Scream for Help
Tags: murder

Plot synopsis:
Christie, a teenage girl discovers that her stepfather Paul is trying to murder her and her mother Karen for her money, but when she tries to tell other people about it, no one will believe her. After a maintenance worker dies in the basement, Christie believes Paul set the trap for her mother after she saw him leave the basement the previous night. Christie begins following Paul everywhere and discovers he is having an affair with a young attractive woman named Brenda. She is caught by Brenda's brother Lacey but manages to run away. Paul convinces Karen that Brenda is a client of his and she believes him over her daughter.
Christie convinces Josh, her best friend Janey's boyfriend to accompany her to catch Paul, but the brakes to her mother's car have been tampered with almost killing them. Christie and Janey discover Paul and Brenda at a motel and run when Paul sees them, Janey tells Christie she is pregnant for Josh, but moments later is killed in a hit and run by an unseen driver. Christie tells the police that Paul killed Janey, intending to kill her, but she is not believed. Josh sticks up for Christie after she is bullied and blamed for Janey's death, later she loses her virginity to Josh, but they are interrupted by Paul, who orders Josh to leave, when Christie goes to the bathroom she notices gas, which Paul is aware of and now knows Paul is trying to kill her too as she would be entitled to her mother's inheritance before he would be. Karen also falls down the stairs after a trap Paul set for her and needs a wheelchair to get around. Christie takes a picture of Paul and Brenda having sex, but drops the picture and is seen by them, while retrieving the picture she overhears that Brenda and Lacey are in fact a married couple who plan to blackmail Paul after he kills Karen and Christie. She shows her mother the picture and Paul is ordered to leave.
At midnight, Paul, Brenda and Lacey invade the house and force Christie and Karen to the basement and reveal their plans to kill them both at 2 a.m. and blame it on a burglar. Christie tells Paul about the real relationship between Brenda and Lacey, which angers him. Christie tricks Brenda into letting her out to go to the bathroom, while Karen cuts the electricity to the house from the basement, giving Christie a chance to run and stab both Lacey and Paul. After Brenda attacks Karen and turns the lights back on Christie surrenders herself to Lacey and both victims are forced back to the basement where they devise another plan to escape by wetting the fuse box.
At 2 a.m. they are ordered upstairs, but are interrupted by Josh who knocks at the door, Lacey orders Christie to open the door and get rid of him. Josh is suspicious and informs the police. When the electricity goes off, both mother and daughter flee their attackers, Lacey orders Brenda to go to the basement and turn the lights back on, however the wet fuse box electrocutes Brenda. After almost catching Karen, Lacey runs to the basement after hearing Brenda's scream and finds her dead. Christie tricks Paul into believing she is in her bathroom, when Paul enters the gas filled bathroom with a lighter, it explodes and he is killed. Josh saves Christie from the burning house.
With their ordeal over, Christie and Karen reside at another house temporarily, when Josh comes over to kiss Christie, Lacey appears and hits Josh and plans to kill Christie for what she did to Brenda, Christie pulls out a knife and stabs Lacey through the stomach, killing him.

Review: Played with such over-the-top antics and foul-mouthed bombast by Rachael Kelly, this single performance makes this movie one of the sleaziest and most entertaining eighties bad movies I have ever seen.
Young Christie thinks that Paul Fox, who has recently married Chrisite's mother Karen, is a conniving philanderer who is only after their money and wants the both of them dead.
She's right of course but the problem is getting anyone to believe her since she's such an abrasive little bitch that nobody wishes to come near her let alone listen to her petty conspiracy theories.
Christie looks into the window to see Paul engaged in a little back door sex with a mysterious woman which she promptly takes a picture of.
This escalates the war between Paul and Christie with the dopey Karen caught in the middle trying to make nice with both of them.
From here on you might need a shower as the seediness pours through every scene as Christie and Paul try to out scum each other.
Along for the ride are Christie's acquaintances, I can't see her having any friends, the extremely large busted Janey (you'll know what I mean) and her boyfriend Josh.
When Janey is run down by Paul Christie grieves like any good friend would do by losing her virginity to her boyfriend.
This leads to one of the funniest lines when Josh comes over to see her only to be shot down when Christie says that she was looking for anyone to pop her cherry "even the garbage man".
A final showdown ensues as Karen and Christie become hostages in their mansion as Paul, his partner/double crosser Brenda and her husband Lacey battle wits with the vicious teen.
