brooks, and Marie Masters. Set in New Rochelle, New York, the film follows a teenage girl who discovers that her stepfather is trying to murder her and her mother, but her repeated claims of her findings are disbelieved by those around her. Former Led Zeppelin member John Paul Jones composed the musical score.
In New Rochelle, New York, Christie, a teenage girl, discovers that her stepfather Paul is trying to murder her and her mother Karen for her money, but when she tries to tell other people about it, no one will believe her. After a maintenance worker dies in the basement, Christie believes Paul set the trap for her mother after she saw him leave the basement the previous night.
Christie begins following Paul everywhere and discovers he is having an affair with a young attractive woman named Brenda. She is caught by Brenda's brother Lacey but manages to run away. Paul convinces Karen that Brenda is a client of his and she believes him over her daughter.
Christie convinces Josh, her best friend Janey's boyfriend, to accompany her to catch Paul, but the brakes to her mother's car have been tampered with, almost killing them. Christie and Janey discover Paul and Brenda at a motel and run when Paul sees them, and soon after Janey is killed in a hit and run by an unseen driver. Christie tells the police that Paul killed Janey, intending to kill her, but she is not believed. Josh sticks up for Christie after she is bullied and blamed for Janey's death.
Later, Christie loses her virginity to Josh but they are interrupted by Paul, who orders Josh to leave. When Christie goes to the bathroom, she notices gas, and she realizes that Paul is trying to kill her too. Karen also falls down the stairs after a trap Paul set for her, putting her in a wheelchair. Christie takes a picture of Paul and Brenda having sex but drops the picture and is seen; while retrieving the picture she overhears that Brenda and Lacey are in fact a married couple who plan to blackmail Paul after he kills Karen and Christie. She shows her mother the picture and Paul is ordered to leave.
At midnight, Paul, Brenda, and Lacey invade the house and force Christie and Karen to the basement, revealing their plans to kill them both at 2 a.m. and blame it on a burglar. Christie tells Paul about the real relationship between Brenda and Lacey, which angers him. Christie tricks Brenda into letting her out to go to the bathroom while Karen cuts the electricity to the house from the basement, giving Christie a chance to run and stab both Lacey and Paul. After Brenda attacks Karen and turns the lights back on, Christie surrenders herself to Lacey and both victims are forced back to the basement, where they devise another plan to escape by wetting the fuse box.
At 2 a.m., they are ordered upstairs but are interrupted by Josh knocking at the door. Lacey orders Christie to open the door and get rid of him. Josh is suspicious and informs the police. When the electricity goes off, both mother and daughter flee their attackers. Lacey orders Brenda to go to the basement and turn the lights back on, but the wet fuse box electrocutes Brenda. After almost catching Karen, Lacey runs to the basement after hearing Brenda's scream and finds her dead. Christie tricks Paul into believing she is in her bathroom when Paul enters the gas filled bathroom with a lighter; it explodes and he is killed. Josh saves Christie from the burning house.
With their ordeal over, Christie and Karen reside at another house temporarily when Josh comes over to kiss Christie; Lacey appears and hits Josh and plans to kill Christie for what she did to Brenda. Christie pulls out a knife and stabs Lacey through the stomach, killing him.
Additional appearances include Richard Oldfield and Jeff Harding as unnamed police officers.
Tom Holland wrote Scream for Help shortly after completing Psycho II with Holland saying he wanted to do a horror film with a psychological bent that was based in reality. [4] Holland also stated that the film was meant as something of a reaction to the over-saturation of the slasher genre as he felt it had become too reliant on special effects, violence, and gore and wanted to emphasize the psychological aspects of horror rather than the exploitative. [4] Michael Winner loved the script and called Lorimar telling them he wanted to do the film. [4]
The exterior sequences were filmed on location in New Rochelle, New York over the course of two weeks, while interior sequences were shot in Finchampstead in Berkshire, England. [4] The two weeks in New Rochelle were to accommodate an elaborate action sequence which was one of the few additions Winner made to Holland's script saying of the process "I have never done less work on a script in my life". [4]
Derek Malcolm of The Guardian wrote that director Winner "pushes his plot to further and further levels of implausiblity, and ends with a bloodbath that looks ominously like a practise run for the forthcoming Death Wish III ." [6]
Scream for Help was released on VHS, Betamax, and LaserDisc [7] in North America by Karl-Lorimar Home Video on 15 October 1985. [8] The film's home video release received a significant promotional campaign in retail markets, including special brochures, posters, counter cards, and a cardboard standup. [8] Stuart Karl, then-president of Karl-Lorimar, commented at the time: "To our knowledge, this is the first time in home video history that a company has approached advertising for a home video feature as if it were a theatrical release." [8]
The film has not been issued on DVD but a Blu-ray from Scream Factory was released on 18 September 2018. [9]
Scary Movie is a 2000 American slasher parody film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written by Marlon and Shawn Wayans, alongside Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Starring Jon Abrahams, Carmen Electra, Shannon Elizabeth, Anna Faris, Kurt Fuller, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, and Dave Sheridan, it follows a group of teenagers who accidentally hit a man with their car, dump his body in a lake, and swear to secrecy. A year later, someone wearing a Ghostface mask and robe begins hunting them one by one.
