The Screaming Skull

Plot synopsis:
Eric and Jenni Whitlock arrive at the stately home that he shared with his former wife to ostensibly recapture his happiness and reinvigorate the abandoned home. Eric's new wife, Jenni is a sensitive and impressionable person who needs encouragement and companionship. They appear to be very much in love and Eric declares his desire to share his life with her and put his past behind him. Jenni is introduced to Mickey, the simpleton gardner, who was devoted to Eric's first wife, Marriane and we learn that Marriane was accidentally drowned in the pond on the property. Jenni encounters the Reverand Snow and his wife who have come to celebrate Eric's return and meet the new woman of the house. Jenni shares with the reverand that her own parents died of drowning and she clearly has nevere recovered from their death. When Eric leaves Jenni at home alone while he is travelling for work, she encounters the strange sounds of the old house from blowing wind to the erie cry of the peacocks that inhabit the garden. She is clearly on edge and when Eric returns he assures her that everything is fine. Jenni reaches out to Mickey to comfort him and try to build a relationship, and has some success when she helps him find flowers for Marriane's monument. Another night comes alone for Jenni and she again hears strange sounds but this time she enters a room that contains an old oil painting of Marriane and discovers a skull in a closet. She tosses the skull out the window, only to find it reappear on the front porch. Again, Eric reassures Jenni and accuses Mickey of terrorizing Jenni. Erics suggests that he and Jenni burn the painting so they can put the past behind them. Jenni does not at first find the burning comforting but relents and as she and Eric go to disperse and water the ashes from the fire, she sees a skull in the ashes and hears an erie scream which Eris says he does not see or hear, and she faints. While she is unconscious, Eric recovers the skull, which he clearly knows is there and hides it in the pond. Eric now tells the reverand Snow that Jenni suffered a nervous breakdown and attempted suicide, for which she was institutionalized. The reverend suggests they leave the house, but Eric insists that it is the best place for her. Mickey sees Eric hide the skull and in turn he hides it himself and tells the reverand and his wife about the deception. The reverand and his wife prepare to go and confront Eric. Before they arrive that night Jenni goes out into the garden to search for Eric and sees a ghostly form in the garden shed which chases her to the house. Eric, who was preparing a rope with a noose, takes the opportunity to hide and wait for the distraught Jenni to appear. He then leaps out of hiding and apparently strangles Jenni to death. As Eric descends the stairs he begins to see images of a screaming skull everywhere he turns and he encounters a ghostly and skeletal form. Running from the house he cannot escape the skull, which physically attacks him by the edge of the pond. Eric and the skull fall into the pond, still struggling and Eric is drowned. Jenni recovers from her near strangulation and descends the stairs finding the discarded robes of the skeletal figure. The reverand and his wife arrive and comfort Jenni, who is in a state of shock. The reverand discovers Eric's body in the pond. The next day, as Jenni is leaving the house with the reverand and his wife, she asks why? The reverand concludes that Eric was after her money and that they also may never know if Marriane's death was accidental or not.

Tags: cult

Review:
Comments about a lack of gore and such are pretty telling as to the age and tastes of those who hate this flick so passionately.The Screaming Skull is a creepy, atmospheric tale that relies on mood rather than effects to generate chills.
"The Screaming Skull" IS NOT A BAD MOVIE!"Mystery Science Theater 3000" is not the ultimate judge of a film's worth.
Making fun of the film is one thing, but, if they thought this movie was actually bad, they don't know very much at all about film.
(Hey, they mentioned Renoir's "Rules of the Game," so they clearly have some knowledge of real film, unlike you cretins.)Here's the thing:  You people have absolutely zero notion of the concepts of 1) "Suspension of Disbelief" and 2) "Filmmaking."  If you could wrap your mind around either of these ideas, you'd be able to tell that this movie is, at the very least, effectively made.
Basically, in direct opposition to the ultimately judgmental, condescending stance most people take to all movies in general and older horror films in particular.).
I agree with Shane Man, Screamig Skull may not be the best picture ever made or fine art, but it is a very good scary, chiller movie.
Though it is short on scares, has grossly cheap special effects, and a story with virtually no "flesh," The Screaming Skull is one of those fun, bad movies to watch.