Every time Christie thinks she's got Paul dead to rights he manages to get away unscathed.
"Scream for Help" is the very definition of why a really good "bad movie" trumps the pretentious crap that poses for theatrical fare today.
Like most of Winner's work, it is loud, as subtle as a sledgehammer, full of nasty expletives and downright mean-spirited.
He's not afraid to alienate more sensitive viewers and he never goes for suggestion when a lurid close-up will do.The idea of showing everything from the perspective of a young girl is a good one and it's novel to watch little Rachael Kelly, as Christie Cromwell, riding around on her bike as she pokes her nose into her stepdaddy's sordid affairs.The film's final half hour is a rocket ride of sleaze, violence and brutality and testament to Winner's blazing talent for garish overstatement.You'll be a better human being if you miss this, but a lesser trash monger..
A teen girl suspects that her step dad is trying to off her mom so he can inherit her millions.
Beware though, the film is very graphic, both sexually and violently, but it's kept at a reasonable level (like two shots of Lorre topless, only one shot of Clark's gigantor boobs).
It is just like the director had a plot that would really need a three hour long movie to unfold naturally, but had to speed things up a little.The characters in this movie aren't really afraid of anything.
Under normal circumstances, a 16-year-old girl would be terrified most of the movie, and never know what to do.
I Liked It. i thought this was a pretty good movie for its time.
Its about a girl who knows her step father is trying to kill her and her mother for their money but no one will believe her and finally the step father holds them hostage in their house.
Its a pretty good movie the ending makes up for the slow beginning..
I like this movie a lot.
The young actress who stars in this film is quite effective, and I have to wonder why she didn't get a career boost, after this one.I'd like to purchase this film, if it is ever released on DVD..
All the warning signs pointed to Scream for Help being a bad film; it's practically unknown, directed by Michael Winner (who.
let's face it, doesn't have a track record for making the best films), it has a low IMDb rating and the plot is generic and largely unoriginal; but despite all of this, Scream for Help triumphs over adversity and can stand tall as one of the most fun trash flicks ever made!
The plot focuses on Christie Cromwell; a teenage girl with a problem.
She believes that her stepfather Paul Fox is trying to murder her and her mother so he can inherit a fortune; but no one will believe her!
Luckily for her, however, Paul is a bumbling buffoon when it comes to murder, and you can only fail to kill someone so many times before you get caught out...The way that Winner handles the film is terrible, but somehow great at the same time.
There's some horrendous use of music in this film, and the tone of the movie often changes in a heartbeat; but all this works well as Winner keeps the audience on their toes, and the film never tries to be anything other than a trash flick.
Winner inserts sex, nudity, blood and nasty death scenes into this film; and while it's extremely over the top and not really in-fitting with the plot, that's Winner's style and he certainly knows how to deliver an entertaining trashy movie.
The film plays out from her perspective, and her voice-overs again offset the rest of the film as its sort of like a little girl's diary, with sex, blood and a murder plot.
Overall, Scream for Help might not do much for a lot of people - but I had a great time with it, and therefore the film comes highly recommended!.
Sometimes you need a movie to riff on with your buddies like MST3K, and Scream for Help (which never received a proper release in the US) is there to help.
You will not believe how bad this movie is!.
This movie plays like a 70's horror flick crossed with a 70's ABC after school special.
Michael Winner again misses actual greatness by a light year, but achieves inadvertent greatness in trafficking crap with his slapdash approach to film-making.
The dopey plot involves a high school girl (Rachael Kelly) who believes her stepfather is trying to kill her mom.The dippy sub-Nancy Drew exploits are periodically interrupted by typical Winner sleaziness including completely gratuitous nudity.
As with most Winner movies, it's shot haphazardly and unimaginatively.
Most of Winner's movies are, for me.
Christie Cromwell is convinced that her new stepdad Paul Fox is trying to murder her mother for their money.But nobody believes 17-year old girl.First she proves that Paul is having an affair that Paul with a woman named Brenda Bohle played by sexy Lolita Lorre and stepfather is kicked out from the house.Soon he is back with Brenda and a thug named Lacey-ready to terrorize and kill...Sleazy and depraved home invasion thriller with plenty of nudity,sex and nasty violence.The main character of Christie is downright annoying.She loses her cherished virginity to her dead friend's boyfriend.The acting is solid and there are some suspenseful scenes,so if you are a fan of 80's horror watch "Scream for Help" as soon as possible.9 out of 10..
i mean , i like 80's movies but this one just has to go, me and my cousin watch it just for laughs.
