A jogger has some kind of seizure and collapses in the street: when he awakes, apparently in hospital, he is horrified to discover that one of his legs has been amputated. Meanwhile, a European totalitarian state has some connection to the brutal killings of young British women - but what could it be?
This downright peculiar horror was written by Christopher Wicking, from a novel called "The Disoriented Man" by Peter Saxon. It's one of the films made in the United Kingdom by A.I.P., but whereas their other British productions are mostly straightforward, Scream and Scream Again achieves a uniquely nightmarish quality, particularly due to its convoluted plot.
One scene follows another without much connection - the jogger continues to awake to find more limbs missing, Peter Cushing turns up to admonish a military man about the torturing of prisoners only to be killed by him when he simply grips Cushing's shoulder, the police attempt to track down the "Vampire Killer", and so on.
There seems to be no main character at all; although he is top billed, doctor Vincent Price only appears once in the first hour, and second-billed Christopher Lee, as a government official, doesn't show up until well into the film. This leaves the acting honours to go to the inspector played by Alfred Marks, a brusque detective ("It's a pity they don't hang 'em anymore!") who tracks down killer Michael Gothard in a rivetting chase scene which sees Gothard tearing off his own hand to free himself from handcuffs after draining the blood from an undercover WPC.
It may not make much sense until the very end (and even then...), but Scream and Scream Again holds your attention because of its barmy plotting, unexpected twists and deep suspicion of the authorities, which feeds the general air of paranoia. Listen for the weird dialogue such as "What can we do in five minutes?" or "Yes, I'm a composite too!" A true original. Also with: The Amen Corner who perform the theme song in a dingy-looking nightclub.
