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An absolute waste of money

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

A better than average cast helps to make this horror film a decent watch, along with a reasonably good script (written by brothers Jim & Ken Wheat and Wallace C. Bennett) that has some memorable twists. It's graphically bloody at times but also has fine atmosphere, and a healthy nod to "Psycho" in its use of an imposing beach side house.College student Scotty (Rebecca Balding) is in desperate need of a place to live and ends up at this house, owned by a weird family, the Engels. Unfortunately, Scotty and her fellow roommates won't know just *how* creepy this family is until it's almost too late. When one of the kids is murdered, a subplot develops with two detectives (Cameron Mitchell, Avery Schreiber) investigating the case.The cute Balding is an appealing lead in this story, given effective theatrical treatment by commercial veteran Denny Harris (in his only feature credit). Helping a great deal is a grandiose music score by the under-rated Roger Kellaway, who also composes a period style song for the show. There is some good suspense and many ominous shots of the house and its interiors. The shocks are well realized, as well.Yvonne De Carlo is also among the familiar faces appearing. Mitchell and an effectively serious Schreiber are fine as the detectives. In addition to Balding, Steve Doubet and Juli Andelman are similarly likable. Brad Rearden is great in the role of the nerdy Mason Engels, the films' one true tragic character. And horror genre icon Barbara Steele is a treat to watch in a non-speaking role.Lovers of the horror films from this period should find a fair deal to enjoy here. "The Silent Scream" is enjoyable stuff that deserves a viewing from them.Seven out of 10.

Scotty, Jack, Peter and Doris are all students who move into a gorgeous seaside mansion/boarding house run by Mrs. Engels and her son Mason. At first, the students love their new digs, but when one of them turns up dead, things get weird and the Engels family secrets begin to come out.I remember always wanting to watch this movie when it was on HBO before we had cable, so it had taken on an almost mythic importance in my mind. I don't know why I never rented it during the VHS boom, but I finally tried to watch it earlier this year but couldn't get into it. I'm glad I gave it another chance, because I actually found it quite enjoyable. Sure, it's pretty tame compared to other 80s slashers, but there's a grimness to the murders through the sound or the blood spatter or other visual/auditory tricks that really make them effective, even though we don't see anything. The young actors playing the college students are mostly likable and not cartoonish, so I could imagine them all being friends. Overall, I'd recommend this one, especially to someone just starting to explore the slasher genre.

Unable to find accommodation on campus, pretty college student Scotty (Rebecca Balding) rents a room at an isolated seaside mansion, unaware that the owner Mrs. Engels (Yvonne De Carlo) keeps her lobotomised homicidal daughter Victoria (Barbara Steele) hidden in the house in a secret room. You can't keep a good psycho locked up for long though, and it's not long before Vicky is out and about getting stabby with the tenants...The Silent Scream doesn't score many points for originality, its 'murderous insane relative' and 'old dark house' schtick hardly breaking new ground. But despite the over-familiarity of the material, and a disappointing lack of gore, The Silent Scream still manages to be an reasonably effective little horror/thriller thanks to solid direction from Denny Harris, who makes good use of his creepy location, and decent casting: Balding (The Boogens) makes for a very likable protagonist (of course, it doesn't hurt that she's very easy on the eye); De Carlo (Lily from The Munsters) is suitably creepy as the maniac's mother; Brad Rearden is convincingly freaky as Mrs. Engel's weirdo son Mason; and both Juli Andelman and John Widelock are more than irritating enough to make very deserving victims.It is horror legend Steele, however, who 'steeles' the show; she might not have any lines of dialogue, but she still manages to make her character completely menacing.

Spunky college student Scotty Parker (winningly played with disarming sweetness and vitality by cute and appealing brunette Rebecca Balding) rents a room at an old house located down by the shore. Scotty and her three fellow boarders discover that the ramshackle abode harbors a very dark and deadly secret deep within its grimy cobweb-strewn walls. Director Denny Harris, working from a smart and absorbing script by Jim Wheat, Ken Wheat, and Wallace C. Bennet, relates the simple and involving story at a gradual, yet steady pace, does an expert job of creating and sustaining a mysteriously creepy atmosphere, and pulls out all the stops for the picture's rousing and hair-raising conclusion. The able cast of genre veterans helps a lot: Yvonne De Carlo does well as the stern and remote Mrs. Engels, Cameron Mitchell as the weary Lt. Sandy McGiver and Avery Schreiber as his jolly partner Sgt. Manny Ruggin are likewise excellent, and 60's Gothic fright feature goddess Barbara Steele delivers a remarkably intense and frightening tour-de-force mute pantomime performance as the deranged and dangerous Victoria Engels. Better still, the youthful protagonists are well-drawn and genuinely engaging: Balding shines in the perky lead, with fine support from Steve Doubet as charming hunk Jack Towne, Juli Anderlman as the chipper Doris Prichart, and John Widerlock as the amiable Peter Ransom. Brad Rearden is also solid and credible as weird and neurotic bespectacled nerd Mason Engels. Roger Kellaway's elegantly eerie orchestral score does the blood-chilling trick. The stylish cinematography by Michael D. Murphy and David Shore gives the movie an attractive polished look. The spooky seaside house evokes a powerfully unsettling sense of vulnerability and isolation. Moreover, the plot offers some nice tweaking of the standard slice'n'dice conventions: the killer turns out to be a woman with a tragic and poignant back story, the heroine saves herself at the end, and the murder set pieces are effectively brutal and shocking without ever becoming too gory or disgusting. Highly recommended for 80's low-budget indie horror fans.