Rachel Kelly stars as an Ami Dolenz look-alike who dresses like a Valley Girl who REALLY needs style counseling.
Only the young girl knows this and no one wants to believe it.
Despite thefact the girl can drive she decides to do alot of her investigating on a bicycle,which leads to some of the more outlandishly funny scenes of the movie,with hysterical music pounding away as she bicycles around with fear in heart.
if you do wanna see a cheesy minor-cult-status movie,by all means rent SCREAM FOR HELP.
I just finished watching it now, and yes, it has to be one of the worst movies of its year.
(As it turned out, Winner also edited the movie under the pseudonym "Arnold Crust")I must also add that the movie also has one of the WORST musical scores I have ever heard for a thriller in my life, being both strident and unsubtle.
I will admit that the climatic 20 or so minutes do have a little spark and suspense, but then what good will the movie managed to build in those 20 minutes is ruined with Winner's stupid concluding scene.
On the back of the video box, there is a quote from Winner stating, "SCREAM FOR HELP is one of the most terrifying scripts I've ever read".
"Scream for Help" is yet another fun 80's slasher movie, where a young girl believes that her stepfather is trying to kill her mother, and so in usual fashion the girl becomes all Nancy Drew and sets out to prove her theory right, which then unravels when him and his gang come after her and her mother and terrorizes them.Yes this movie is very cheesy which I love and very 80's which again I love, the central character of Christine who along with her friends start sleuthing was fun, and plus when she falls for the boy next door that was also hilarious in true 80's fashion.
The mix of teenage antics and slasher movie terrority both really work well together and even gels at an even pace and does create a decent amount of suspense especially during the final showdown.All in all "Scream for Help" is just a fun time waster..
Certainly not as bad as some make out, this 1984 Winner movie filmed in New York does take a while to really get going.
From the moment the movie begins, you know you're in for something special.
between the odd, out of place gore and the gratuitous sex scenes, it was hard to keep in mind the underlying struggle of finding out your stepdad wants to murder your mom.
Nobody believes Christy that her step dad is trying to kill her mom & her..
I saw this movie a lot in the 80's and just saw it again recently.If your looking for a suspenseful thriller don't look here.If you want to see some bad acting with some way over the top cheesy music that will make you laugh,look here.
Cute(but dumpy)Christy suspects her no good step dad is trying to hurt her mom & herself.Watch as she cuts three straight days of school to follow him in his car on her bike(very funny).Watch as she drags her best friend along which leads to her death(not funny,but not sad).Watch as DAYS later she loses her virginity with her best friend's boyfriend(hilarious).The end has a final confrontation that reminded me of the home alone movies,but this isn't suppose to be a comedy.I admit I was in hysterics the way the mom was flung around in her wheelchair.This is definitely a so bad its good type movie.I enjoyed it for all the wrong reasons.If your looking for something similar but better check out The Stepfather with Terry O'Quinn..
Admittedly Michael Winner will probably never win a lifetime-achievement honorary award for his career as a director, but damned did that man ever knew how to make entertaining & hugely exciting movies!
Apart from some of the films he shot with the legendary Charles Bronson (the "Death Wish"-series, "The Mechanic"), most of his work sadly ended up in oblivion rather quick, and this "Scream for Help" might even be the absolute most obscure and painfully forgotten movie Winner ever made.
Christie Cromwell is a hyperactive & stubborn teenager who's convinced that her handsome but vicious stepfather Paul Fox intends to kill her mother and run off with the family fortune.
Christie uncovers his affair with the sluttish Brenda and tries to warn her friends as well as the police about a variety of failed murder attempts, but no one believes her.
Even when she can finally prove the murder conspiracy with photographic evidence, the nightmare isn't over yet, as Paul and his psychopathic accomplices return to kill both the mother and Christie!
The main storyline of "Scream for Help" is pure gold already (at least, to exploitation/trash fanatics it is) but particularly the sub plots are almost too demented for words.
"Scream for Help" is stuffed with socially incorrect elements like this (there's also rape, misogynistic violence and the pushing of people in a wheelchair down the stairs), making it easily one of the most genuine cinematic trash-highlights I've ever beheld.
The teenage girl is more skilled in preparing booby traps than the entire A-Team all together, Lolita Lorre (as Brenda) is undoubtedly the hottest chick to have appeared in ONE film only and there's a terrifically absurd and implausible "he's-not-dead-yet" climax!
