FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (1987)
Director: Jeff Burr
MGM/Sony

The 1980s saw a resurgence in anthology horror films with George Romero's CREEPSHOW (1982) and other titles that followed in the decade, including CAT’S EYE, DEADTIME STORIES, CREEPSHOW 2, etc. Even the boob tube offered such related fantasy omnibus fare as “Tales From The Darkside,” “Amazing Stories,” a new version of “The Twilight Zone,” as well as HBO’s “Tales From the Crypt.” In the midst of all this came FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM (aka THE OFFSPRING), a low-budgeted effort directed and co-written by a young Jeff Burr (LEATHERFACE: THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE III) that despite being crude and uneven, has more than a few things going for it.

In Oldfield, Tennessee, a female serial killer is executed in prison. Afterwards, journalist Bess Chandler (Susan Tyrrell) visits the town’s veteran librarian/historian Julian White (Vincent Price), who also happens to be the uncle of the killer. He unfolds to Bess four stories of past horrors to illustrate that Oldfield has a treacherous history behind it that continues to linger. In the present day (1986) nerdy Stanley Burnside (Clu Gulager) finally gets up enough courage to ask out a sexy ice princess at work. She agrees, but when she objects to his advantages, he murders her, leaving the body in the street. Still obsessed with the woman, he pays a nighttime visit to her in the funeral home, performing an act of necrophilia, with an unearthly outcome nine months later!

The next tale is set in the 50s, as gunshot wounded hood Jesse Hardwicke (Terry Kiser) makes it across a river to some desolate swamplands where an old black hermit (Harry Caesar) has existed for hundreds of years through voodoo. Jesse’s attempts to double-cross him for his supernatural secret of perpetual life, but his fruitless efforts comes back to haunt him in the most horrible manner imaginable. The third yarn is set in the 30s and has a glass eater in a carnival sideshow attempting to break away from the pack when he falls in love. But the performers in this act have terrible secrets, and any such ideas of desertion are punishable by the ruthless carny leader, known as the Snake Woman (Rosalind Cash). The last tale is set during the end of the Civil War with a trio of cold-blooded Yankee soldiers (led by Cameron Mitchell!) ending up at the doorstep of a ransacked mansion run entirely by orphan children who happen to be cracked, worshipping someone or something known as “the magistrate,” and taking pleasure in capturing and torturing their adult visitors.

Much better known under its U.S. theatrical title THE OFFSPRING (referring to an incident in the first episode), FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM was obviously done with little money, and some of the stories run longer than they should, with most of them being predictable. But you have to give the filmmakers credit for assembling a great cast, including a decent genre role for an elderly Price (complete with southern accent!) shortly before bad health got the better of him. If you want to remember the legend looking spry during the golden years of his life, this is not a bad film to look to. Aside from the aforementioned cast members, Hammer starlet Martine Beswicke has a “special guest” bit as the executed serial killer, and you’ll also have fun spotting Laurence Tierney, Angelo Rossitto (in a carnival barker role similar to the one he had in DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN) and noted journalist (and occasional DVD Drive-In contributor) David Del Valle who also got casting credit. This quartet of vignettes is pretty sick and disturbing (picture a middle-aged man giving his incest-verged sister a nude ice bath or a young boy carving out a soldier’s eye to plant it on the face of a mutilated little girl), and are aided by some gruesome special effects by Rob Burman (THE THING). Giving each story a different time backdrop makes for somewhat effective, yet shoestring gothic horror. With a true horror film legend playing host to the wraparound segments, a treasure trove of great character actors in sleazy roles, and diverse stories all with a shock value edge to them, FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM is by no means a classic but well worth a look.

MGM/Sony's DVD of FROM A WHISPER TO A SCREAM offers the preferable widescreen version (1.85:1 letterboxed with anamorphic enhancement) on one side and the full frame open matte version on the other. The limited production values show through clearly on the transfer, with lots of film dirt and blemishes present in spots, and some scenes being hopelessly grainy. Colors are stable yet subdued for the most part, and detail is sharp enough, delivering a transfer that’s superior to the previous VHS version, but nothing to show off your equipment on. The mono audio is very strong though, with dialog always coming though nice and clear, and sound effects and music being vigorous for such a cheap effort. Additional Spanish and French language mono tracks are also included, as well as optional English, French and Spanish subtitles. The only extra is a theatrical trailer that gives away too much, so don’t view it before the feature! (George R. Reis)

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