The Screaming Skull (1958)
The Screaming Skull (1958)
If you are an actor, and aren't happy with the roles that you are being offered, what do you do? In the case of Alex Nicol, he decided to direct his own film, and in 1958 he directed The Screaming Skull. The film tells the story of a woman named Jenni, who moves with her husband Eric to his late wife's summer home. However soon after moving there she starts being haunted by a screaming skull. The film has a few twists in the plot keeping the audience guess as to what is actually happening. Is it the ghost of his deceased wife, is it the gardener, or is it himself, or is she just crazy?
The Screaming Skull was directed by Alex Nicol and produced and written by John Kneubuhl. The film was distributed by American International Pictures in 1958. The film received mostly negative reviews from the critics, and due to issues with the copyright registration went almost immediately into public domain. Following the gimmicks of William Castle, the film came with a notice that "The producers of this film guaranteed to bury you without charge if you die from fright during Screaming Skull". You are more likely to die of boredom than you are fright during the film to be completely honest.
The Screaming Skull stars Jon Hudson as Eric Whitlock, Peggy Webber as Jenni Whitlock, Russ Conway as Rev. Edward Snow, Tony Johnson as Mrs. Snow, and Alex Nicol as Mickey (the dimwitted gardener). The cast in the film is the definition of mediocre, and Peggy Webber who played Jenni was said to have said that she hated the film. None of the characters felt like they were putting much heart into their roles, and the film feels like it lacks passion.
The Screaming Skull suffers from a slow pacing, and though the story had some potential for an interesting film, it was poorly executed. I think much of the issue of the film falls in Nicol's inexperience as a director, he has even admitted that he didn't know what he was doing, and honestly it shows. The film has some decent moments, and like I said it has potential for being a decent film, but the execution kills it. The film can be found for free, or in cheap public domain film collections, and honestly isn't a film I would recommend paying for. If you have it on a public DVD horror collection, sure give it a view if you have nothing better to do, but really it is just mediocre and dull. So if you come across a copy of this film, there is no reason to pick it up really.
The Screaming Skull was directed by Alex Nicol and produced and written by John Kneubuhl. The film was distributed by American International Pictures in 1958. The film received mostly negative reviews from the critics, and due to issues with the copyright registration went almost immediately into public domain. Following the gimmicks of William Castle, the film came with a notice that "The producers of this film guaranteed to bury you without charge if you die from fright during Screaming Skull". You are more likely to die of boredom than you are fright during the film to be completely honest.
The Screaming Skull stars Jon Hudson as Eric Whitlock, Peggy Webber as Jenni Whitlock, Russ Conway as Rev. Edward Snow, Tony Johnson as Mrs. Snow, and Alex Nicol as Mickey (the dimwitted gardener). The cast in the film is the definition of mediocre, and Peggy Webber who played Jenni was said to have said that she hated the film. None of the characters felt like they were putting much heart into their roles, and the film feels like it lacks passion.
The Screaming Skull suffers from a slow pacing, and though the story had some potential for an interesting film, it was poorly executed. I think much of the issue of the film falls in Nicol's inexperience as a director, he has even admitted that he didn't know what he was doing, and honestly it shows. The film has some decent moments, and like I said it has potential for being a decent film, but the execution kills it. The film can be found for free, or in cheap public domain film collections, and honestly isn't a film I would recommend paying for. If you have it on a public DVD horror collection, sure give it a view if you have nothing better to do, but really it is just mediocre and dull. So if you come across a copy of this film, there is no reason to pick it up really.
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