Urban Legend is a 1997slasher film directed by Jamie Blanks, written by Silvio Horta, and starring Jared Leto, Alicia Witt, Rebecca Gayheart, Tara Reid, and Michael Rosenbaum, and is the first installment in the Urban Legend film series. Its plot focuses on a series of murders on the campus of a private New England university, all of which appear to be modeled after popular urban legends. In addition to its younger cast, the film features supporting performances from Robert Englund, Loretta Devine, John Neville, and Brad Dourif.
The Stepfather is a 1987 American psychological horror film directed by Joseph Ruben and starring Terry O'Quinn, Jill Schoelen, and Shelley Hack. O'Quinn stars as an identity-assuming serial killer who marries a widow with a teenage daughter. Having killed his previous family and changed his identity, his murderous tendencies continue after his stepdaughter becomes suspicious of him. The film is loosely based on the life of mass murderer John List, although the plot is more commonly associated with slasher films of the era. The film was written by Donald E. Westlake, from a story by Westlake, Carolyn Lefcourt and Brian Garfield, with an uncredited rewrite by David Loughery.
The First Wives Club is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Hugh Wilson, based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Olivia Goldsmith. The film stars Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton as three divorcées who seek retribution on their ex-husbands for having left them for younger women. The supporting cast comprises Stockard Channing as Cynthia; Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, and Stephen Collins as the three leads' ex-husbands; and Sarah Jessica Parker, Elizabeth Berkley, and Marcia Gay Harden as their respective lovers. Supporting roles are played by Maggie Smith, Bronson Pinchot, Rob Reiner, Eileen Heckart, Philip Bosco, and Timothy Olyphant in his feature film debut; cameo appearances include Gloria Steinem, Ed Koch, Kathie Lee Gifford, and Ivana Trump.
Return of the Living Dead Part II is a 1988 American comedy horror film written and directed by Ken Wiederhorn, and starring Michael Kenworthy, Marsha Dietlein, Dana Ashbrook, Thom Mathews, James Karen, and Phil Bruns. It is the first of four sequels to The Return of the Living Dead.
House of 9 is a 2004 psychological horror film directed by Steven R. Monroe and starring Dennis Hopper and Kelly Brook. It follows nine strangers who have been abducted and locked inside a house. A mysterious voice called The Watcher tells them that they are to play a game: the last person alive can leave the house and win five million dollars. The film is presented with "live feeds" from hidden surveillance cameras, showing the nine people turning from cooperative escape attempts to a killing fest.
Laurie Strode is a character from the Halloween series. She first appeared in Halloween (1978) as a high school student who becomes targeted by serial killer Michael Myers, in which she was portrayed by Jamie Lee Curtis. Created by John Carpenter and Debra Hill, Laurie appeared in nine of thirteen films in the series. The character has subsequently been represented in various other media, including novels, video games, and comic books.
Beneath is a straight-to-DVD horror thriller film co-produced in a first time partnership between Paramount Classics and MTV Films. The film is directed by the newcomer Dagen Merrill, who co-wrote the script with Kevin Burke, and the list of producers include Sean Covel and Chris Wyatt, as well as Troy Craig Poon. In Paramount Classics's first horror movie, which marks the company's expansion from acquisitions into the production arena, the cast includes Nora Zehetner and Matthew Settle. Shooting started 2005 in Vancouver, the film was released on DVD August 7, 2007. It was the first direct-to-video title produced by MTV Films.
Bad Ronald is a 1974 American made-for-television horror thriller film directed by Buzz Kulik and starring Scott Jacoby, Pippa Scott, John Larch, Dabney Coleman and Kim Hunter. It is based on the novel of the same title by Jack Vance.
Sorority House Massacre II is a 1990 American slasher film directed by Jim Wynorski, featuring scream queens Melissa Ann Moore and Gail Harris. It follows five sorority sisters who are stalked and murdered by an unknown assailant after purchasing a large house. Much like its predecessors, Sorority House Massacre II has received a cult following over the years.
Cinderella is a 2006 South Korean supernatural horror film, loosely inspired by the fairy tale of Cinderella. It was directed by Bong Man-dae and starred Do Ji-won and Shin Se-kyung.
Girls School Screamers is a 1986 American supernatural slasher film co-written and directed by John P. Finnegan. The plot follows a group of young college girls who are taken up to an abandoned mansion to help renovate it, only to later be dispatched one by one by an unseen assailant. The film was shot independently in Philadelphia under the title The Portrait, before it was acquired by Troma Entertainment, who reshot portions of it and retitled the film.
Loch Ness Terror is a 2008 horror television film directed by Paul Ziller and written by Ziller and Jason Bourque.
Cynthia "Cindy" Campbell is a fictional character from the Scary Movie franchise. Portrayed by Anna Faris and created by Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer, the character first appeared as a high school student in Scary Movie (2000). In the film, whose main parodies are the Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer franchises, Cindy shares a role similar to Sidney Prescott and Julie James.
"Lacey" is the 19th episode of the second season of the American ABC fantasy/drama television series Once Upon a Time, and the show's 41st episode overall. It aired on April 21, 2013.
I Smile Back is a 2015 American drama film directed by Adam Salky and based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Amy Koppelman, who wrote the screenplay with Paige Dylan. The film stars Sarah Silverman as an upper-middle-class wife and mother struggling with mental illness and addiction. The film had its world premiere at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival on January 25, 2015. It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2015. The film was released in a limited release on October 23, 2015, by Broad Green Pictures.
Open House is a 2010 thriller film directed by Andrew Paquin. Was screened at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival. It was released on DVD in August 2010 in the United States by Lionsgate.