I’ve always loved horror anthology films. Perhaps it was
because the reminded me of the horror comics I wasn’t allowed to read when I
was younger yet always snuck a peak at when perusing the comic book racks. In
any event when I was old enough to go to the theater on my own and a new
anthology movie came out I was there. But not all played in my area. Thank
goodness video at the time took care of that. But even with that this movie
passed me by somehow. Now thanks to Scream Factory I have a chance to make up
for that.
The movie opens with the execution of a murderess being
witnessed by reporter Beth (Susan Tyrell) who then drives to the woman’s home,
a building where she grew up in the town of Oldfield, TN. A library run by her
uncle Julian (Vincent Price), Beth confronts him with the woman’s stories of
how the town made her do the killings she was responsible for. Julian confirms
the stories to a doubting Beth and then begins to tell her of the terrifying
legacy of Oldfield via several stories.
The first involves a nebbish of a man played by Clu Gulager
who lives in a home where he must take care of his grown sister. At work, he
longs for a woman he meets there and eventually asks her out. Things don’t go
as planned and between the ridicule he faces at work and the forced care of his
sister, he loses his mind, killing the woman. A bit of necrophilia, some
possible incest and later on the true terror of his actions confronts
him…literally.
Our second story involves a con man on the run from mobsters
he owes money who escapes into the swamps only to be rescued by a possible
voodoo priest. Nursed back to health, one day he begins looking at the things
inside the man’s cabin. When he finds pictures of the man dating back 100 years
he begs him to give him immortality as well. But as they say, no matter how
well made the plans might seem things never seem to go as you would hope.
The third story is the weakest of them all involving a glass
eater at a carnival sideshow. When he meets a young woman in the latest town he
falls in love with, the star crossed lovers’ temp fate as well as the leader of
the sideshow group he belongs to. A gory ending will satisfy gore hounds but
the story seems to take far too long to tell.
The fourth and last tale involves a group of Civil War
Yankee soldiers led by Cameron Mitchell who run afoul of a group of children
who seem to be in charge of their town. These same children worship a false god
who cries out for blood. If it seems a bit like CHILDREN OF THE CORN that
comparison has been made time and again by folks talking about this movie.
Perhaps it isn’t quite that but it’s easy to see where the comparison would
come up.
The movie ends as it began with Tyrell and Price in the
library talking about the horrors of Oldfield. Is she convinced after spending
the night listening to Price’s tales of woe? The only way to find out is for
you to make an effort to watch this on your own.
Of the anthology films I’ve been able to watch this one
doesn’t qualify as the worst one I’ve ever seen. It does have some good spooky
moments in it but nothing that I would call terrifying. Then again perhaps that
depends on the number of horror films you’ve watched. For me it made this one a
bit weak. The acting is solid, the directing works well but the budget
limitations on the film show in various episodes on display here. That doesn’t
make it a bad movie, just not one of the better in this genre.
As always Scream Factory has done a great job of extras with
this film. Included are stills from the film, the theatrical trailer, audio
commentary by director Jeff Burr, audio commentary by producer/writer Darin
Scott and writer C. Courtney Joyner, TV spots for the movie under its original
name THE OFFSPRING, a documentary on making super 8 films during the 70s
involving the film makers and a comprehensive documentary on the making of this
film, “Return to Oldfield: The Making of From A Whisper To A Scream” that runs
as long as the movie itself!
Fans of the film will be delighted with the package involved
and want to add it to their collection. Horror fans will want to add it to
theirs as well. For everyone else it makes a solid evening’s entertainment from
the 80s, a time when effects were yet to become the CGI spectacles they are now
and everyone seemed concerned about their style choices. In other words it’s
fun to go back and watch but not a place you’d want to hang around in too long.
In the end you will have a bit of fun with this one.
Click here to order.
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