The Screaming Skull (1958)

--Reviewed by Lindy Loo

My friend D spontaneously and completely out of the blue got me the Horror Classics Collection: 50 Movie Pack, bless his fricking little heart, so I rocked out on a couple of movies from it this weekend. Expect a buttload of horror movie reviews for some time to come, now that I won't have to depend on the library for my hook-ups. And if you bump into D's ghost, be sure to thank him for his generosity--upon receiving this little gem of a gift, I of course immediately offed him and buried him in my backyard.

Plotline: A newly-married couple arrives at their new home (which is the house of the hubby's deceased wife). Left alone a ridiculous amount of time, the wife finds herself running into inexplicably-placed skulls, a bizarre gardener, and screams coming from the night.

Scariness factor: This is camp camp camp, my friends, so no. No scariness.

Gross-Out Factor: Um, no.

Complaints: It is hard to lodge complaints against a campy old horror movie as it *is*, of course, gonna be horribly lame. So, no. All the complaints I'd have if this were a normal horror movie make it the glorious camp-extravaganza it is.

High Points: This movie cracks my shit up. I first watched it with my sisters, and we found ourselves wailing hysterically through most of the movie. It makes little sense, and even when you find out what's going on, it still makes little sense--there's no way the events being engineered could be engineered in the way they take place. The way the deceased wife died has got to be the lamest way a person ever could kick the bucket. The gardener will make you bust up every time he appears on the screen. And the new wife's reactions to all the random skulls in her house will have you wetting your pants. This is good shit, definitely to be watched in the company of others though, so you can enjoy pointing out its ludicrousness and so you can joyously shout at the wife. Fun fun fun.



Overall: This flick is a little bit over an hour, so even if you end up just thinking it's dumb, it'll really not be too long a waste of your time. But seriously, this is funny shit--a doubtless classic campy horror flick. So grab a few friends and track this down. With a few beers and lots of audience-interaction, you'll have a helluva fun time.

Grade: A-