Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

After their parents divorce, one daughter lives with her mother in England while the other lives with her father in Portugal. After the untimely death of her mother, the one daughter stands to inherit a large sum of money and also a number of documents containing information that will incriminate her father, who was a crooked judge.Another reviewer wrote that despite having Susan George, this is a rather boring film. I have to generally concur -- this is not the horror or exploitation that Walker fans have come to expect, and for those thinking this will be as good as "The Comeback"... well, expect disappointment.Not to say it is a bad film, because it is not. But for a film that is called "Die Screaming", you get precious little dying and screaming from this one.

With having become keen in seeing more films by Pete Walker,thanks to his light hearted,sadly forgotten Sex Comedy Tiffany Jones,and also being very interested in catching a glimpse of Susan George for the very first time,I decided to go for a "2 for the price of 1" deal,by taking a look at a collaboration of their's,and finding out how Marianne is made to die screaming.The plot:Running away from her family villa in Portugal,due to gangster's being after her,who are desperate to get hold of bank account details that only she has been told about from her late mum,Marianne McDonald bumps into passing driver Sebastian Smith,who tells Marianne the he will make sure that she is safe,by taking McDonald to live with him in London.A few days/weeks later:Having spent a period of time attempting to build a connection between himself and Marianne,Sebastian gives McDonald the rather surprising news,that due to feeling a need of wanting to know that she will always be "safe",Smith has decided to arrange for both of them to get married to each other today!.Feeling anxious about Sebastian's "kind" offer,Marianne smartly uses the appearance of Smith's friend Eli Frome at the wedding as a way to ruin Sebastian's marriage plans,as McDonald begins to fear that the people who were set to do anything to get the bank account details out of her in Portugal are now getting closer to her than ever before.View on the film:For the first half an hour of the movie,screenwriter Murray Smith struggles to strike a cohesive balance with the (initially) underlying mystery-Thriller elements and the teen Drama-style sections of the movie,with the "wedding games" between Sebastian and Marianne feeling completely disconnected to the events that take place in the second half of the film.Happily,as Murray quickly makes a pretty thin excuse for the character's all to go to Portugal,the teen Drama elements are trimmed away, and replaced by the terrific mystery-Thriller section of the plot being wonderfully pushed right to the front,with Murray showing Marianne's terror to gradually increase,as McDonald begins to feel that she is getting pulled back into the web of death and double- crossing that Marianne desperately wants to escape from.Shooting the film in the stark Portugal sun light,director Pete Walker impressively uses the strongest parts in Murray Smith's likable screenplay to create the foundations for his future Horror work,with Walker showing a female character to be far deadlier and smarter than the male,and also uses the nickname of McDonal's dad ("The Judge") to show how members of the ruling elite want to use all of their powers to crush everyone underneath.Working closely with the fantastic editing of Tristam Cones,and a great,quick-thinking performance from the very pretty Susan George,Walker cleverly uses spilt-screens and whip pans to show the desperation of the character's to force out the bank account details from Marianne,and also does well in hiding the films low budget,by setting the ending around the ancient buildings of Portugal,that give the movie a tremendous,chilling atmosphere,as the dying screams of Marianne start to echo round the film.

That summary may sound a little harsh, but it's not far off in describing Pete Walker's "Die Screaming, Marianne". The biggest problem is that for a supposed psychological "thriller", this comes up awfully short on *thrills*. It works as an amusing, soap opera style melodrama, but is much too leisurely for its own good. And, to be perfectly frank, it's not terribly well written. The absolutely stunning Susan George plays Marianne, a poor little rich girl on the run who is practically forced into marriage by a stranger named Sebastian (Christopher Sandford). However, his plan goes awry when the name of his friend Eli (Barry Evans) mistakenly ends up on the marriage certificate. Sebastian drops out of the picture, if only for a bit, while Eli eventually has to be told the truth about his new bride: she's due to inherit a sizable sum upon her 21st birthday, which is imminent, and there are those in her family who want either revenge or to get their hands on the money and / or incriminating documents. Said relatives include a father (Leo Genn) who was a crooked judge, and a venal and nasty half sister (Judy Huxtable). "Die Screaming, Marianne" doesn't offer more than moderate entertainment. It does feature some impressive location work and scenery, and fine supporting performances by all, but its main drawing card - which is good enough of a hook - is its showcasing of the luscious young George in the leading role. She's often dressed quite provocatively and, in fact, Marianne likes to dance in a bikini. Ms. George makes this whole thing worth sitting through, and Evans is very likable as the true innocent of the piece. One can't help but feel some disdain towards the character of Marianne for being too cagey and not telling Eli the whole story when it would have helped him more; besides, she was doing nobody any favours by delaying the inevitable set of confrontations. The movie really could have used *some* more action, and only starts to get good near the end. It makes the mistake that a fair amount of movies make by being too talky and stretching out things too much. It's a pity - this easily could have been more fun. But Walker would only get better as he went along, creating such fine entries in the British New Wave of horror as "The Flesh and Blood Show", "Frightmare", and "House of Whipcord". Five out of 10.

Strange behavior is on the menu for this frustratingly slow-moving "thriller" about a Swiss bank account everyone needs the numbers to so that what's inside can be retrieved. Marianne(Susan George, dressed evocatively in skimpy outfits the entire film)is only one of two people who know it..the other, her mother, is dead. Marianne's father, The Judge(Leo Genn)needs notes that are scathing enough to possibly send him to jail. The film offers a distinct possibility of The Judge being the very one who murdered Marianne's mother. Hildegarde(Judy Huxtable)is slowly going mad and wants the cash within that bank account. It's her inner hatred for Marianne(she's papa's little girl)that drives her to find some way of getting those numbers to open it. Sebastian(Christopher Sandford)gets in the mix as he started a relationship(that didn't last because he bored Marianne)with Marianne..but we come to find out he had already been involved with Hildegarde once before. He will make a deal with the devil, Hildegarde, to bring Marianne, who had ran away from home out of fear for her life, back to The Judge so that brute force might extract those numbers from her mouth. The unfortunate victim in all this isn't Marianne as much as her lover, Eli(Barry Evans)who comes with her only to face possible danger not just from Hildegarde, but even from his own friend Sebastian. The obsession for the money is at the heart of the film which takes way too long to get going. What made me restless was the way the characters just didn't get on with it. We spend so much time watching them skirting the issue of THE important confrontation to get those numbers from Marianne's brain. I think Pete Walker wants to try and evade as much suspense as possible which hurts this film because I, for one, just didn't care for any of them enough. I think it comes down to George in the lead. She spends most of this film simply blank without a hint of expression. I wanted to beat out her thoughts into words myself so she can just say what she damn well feels. Hildegarde wants the money so bad enough it takes her damn well a long time to do anything. She tries manipulation using Sebastian as a means to snuff out the numbers, but shouldn't she know after such a length of Marianne's absence that wouldn't work? The film limply moves along at a turtle's pace and by the time any real action occurs I was so uninvolved to care.