lemon_magic OK, granted: if you are watching a film titled "Scream Bloody Murder", you're not expecting Werner Herzog or Jodorowsky. So you can at least credit the film and its makers for being honest about what they're doing. SBM is best considered as drive-in triple bill fodder, the kind of movie that they showed at 2:00 am when you're either completely drunk or 3/4 asleep or both. In that context, it succeeds with flying colors.But taken "straight", it's kind of hard to watch. The plot starts out as a derivative of "Maniac" for the first half, and then turns into a low-rent version of "The Collector" for the second half.And it really drags in spots, and it looks pretty crummy in spots. However, there ARE some dryly funny lines, and a couple of genuine shocks scattered in the mix. And the actor playing our hooked hero has a few good moments here and there, although he's mostly flat and stiff. (It's entirely possible that this was on purpose).Not a complete waste of your time, but not worth seeking out. I saw it working my way through one of those Mill Creek public domain collections, and it was by no means the worst movie in it.

HumanoidOfFlesh Matthew is a young man just released from a mental hospital after many years for murdering his father.In the process of driving a bulldozer over poor man his hand is damaged terribly and in place he has a sharp metal hook when he returns home he finds that his mother has remarried to a man he doesn't approve of.After killing both he flees on a cross country murdering as many people as he can.Marc Ray's "Scream Bloody Murder" is an quintessence of early 70's trash.The killings are bloody and alarming and the gore effects are lovingly cheap.Of course one can treat "Scream Bloody Murder" as another flick about a momma-obsessed prudish psycho on the prowl.He is full of Oedipal rage and thinks that all decent women should hate sex.The score by Stephen Burum is wonderfully campy and the film is impossible to take seriously.So if you are into amusingly trashy and unpleasant 70's horror you can't miss it.7 out of 10.

Zeegrade Matthew will do anything for sweet easel exctasy. Even murder! Fred Holbert in his one and only movie role plays functional retard Matthew with the mother of all complexes, pun intended. A tractor "accident" leaves a young Matthew without a father and his mangled left hand is replaced with a hook. After being released back into his mother's custody he returns to his murderous ways as anyone with a pulse draws his ire. The bulk of the movie revolves around the relationship between Matthew and virtuous artist/hooker named Vera played by Leigh Mitchell. Bad seventies cheese dominates this movie. Fred Holbert isn't bad as his character remains with a childlike demeanor despite his violent tendencies. What mystifies me is the fact that they gave this character a hook for a hand and he uses anything but that to kill with. This movie does have a few unintentionally funny parts. Matthew's run-in with a cane waving grandma and her useless dog as well as the most persistent candy sales-boy ever provided the lone bright spots. Scream Bloody Murder is part of mill creek entertainment's 50 chilling classics collection though I recommend finding it on the internet for free as it's worthy of one viewing and nothing more.

Tom Willett (yonhope) This is actually a very good movie if you like Saturday night B movie sci-fi or slasher films. The ending is weak, but OK. They might have tried to leave room for a sequel, but the mindset wasn't into sequels back then. A young, very good looking guy with a hook for a hand is a bit fascinated by a lady of the evening who lives in a very dumb looking house. A few killings with various methods of smashing or slashing build up the character study. The hero is very charming but of course he is a slasher, hook handed recently released mental patient, but he is still charming. He looks like a 30 year old who happens to look like a teenager. The killings are nice, but not up to Alfred Hitchcock level. Lots of blood. A beautiful old Rolls Royce is seen and used to well advantage to supply prestige. I would not recommend it for anyone under 12 or over 75. I would recommend this as part of a double feature with Psycho 2.