The Screaming Skull (1958)
Our story begins with the ever-present narrator informing us that The Screaming Skull will kill us and that the producers offer as a free burial if we die of fright. Now I don’t know about the rest of you but as long as Cher isn’t dancing around in a thong I think I’ll live. We now cut to a nice little country mansion with a garden and a fishpond. Zoom in on a frog in the pond as fog rolls in. Cue the boiling water with the rising skull that sounds like Godzilla with laryngitis. The credits roll with the German umpa music that one would associate with shocking horror that could kill you.
After the credits we find the newlyweds Eric and Jenny arriving to the mansion, which Eric inherited from his first wife, Miriam, who died under "mysterious" circumstances. Apparently a lion jumped out and shot her but I’m getting a head of myself. As Eric gives Jenny a tour of the estate he tells her about Mickey. Who is Mickey you ask? Is he related to that damn annoying mouse? To answer the last question first…no thank God. Mickey is the gardener as we learn this I don’t know how many times. I mean come on. How long does it take for it to sink into you skull Jenny? Anyways they notice a car pulling around to the front and go to investigate.
Turns out that it’s Eric’s old friends the Reverend Snow and his wife who have come to visit the couple. Suddenly Eric sees Mickey (remember Jenny he is the gardener) and introduces him to Jenny. Wait until you see this cat. Ever wonder were the inspiration for Torgo of Manos fame came from? Well this is it. After the awkward introduction we learn that children love to hang drapes. Thank you movie. Thank you for telling me that I wasted my youth running around playing instead of putting up curtains. After that the couples split up the Jenny going with the Rev and Eric with Mrs. Snow. Here we learn the Jenny is impressionable ever since she saw her parents drown right in front of her. While this is going on Jenny asks Rev. Snow how Miriam died. Mr. Snow says that Eric told them that Miriam was helping Mickey in the garden when she had to go back to the house. On the way back it started to rain and from what they can figure she slipped on a leaf and smashed her head on the side of the pond. She died in the water. The face of her skull was smashed. While this is going on Mickey has sneaked into the house and asks a portrait of Miriam to make the others go away. I’m beginning to suspect that our boy Mickey here isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Next he’s in the greenhouse crying that Miriam never returned to him on the day she died.
As the Snows leave Mrs. Snow mentions that Jenny has a lot of money. She also states that Jenny is very timid and appears to be scared of something. Now the scene cuts to Mickey taking a Lilly pad from the pond. Now we jump to Eric and Jenny's bedroom where, after discussing a book about jungle beasts, they get down to the honeymooning. Jenny wakes up sometime latter to bagging sounds. Going to investigate she finds the shutters banging in another room. As she goes to shut them she falls through a wormhole and ends up in Eric's arms screaming. They notice the Lilly pad and Jenny again shows us how smart she is by asking, "What is that? Water?" She then panics claiming that Miriam looked like her mother and her bad feelings are coming back. Eric shows that he cares by forbidding her to talk about it. Elsewhere Mickey tells the pond goodnight.
The next day Eric goes into town to get the furniture and turn the utilities on. He suggests that Jenny help Mickey in the garden while he's gone. Here we learn that Jenny wanted to be a caterpillar. Ok she's crazier than Mickey in my book. Anyways they pick some flowers for Miriam's grave and Mickey mentions that he hears Miriam crying in the night before running off leaving Jenny dazed and confused. To cure this she goes to look and the portrait of Miriam when the cabinet opens on its own. Instead of doing what a normal person would do and freak out she calmly shuts it and goes to the pond. Suddenly she's in her room getting undressed in what appears to be considered TnA back then. In her dreams she hears the other characters talk about Miriam’s death when she hears the local train pull in, I mean a piercing scream that wakes her up. She roams around the house and ends up in the same room with the portrait. The cabinet opens again but now there's a skull on the top shelf. Jenny screams then notices some scratches on her hand and she runs away. Back in her room Jenny wraps her hand in some cloth while Mickey is watching a tree bang against the house. Jenny then hears what sounds like footsteps and after sitting there for a while she gets up and throws the skull out the window where it doesn't smash but settles in a divot. Jenny goes back to her room where she is still freaking out when there are knocks at the door. Taking her sweet time on answering it Jenny goes to see what it is. It's the skull that chases her back into the room where Jenny faints. Outside Mickey is walking around.
