''Screamtime'' is a 1983 British-American

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction **Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction ** Korean horror, Korean horror fiction *Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing on ...

anthology film directed by Michael Armstrong and

Stanley A. Long Stanley A. Long (26 November 1933 – 10 September 2012) was an English exploitation cinema and sexploitation filmmaker. He was also a driving force behind the VistaScreen Stereoscopy, stereoscopic (3D) photographic company. He was a writer, ...

(dually credited as Al Beresford), and written by Armstrong. 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. The films second segment, "Dreamhouse", was remade and expanded to a feature-length film in 2010 as ''

Psychosis Psychosis is a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real. Symptoms may include delusions and hallucinations, among other features. Additional symptoms are incoherent speech and behavior ...

'', starring

Charisma Carpenter Charisma Carpenter (born July 23, 1970) is an American actress. She played Cordelia Chase in the supernatural drama series '' Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1997–1999) and its spin-off series ''Angel'' (1999–2004). She also starred as Kyra ...

Plot

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 slowly drawn to homicidal insanity by his nagging wife and stepson, "Dreamhouse", about a young newlywed couple whose lives are turned upside down when the wife begins having increasingly disturbing premonitions, and "Garden of Blood", the tale of young man who becomes the caretaker of a house with a haunted garden. The wrap-around story sees the men change the videotapes out for each segment, with a twist ending.

Cast

Credits adapted from AllMovie. *

Ann Lynn Elizabeth Ann Lynn (7 November 1933 – 30 August 2020) was a British actress, especially prominent during the British New Wave of the 1960s, appearing in many films that represented what is known as kitchen sink realism. Lynn's career spanne ...

as Lena *

Ian Saynor Ian Saynor is a British film and television actor. He has appeared in various TV dramas set in Wales, including the film ''The Corn is Green'' and episodes of '' The District Nurse'', but is best known for playing Merak in the 1979 '' Doctor Who' ...

as Tony * Yvonne Nicholson as Susan *

David Van Day David Van Day (born David Paul Day, 28 November 1956) is an English singer, songwriter and politician who was formerly a member of the pop vocal duo Dollar. He was also a member of the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls (along with his Dollar par ...

as Gavin *

Dora Bryan Dora May Broadbent, (7 February 1923 – 23 July 2014), known as Dora Bryan, was a British actress of stage, film and television.Jean Anderson Jean Anderson (12 December 1907 – 1 April 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the BBC drama '' The Brothers'' (1972–1976) and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn " ...

as Mildred * Vincent Russo as Ed * Marie Scinto as Marie * Dione Inman as Suzy *

Bosco Hogan John Bosco Hogan (born March 1949) is an Irish stage, film, and television actor. He is well known as the character Dr. Michael Ryan on the television programme ''Ballykissangel''. He appeared in a minor role as convicted felon George Saden in J ...

as Doctor *

Lally Bowers Kathleen "Lally" Bowers (21 January 1914 – 18 July 1984) was an English actress. Bowers was born in Oldham, Lancashire, where she was educated at Hulme Grammar School. She worked as a secretary before walking-on and understudying at the ...

as Mrs. Kingsley * Veronica Doran as Miss Burns * Matthew Peters as Tim * Phillip Bloomfield as Colin * Gary Linley as Frank *

Robin Bailey William Henry Mettam "Robin" Bailey (5 October 1919 – 14 January 1999) was an English actor. He was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. Often cast in upper class and tradition-bound roles such as Mr Justice Graves in Thames Television's ''R ...

as Jack Grimshaw * Michael Gordon as Bill * Brenda Kempner as Woman * Johnathon Morris as Damien * Kevin Smith as Shop Owner * John Styles as Punch Voice * Kim Thompson as Lady Anne

Release

Reception

AllMovie stated: "The real gem here, though, is "Scream House" reamhouse 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. Conversely,

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program TV listings, listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine, TV Guide Mag ...

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."

Home video

The film was originally released on VHS in 1985 by Lightning Video in the United States. As of 2023, it has yet to be officially released on

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of s ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Screamtime American horror films British horror films 1983 horror films 1983 independent films 1983 films 1980s English-language films 1980s British films English-language horror films