On seeing the rather less than stellar rating average on IMDb you could be forgiven for thinking that The Screaming Skull would be terminally dull dreck, the sort of typical best forgotten b movie product of its time.
I remember watching "The Screaming Skull" on the late show (when TV actually showed decent stuff) and it scared the living hell outta me.
It disappeared from TV, and of course years later having found it on video, it's not gonna scare me under the covers but it's still one of the best and most clever horror films of the 50's.The plot is good enough - the ghost of a man's first wife haunts his new wife in their super-large house.
But the film has a lot of great  horror elements that work in its favor - the big house, the creepy house grounds, the grave on the grounds, the path through the woods area, the "odd" person (the gardener), the howling wind, the noisy windows, the scary painting, and much more, especially the skull that keeps on showing up all over the place.The husband is the guy who played the husband in "50-Foot Woman" and he's just as good here.
All the other actors/characters are just fine (there aren't many as the whole film takes place at the house), especially Mickey the Gardener, who loved the first wife (as a friend) and still talks to her as if she was alive.The whole film has great horror atmosphere, one of the best instances ever of such I believe.
Even after seeing the film so many times, when that door knocks, and the husband's face shows pure fear because he probably knows what's behind it, and he slowly goes to answer it, still gives me shudders!It's great that "The Screaming Skull" is on DVD.
You have to lighten up your screen some, to see all that goes on, and parts of it are too funny now---but it's not a bad premise for a scary story, and images like the skull in the bridal gown I will never forget.
Yes, the director plays one of the characters, which is pretty much always a bad sign for a horror movie (Glen or Glenda, Eegah, Incredibly Strange Creatures, etc.).
As most movies of this era, it has a bleak ending that comes on abruptly and in an odd point, leaving questions unanswered.All in all it was an enjoyable film that most fans of older horror will appreciate..
The Screaming Skull had everything you'd want in a 1950's horror film.All you need to enjoy this movie is an hour to kill and a bowl of popcorn..
This horror tale finds a newly married husband(John Hudson)and wife(Peggy Weber)haunted by the memory of his previous wife and screaming skulls found throughout their empty mansion and lily pond.
I swear at times the screaming skull sounds much like it should be in a Godzilla movie.
The Screaming Skull is a rather creepy little movie from American International.A newly married couple move to the husband's home where he lived with his late first wife.
The husband tries to make his wife think she is going mad, but at the end the skull turns on him...The Screaming Skull is accompanied by a rather eerie music score and there is also a thunderstorm.Only five people star in this movie and I've never heard of any of them.Check this out and have a good scare with The Screaming Skull.Rating: 3 stars out of 5..
A slow-moving exercise in high-test Padding, "The Screaming Skull" is riddled with the cliches of its time--man loses his wife, remarries mentally unbalanced girl, they move into an isolated villa where an unwashed gardener (the director, Alex Nicol) wanders around.
When the producers feel the need to provide a FREE CASKET to anyone that dies of fright from viewing "The Screaming Skull", you know you're in for the longest two hours of your life.
As the film begins a narrator warns us THE SCREAMING SKULL is so terrifying you might die of fright--and if such happens a free burial is guaranteed.
THE SCREAMING SKULL is the sort of movie that makes Ed Wood look good.Very loosely based on the famous Francis Marion Crawford story, SKULL is about a wealthy but nervous woman who marries a sinister man whose first wife died under mysterious circumstances.
It is true that THE SCREAMING SKULL has a few howlers--but the film drags so much I couldn't work up more than an occasional giggle, and by the time the whole thing is over your head will roll from ennui.
When you have a disembodied skull, an empty mansion, a schizophrenic wife, a scheming cad and a nutzo gardener, throw in a minister and his wife - what have you got?AIP's answer to insomnia."The Screaming Skull" gets points for audacity, offering free caskets for anyone who dies of fright from watching the film.
It has its moments, but not enough of them.HOWEVER, thanks to a certain Mike Nelson and his two robot pals, there are several moments of pure joy, especially in the copy THEY got hold of ("The film jumped, and it was really scary!").One star for "The Screaming Skull", eight and a half for the MST3K version.Talk about a "Screaming" bore.....
