Charming widower Eric (solid John Hudson) and his sweet, pretty new wife Jenni (appealingly played by Peggy Webber) move into the gorgeous palatial mansion of Eric's late wife. Pretty soon Peggy starts to see an unsettling disembodied skull all over the place. Is she going crazy? Or is the place really haunted? Director Alex Nicol, working from an endearingly hokey script by John Kneubuhl, keeps the pace stately, but steady throughout, creates a suitably spooky atmosphere, elicits acceptable acting from a game cast, and stages the rousing conclusion with considerable aplomb. Floyd Crosby's moody black and white cinematography makes expert use of crazily tilted Dutch camera angles and gracefully gradual tracking shots. Ernest Gold's effectively eerie score likewise hits the spot. Nice supporting performances by Nicol as weird, slow, scruffy gardener Mickey and Russ Conway as friendly Reverend Edward Snow. Moreover, since the movie is a trim 62 minutes long it's never dull and gets right down to brass tacks with a refreshing dearth of pretense. Good, harmless Grade B fright feature fun.
Review of The Screaming Skull