Several of the reviews and user-comments I encountered on "Scream for Help" complain that the music misfits the nature of the film and that the camera placements were horrible more than just occasionally.
Scream for Help opens like a made-for-TV Nancy Drew mystery, with plucky teenager Christie Cromwell (Rachael Kelly) investigating her stepfather Paul Fox (David Allen Brooks), who she believes is trying to murder her wealthy mother (Marie Masters).
It's not long, however, before director Michael 'Death Wish' Winner grows weary of this softly-softly approach, and adopts a more exploitative style, starting with gratuitous sex and ending with a violent 'home-invasion' set-up that ultimately makes his film more akin to a video nasty.Winner's handling of Tom Holland's risible script is amazingly ham-fisted throughout, and the acting is generally just as atrocious (it was only Kelly's second screen role but it would also be her last), but it is this technical ineptitude, along with all the nudity and violence, that makes this film such an unmissable treat for fans of trashy cinema.6/10 for being so entertaining despite being so bad, plus an extra point for the unforgettable Lolita Lorre in her one and only screen role as Brenda Bohle, Paul Fox's sexy partner in crime: not only does she go absolutely starkers for a surprisingly graphic sex scene, but she also has the best death, electrocuted in a trap prepared by the ever resourceful Christie..
the only reason to watch this movie.
2 words: Lolita Lorre If there was ever a poll of the 10 most beautiful, sexiest actresses to only be in one movie, she would make the list.Now if you find yourself watching a movie with bad acting, bad writing, bad music, and bad cinematography, you really can only hope for 2 things- lots of gore, or lots of nudity.
For those who care, I'll give a brief plot description(using actors names): Rachel Kelly, for little if any reason, comes to the suspect that her step-dad(David Brooks) is trying to kill her mother(Marie Masters).
She turns out to be right, of course, and she also discovers, while following her step-dad, that he is cheating on her mother with Lolita Lorre.
Scream for this movie to end..
I'm not adverse to a bad B-rate but please give us viewers credit for having a LITTLE intelligence.**Spoiler Alert** Storyline - Teenage girl has wants to expose her scheming stepfather's (Paul) plan to kill her wealthy mother.
But as bad film rules dictate, no one will believe her.
Over the top is Lacey's philosophy that its OK if his wife has sex with Paul, just as long as she doesn't enjoy it.Maybe this film is its down to a choice of this or burping all the tupperware..
The doctor just comes out and blatantly says - with not a hint of remorse in his words - "Your daughter is dead!" and walks the heck off.Another thing...the girl starts sleeping with her dead best friend's (who's dead, btw because of her and her spying) boyfriend.If you're looking for some cheesy, campy, cheap flick with a cliché for a plot then rent this.You won't be disappointed!.
Lousy thriller which frequently feels like it's intended as a bad joke at the audience's expense..
While watching Scream For Help, one can't help but wonder if the film is intentionally inept or just hopelessly inept.
The overbearing music, the ridiculous acting, the laughable plot developments, the risible dialogue all these things surely point to some kind of bad joke at the audience's expense courtesy of director Michael Winner?
But then, if the film IS a deliberate exercise in bad taste and terrible film-making, one must wonder what is the point in it ever having been made at all?
Angry teen Christie Cromwell (Rachael Kelly) lives in a huge suburban house with her mother Karen (Marie Masters) and her new stepfather Paul (David Brooks).
Christie keeps a secret diary chronicling what is going on in her life, and her latest entries are dominated by suspicions that Paul is, in fact, plotting to murder her mum.
With everyone dismissing her theories as paranoid fantasy, Christie decides to gather more evidence so she starts following Paul everywhere he goes.
Soon she discovers that he is having a torrid affair with Brenda Bohle (Lolita Lorre), and the plot thickens when she overhears the pair of them discussing their plans to murder Karen and Christie.
Christie finally succeeds in convincing her mum that her life is in danger, but it looks like her warnings have been heeded too late when the three scheming villains besiege them in their house, locking them in the cellar and vowing to kill them before dawn.There's no reason why Scream For Help couldn't have been a decent little thriller.
Unfortunately, Winner doesn't handle anything in his film effectively at all.
There isn't a single believable moment in the entire movie – the bad guys are thuggish idiots who could barely plan a pool-party, let alone a murder; while Christie is an impossibly resourceful teenager who takes everything (including life-threatening danger and her own impending murder) coolly in her stride.
At least the film has a remarkably fitting title – Scream For Help, indeed!