Seth Holt

Great slice of psychological mystery from Hammer. Jimmy Sangster's story has the young wheelchair-bound Penny (Susan Strasberg) returning to the family home on the French Riviera to visit her estranged father and his new wife Jane (Ann Todd). On arrival Penny's told her father is away on business but she quickly feels that something is amiss and convinces herself that her father is dead. She enlists the friendly chauffeur Bob (Ronald Lewis) to help her while trying to steer clear of Jane and Jane's suspicious friend, Doctor Gerrard (Christopher Lee). "Scream of Fear" (aka Taste of Fear) is marvellously realised by director Seth Holt and cinematographer Douglas Slocombe. The pair bathe the film in moody, noir-tinged black and white effects conjuring up a superb shadowy atmosphere. They make great use of high contrast film stock to give the film a mildly expressionistic flavour. Their approach works well with Sangster's script which is full of neat twists, plenty of nerve-jangling sequences and an approach to character that ensures that nobody is quite what they seem. The film is superbly acted - Susan Strasberg is a bundle of neurotic nervousness; Ann Todd is perfectly-pitched as the too good to be true stepmother; Ronald Lewis is great as the sympathetic chauffeur and potential love interest and Christopher Lee is dark and menacing as the doctor keen on offering psychological advice to Penny. The climax may be a touch predictable and may have one twist too many for its own good, but this is still an excellent, stylisg psychological chiller from Hammer.… (more)