But they seem to think that people who say it's not very good are a bunch of 20-year-olds who only get "scared" by gore and have to have nudity and special effects to enjoy a horror film.
I happen to think the Ring was one of the most terrifying films I've ever seen, and it has practically ZERO gore, definitely no nudity, and no crazy special effects either (at least until the end scene).
The Screaming Skull is fun to watch for the cheese factor, and it isn't the worst movie out there by any stretch.
The Screaming Skull is again one of those 1950's horror flicks a lot of people in their teens and twenties will not enjoy, because they mostly can not get into horror and science fiction films from other eras.
I first saw this movie when I was a teenager on late night TV.All I could remember was Peggy Webber running around in a see through night gown for half the movie.The best half of the movie.I recently viewed it again on a large screen TV and my memory was 100% correct.The best part of the movie is Peggy Webber running around in a see through nightgown.Those scenes are so good and sexy and scary that I give the movie an 8 out of 10.If you are a man you will be excited by this movie and if you are a woman you will be scared and excited.It was ahead of it time as far as special effects and implied nudity are concerned and implied nudity is always better than nude nudity.A must see just for Peggy Webbers performance alone..
The Screaming Skull (1958) ** (out of 4)A husband (John Hudson) takes his new wife (Peggy Webber) back to the home of his wife that recently passed away.
Pretty soon she starts to lose her mind and we learn that she was once locked up in a mental hospital.If you're looking for high art then you're certainly not going to find it in this low-budget horror film.
THE SCREAMING SKULL is basically just a watered down and weak version of GASLIGHT but I must admit that I personally find it to be entertaining as long as you don't' go into it expecting anything too serious or dramatic.I think the film benefits from some of its low-budget nature and charm.
I also thought Russ Conway was good in his role as the preacher.Again, THE SCREAMING SKULL is rather silly and it's certainly not scary but if you enjoy "B" grade horror movies then there are much worse out there..
Well (in my opinion) there are better horror films to watch from 1958 than "The Screaming Skull" BUT 'Screaming Skull' is not a down right bad film - it's mediocre.A man's former bride dies, he remarries a woman who has a history of mental illness - begins to see things like a 'Screaming Skull'.
The gardener is suspected (a man who was a friend of the first wife/bride).The movie is a good rainy day film - when there's not much else on to watch.
There are better horror films from 1958 to watch - but 'The Screaming Skull' is worth a watch too - it does have it's boring moments (lulls) but will pick back up again.5/10.
Making a big impression in this film is the director himself who plays Mickey, the grounds keeper/ gardener and best friend to the departed first wife of John Hudson.
Believe it or not there was a time when kids of about the age of six were really creeped out by things as simple as skulls so the idea of a screaming one really sent tykes into the theater to pee in their seats when things got rolling in the last fifteen minutes.The Weakest point of the film and there are many is the fact that the skull sounds more like a peacock than anything else.
Upon warning us that this movie could cause us to die of fright, THE SCREAMING SKULL begins.
Well, the screaming skull may not kill you, unless you are susceptible to suggestion and loaded and marry the wrong jerk - one who may have killed his first wife.This is more thriller than horror as it is basically an attempt by a husband to drive his new wife back to a mental institution so he can whoop it up with her money.Unfortunately for him, the creepy gardener liked his old wife and is keeping an eye on him..
So does Jenni (Peggy Webber), the protagonist of "The Screaming Skull." After coming to live at the estate of her new husband, Eric, she becomes convinced she is being haunted by the spirit of his late first wife, Marion, often in the form of a skull that pops up in unexpected places.
Occasionally, for variety, Jenni and Eric talk to a friendly minister and his wife, but for a kooky gardener (director Alex Nicol) the only other people in this film.Words can't do justice to how stiff a movie this is.
I wish there was some way to thank..." "Perhaps she slipped on a leaf..." "Dead people don't cry..." "The only cure for her fear is to teach her she is loved...""The Screaming Skull" is famous for one thing: A promise to patrons to pay for the "burial services" of anyone scared to death by the film.
