José Ramón Larraz (1929–2013)

Watched this great piece of sleazy '70s psycho lunacy under its straight-to-the-point British title of "Scream... and Die!" Written by Derek Ford and directed by the always interesting José Ramón Larraz, the story sees beautiful model Valerie (Andrea Allan), persuaded by her good-for-nothing boyfriend to come with him to an abandoned country house in the hope of picking up some loot. The pair become separated in the dark and fog-bound house and Valerie finds herself witness to a strange sexualised murder. Fleeing back to London she can't find any sign of her boyfriend and she begins to believe that the murderer knows where she lives. When an odd black-gloved man (Peter Forbes-Robertson) moves into the flat below her she becomes increasingly paranoid. Her friends try and reassure her and convince her that going to the police would be a bad move and when she meets the charming Paul (Karl Lanchbury) and his eccentric aunt Susanna (Maggie Walker) things begin to look up for her - unfortunately her real problems are just beginning.

The basic storyline places "Scream... and Die!" in fairly routine giallo territory, but what elevates the film is the tone and atmosphere that Larraz develops. The fog and mist shrouded house and the creepy woods around it give the film a baroque and Gothic feel and atmosphere, while the nudity and sex give it a sleazy and decadent tone. Larraz builds the story slowly, letting the tension gradually build and using deep darks to obscure what's happening and some great sound design to hint and scare. The film is beautifully photographed by Trevor Wrenn who gives the typically English countryside locations an ominous look and provides some really clever lighting effects as characters move in-and-out of the light and dark or through deep, slowly swirling mists. There is frequent nudity and a strangely decadent feel - the sexualised murder that Valerie witnessed in the house at the beginning of the film dripped in a weird psycho-sexuality, while the bizarre sex scene between Paul and his aunt was truly odd, having a transgressive feel even beyond the overt incest. Andrea Allan is excellent - beautiful, elegant and not afraid of a touch of nudity; it is surprising that she didn't go on for a more expansive career. The rest of the cast are just about adequate, although Karl Lanchbury and Maggie Walker deserve mention for breathing such odd life into their characters.

"Scream... and Die!" was a great wee surprise of a movie, that deserves to be better known and more widely appreciated. José Ramón Larraz direction is first class and he fills the screen with great images and delivers a superb gialloesque atmosphere that ranges across the Gothic and the erotic, by way of outright madness.… (mehr)