Eric wakes Jenny up in her bed where he tells her that nothing was there when he found her. Jenny thinks that she needs to go back to New York and see her old psychiatrist while Eric dismiss her. The next day Reverend Snow comes over. Eric and him look for the skull but can't find it. Jenny then confesses to Mr. Snow that she spent a year in the crazy house after her parents die. While she's boring the Rev. Eric looks for Mickey. He keeps looking for him while Mr. Snow takes Jenny to his house for lunch. After a futile search Eric goes to pick up Jenny. Mr. Snow suggests that Eric should take Jenny away from the house, but Eric tells him that the only cure for her is to show her that she is loved. Okay I'm thanking God that Eric isn't a psychiatrist right about now, else we would have a whole lotta crazies on our hands.
Back at the house Eric and Jenny are walking the grounds when they find Mickey and Eric chases after him. He catches him and accuses him for scaring his wife. He throws Mickey into some bushes but Jenny doesn’t think Mickey is responsible for it. Eric seems to think that all of this started when Jenny saw the painting of Miriam and it reminded her of her mother. He believes that if they burn that portrait then Jenny would be cured. While it goes up in flames they hear the scream. Eric says that it's just the peacocks, since you know they sound like human screams. Else where someone throws a rock at some birds. Back at the pond the water is boiling and at Miriam's grave the flower wilts. While they are tending to the ashes Jenny sees the skull in them, but Eric claims that there is nothing there. Jenny faints and Eric takes the skull and hides it in the pond. Mickey sees this from the bushes.
Eric decides to take Jenny way when Mr. Snow brings in some fresh eggs. Eric tell him that he is taking her away for good and that she tried to kill herself and thinks that she will do it again. Later Jenny tells Eric that Rev. Snow said that he was going to bring some men over tomorrow to search the whole estate. Eric leaves while Jenny goes to pack. We see Mickey duck into some bushes while Eric searches the pond for the skull, which he can't find. He sees Mickey and chases down to the greenhouse. Eric smacks him around asking him where the skull is and who took it, but Mickey claims that Miriam took it. Eric rushes off and dives into the pond looking for the skull, but Mickey has it. He checks the grave but sees the skull in Miriam's tombstone and he smashes a glass ball against it.
Meanwhile Mickey takes the skull to the Snow's where they ask him if he did it. Mickey says that he didn't and they rush off to the house to confront Eric. At said house Jenny looks for Mickey to say goodbye to him. You know another good name for this movie would be "Looking for Mickey." Eric meanwhile sneaks back into the house. As Jenny checks the greenhouse the ghost of Miriam chases her. At the house Eric readies a noose when he hears Jenny screaming. He hides in the doorway while Jenny runs upstairs and he strangles her. When he's done he hears someone knocking on the front door. Answering the door he sees the ghost, which is a skeleton in a dress. Eric throws a hard stool at the ghost, which collapses into a pile of bones. As he goes to run upstairs he sees a skull that chases him outside. There he is surrounded by giant flying skulls that chase him around the gardens. There is even a skull in the car when Eric tries to escape in it. He runs to the pond where the skull latches onto his throat, knocking him into the pond. Missing all the fun Jenny wakes up and find the dress of Miriam's ghost when the Snow's and Mickey arrive. Mrs. Snow comforts Jenny while the Reverend looks for someone else besides Mickey, i.e. Eric. He finds him in the pond, choked to death. As the Snows take Jenny away she asks why did Eric do it. They tell her it was for her money and now they question it Miriam died of and accident. Mickey's at the pond again where he says, "They're gone now. Rest." THE END
First of all I want to dedicate this review to the fine folks of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This was the last broadcast episode of the greatest show ever made and I want to thank them for bring a lot of joy into my life.
Now onto the review.
This film may seem dull when you first watch it, but if you put your mind on neutral it can be a lot of fun and at times a little bit creepy. The cabinet opening on it's own, the footsteps in the hall, the banging shutters, the tree hitting the house, and the knocking doors adds to the overall creepiness of the film. The isolated setting helps as well. The acting is what one would expect from a low budget from this era but it is pretty good.
John Hudson played Eric and pulled the character off greatly in my opinion. He played Eric’s descent into madness and obsession with killing his wife greatly and made it believable. You can still tell he's G-U-I-L-T-Y right off the bat though.
Peggy Webber was Jenny and she too pulled off the character of the crazy wife well enough. She was still annoying at times but in her defense she looked damn good in that bra.
The director Alex Nicol played Mickey. From what I heard he didn't really have to put much effort into the role but I disagree. He too did a good job at playing the creepy man-child caretaker that is a staple of these haunted house flicks.
All in all The Screaming Skull was an all right flick. It's not Casablanca by a long shot, but it is a good time waster or a good choice at a party where you and your drunken friends can mock it to death. Also I didn’t need the free burial but will you when you witness the shocking horror of THE SCREAMING SKULL?!?!?!
I give it ****/*****
