Scream (1981 film)

Scream

VHS cover
Directed by Byron Quisenberry
Produced by Byron Quisenberry
Clara Huff
Hal Buchanan
Written by Byron Quisenberry
Starring Pepper Martin
Hank Worden
Ethan Wayne
Ann Bronston
Julie Marine
Music by Joseph Conlan
Cinematography Richard Pepin
Edited by B.W. Kestenberg
Distributed by Cal-Com (Theatrical)
Vestron Video
Shriek Show
Code Red
Release dates
  • January 1, 1981
Running time
 82 minutes
Country United States
Language English

Scream (also released as The Outing) is a 1981 American slasher film written and directed by Byron Quisenberry and starring Pepper Martin, Hank Worden, Ethan Wayne, Ann Bronston, and Julie Marine...

Plot

A group of 12 friends on a river camping trip decide to spend the night in an old ghost town, and an unseen killer begins to dispatch them one by one. On the first night at the stroke of 12 midnight, three of the group are killed in rapid succession. Allen is found hung; his friends Rod and John both hacked by a cleaver. In the morning, the nine survivors try to leave, but find their three rubber rafts slashed apart by someone (or something) forcing them to spend another night at the ghost town. During the day, two youths on motor dirt bikes arrives and one of the guides leaves with them to get help from a nearby ranch which is over 30 miles away.

At nightfall, Bob takes over as de facto leader of the group and has them set up traps to try to trap the killer, but the unseen killer seems to evade them every time leaving no evidence, not even footprints. Soon, the unseen killer strikes again, killing Andy by striking him in the face with an axe and decapitates Bob with a scythe, including one of the dirtbike youths by blowing him through a door and leaving Stan and Lou badly injured. At the stroke of midnight, a mysterious horse-drawn stagecoach arrives in the ghost town, being driven by a mysterious cowboy who introduces himself as Charlie Winters (Woody Strode). Charlie tells the group that he has been hunting the killer for years and also claims that the culprit is the ghost of an old sea captain whom drove people out of town years ago. The rest of the survivors are wary about trusting Charlie, but soon realizes that he may be their only hope of survival.

Cast

Release

Scream opened theatrically in the USA on January 1, 1981, while being distributed by Cal-Com. The film grossed $1,083,395 by the end of its run.

Scream was then released on home video sometime in the mid-80s by Vestron Video

Media Blasters released a DVD of the film in 2010 under its Shriek Show label. The release included a widescreen transfer, mono sound mix, an audio commentary with director Byron Quisenberry, a TV spot, and a theatrical trailer.

Code Red Releasing also distributed the film on DVD, as a double feature with the 1974 horror film The Barn of the Naked Dead. This release did not include the audio commentary with director Byron Quisenberry, the theatrical trailer, or TV spot that was included in Media Blasters release.

Reception

The film was released to negative reception, and is often regarded as one of the worst slasher films of the 1980s due to its slow pacing, insipid script, bad acting, lack of blood or gore, and a confusing killer who is never seen on-screen.

Charles Tatum of efilmcritic.com praised the ghost town set, although also stated that "(Quisenberry) cannot generate any suspense at all." He also bashed the special effects, stating that they "..serve as a subliminal Pavlovian trigger for french fries with extra ketchup ."

Richard Mogg of Retroslashers.net wrote a mixed review of the film, stating that "...it had me roaring on the floor with all the nonsense going on. Sure it fails as a slasher but I’d still give it a passing grade for trying."

Oh-The-Horror.com wrote a generally negative review, stating that: "For what little it has going for it, Scream is just entirely too slow, too dull, and too vague."

DVD Verdict.com wrote a scathing review of the Code Red double-feature release, stating that "Scream is a hunk of lead from the Golden Age of Slashers, a cheap, dull, and bloodless concoction that's a chore to sit through. It's horrendously shot and wretchedly acted..." and criticized the transfer, stating that it "...looks pretty bad, with a good amount of print damage and lousy contrast, though that might be attributed to the source."

External links