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Screamtime

Screamtime is a 1983 British-American horror anthology film directed by Michael Armstrong and Stanley A. Long (dually credited as Al Beresford), written by Armstrong, and starring Jean Anderson, Robin Bailey, Dora Bryan, Ann Lynn, Yvonne Nicholson, Ian Saynor, and David Van Day.[3] It was produced by Peter Long and Stanley A. Long.[3] Presented as an anthology with a wrap-around story, the film opens with a pair of young men stealing three videotapes, which happen to each contain a tale of terror. The first story is about an evil puppeteer, the second is a haunted house story, and the third is about a caretaker in a haunted garden.[4]

Screamtime
Promotional poster
Directed byMichael Armstrong
Stanley A. Long
Written byMichael Armstrong
Produced byPeter Long
Stanley A. Long
Starring
CinematographyDon Lord[2]
Alan Pudney[2]
Mike Spera[2]
Music byKPM Music Library[2]
Production
company
Release date
  • 1983 (1983)
[1]
Running time
89 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom, United States
LanguageEnglish

The films second segment, "Dreamhouse", was remade and expanded to a feature-length film in 2010 as Psychosis, starring Charisma Carpenter.[5][6]

Plot

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Two young men enter a video store and steal three videotapes, which they take to a friend's house to watch. The three stories include "Killer Punch", about a puppeteer (Robin Bailey) slowly drawn to homicidal insanity by his nagging wife (Ann Lynn) and stepson (Jonathon Morris), "Dreamhouse", about a young newlywed couple (Ian Saynor and Yvonne Nicholson) whose lives are turned upside down when the wife begins having increasingly disturbing premonitions, and "Garden of Blood", the tale of a young man (David Van Day) who becomes a handyman of a house owned by two women (Dora Bryan and Jean Anderson) with the intention of robbing them, without knowing that the house has a garden protected by gnomes and fairies. The wrap-around story sees the men change the videotapes out for each segment, with a twist ending.

Cast

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Release

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Reception

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AllMovie stated: "The real gem here, though, is "Scream House" [Dreamhouse], a truly unsettling tale that unfolds at a perfectly creepy pace and boasts a simple but surprising twist ending." But felt that "the American sequences that glue the three stories together could have been tossed off in an afternoon, but they do offer some entirely unnecessary nudity and boneheaded Brooklynese that should amuse slumming horror fans who give Screamtime a chance.[3] Conversely, TV Guide singled out the film's final story, "Garden of Blood", as the film's best, but concluded there is "not a shock or scare to be found anywhere."[7]

Bloody Disgusting wrote: "There is no denying this anthology feels like a quick money grab. Yet, even as low-cost as the film comes across, the content itself is for the most part entertaining and not as uneven as other slapdash compilations that cropped up later. What Screamtime lacks in budget it makes up for in charm." They also praised the film's approach to the wrap-around segment: "As is custom with nearly all anthologies containing a wraparound, the main characters are never safe regardless of their distance from the featured stories. However, Armstrong and Long's film takes an innovative approach to how Ed, Bruce, and Marie come upon these cursed videos and meet their doomed fates. It all feels like a precursor to more recent anthologies, such as V/H/S."[4]

Screen Rant called it a "charming British offering", and included it in their list of "10 Underrated 1980s Horror Movies", stating: "As with many horror anthologies, the quality ebbs and flows, but Screamtime is overall a good time."[8]

Home video

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The film was originally released on VHS in 1985 by Lightning Video in the United States.[9] As of 2024, it has yet to be officially released on DVD or Blu-ray, but can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Young, R. G. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film: Ali Baba to Zombies. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 547. ISBN 1-55783-269-2. Retrieved June 29, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Screamtime". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 29, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Screamtime". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Lê, Paul (April 8, 2022). "Low-Budget British Anthology 'Screamtime' is Rich in Charm". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  5. ^ Geigel, Gil (February 6, 2011). "Psychosis (DVD review)". Fangoria. Archived from the original on November 13, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  6. ^ Barton, Steve (January 1, 2011). "Psychosis (DVD)". Dread Central. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  7. ^ "Screamtime". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  8. ^ Le, Paul (May 8, 2021). "10 Underrated 1980s Horror Movies You Can Stream Today on Amazon Prime". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "Screamtime". VHSCollector. Archived from the original on October 25, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
  10. ^ "Screamtime". Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on May 2, 2023. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
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