You won't get halfway through The Screaming Skull when you recognize bits from Rebecca and from Gaslight, a pair of infinitely better films.John Hudson has brought his new and second wife Peggy Webber to an old mansion of a home where his first wife passed away under mysterious circumstances.
The groundskeeper and director of this monstrosity Alex Nicol is devoted to the memory of wife number one and keeps the grounds on the place as immaculately as he can get it.Not long after the couple settle, strange things start happening as a mysterious skull keeps popping up out of nowhere for Webber to see.
I will never understand why movies in the 70 minute area are always so full of nothing.This is another movie with many long periods of no dialog or action.It should have only been 30 minutes.The story is also very confusing.A very rich man had a wife that died so he moved all the furniture out of the mansion and into storage and then he went away for two years.Now he's remarried and all they can talk about is the dead wife.Of course there's a retarded gardener that drags his leg and he was best friends with the dead wife.I'm not really sure what was going on after that.A skull shows up and they can't get rid of it.They never explain if it's the wife's skull or not.At one point there's even a full skeleton.This movie is a mess.I did like how the skull just rolls at people, that's really funny.This is another movie that should never be seen..
The marketing for "The Screaming Skull" promised to provide free burial for anyone who would die of fright while watching the movie.
this flick wasn't that good at all it was just a bit dull and too talky for it's own good it has a cheesy plot but also has some creepy atmosphere at times and the finale is decent if a bit silly  but it also has some bad dialog and nothing particularly interesting going on  the acting isn't great John Hudson does okay here and spurts out some bad dialog at times but overall he did alright Peggy Webber is good here she screams and faints well to Russ Conway is good here as the caring Reverned the rest of the actors do okay too decently directed but this is really nothing more then drive in movie skip it.
Not only did he use a total cast of five people (no extras at ALL), but he also decided to use sub-par special effects with a confusing and boring plot, he also, and I AM NOT kidding, put a warning at the beginning of the movie that you might DIE OF FRIGHT!!!
The ghost consists of a skull in a sun bonnet, the revelation of the husband as the Bad Guy comes as no surprise and the fact that the director of this mess has a pivotal role in his own film, playing a retarded handyman who suspects the truth, should tell you everything you need to know about this un-scary, low-budget dung heap.
The shocking finale" is absurd to the point of being laughable, and I can't imagine anyone dying of anything but boredom while watching this film.Dragnet fans may enjoy seeing Peggy Webber play the distraught and innocent Jenny here, but the MST3K version of this movie is really your best bet if you have no desire to suffer more than is absolutely necessary for an hour and a half.
The one good thing is that the film only runs about 70 minutes so that is not too much time to lose on a waste like this.
The only things I liked about watching this film is the hilarious commentary by the MST3K boys and the setting of the movie.
This movie involves a man who tries to drive his new bride insane by leaving his dead wife's skull everywhere.
The producers of this film offer to pay funeral expenses for anyone who dies of fright while watching this movie.
That is the best way I can describe this movie which centers on a newly married couple who move into a house that is haunted by the husband's first wife who died under mysterious circumstances.
But THE SCREAMING SKULL is just so horrible, there is no way I could have possibly even gotten interested in anything that was actually going on in the film, and thus the "suspension of disbelief" was indeed non-existant.One of the worst, and probably the most boring movie I've ever seen.1/10.
I can't imagine sitting through this without the SoL boys making comments--or spending most of the time in liplock with a cute guy.Made by someone who'd heard of Hitchcock's "Rebecca" but didn't have either the budget or the talent, "The Screaming Skull" begins in a histronic manner typical of B-movies of the period: a disclaimer promising free burial services for anyone who dies of fright during the production.
"The Screaming Skull" is the grandaddyof all dumb horror movies!
Meanwhile, the mentally impaired gardener Mickey (played by Mr. Nicol) is devoted to the memory of Eric's first wife Marian, whose portrait can be seen inside the home.Also co-starring Russ Conway as the Reverend Snow and Tony Johnson as his wife, "The Screaming Skull" is fairly effective.
"The Screaming Skull" opens with a warning and an offer for free burial services if you should die watching it - Now there's a hook!
Because of all the negative reviews, The Screaming Skull was one of the movies I never bothered to watch.