4K UHD AW Kautzer's Home Video Home Video/Streaming

4K UHD Review: Kino Lorber’s Silent Scream (Special Edition) 

Silent Scream

The over-the-top cult classic slasher Silent Scream comes out of hiding, now in a new 4K UHD edition from Kino Lorber.

The Film 

I’m sorry Silent Scream.  I was not aware of your bug-nut lunacy.  I’m glad this clerical error has been found and corrected.  Though it’s not the biggest clerical error about this film (more on that later…).  

There is so much about Silent Scream to love and adore.  Part of its charm is the wild story twists, which are often illogical.  More of a fevered dream than an actual film, it’s the kind of slasher entry that thinks those twists and turns are smart.  Although smart and crazy are two very different things, Silent Scream falls more on the latter than the former.  Much to an unsuspecting audience’s delight.  

Scotty Parker (Rebecca Balding) is a little too late for college registration.  In fact, so late that the on-campus housing is closed.  Looking around town with no luck, she finally finds accommodations at a seaside mansion with rooms being rented out by the creepy Mrs. Engels (Yvonne De Carlo) and her oddball teenage son, Mason (Brad Rearden).  Other than the old lady and her son, she finds her other roommates, Doris (Juli Andelman), Peter (John Widelock), and the douchey Jack (Steve Doubet). No sooner as Scotty settles into the college life of pre-marital sex and good times do murders begin.  With the Cops clueless and bodies piling up, can Scotty figure out who’s killing her and her friends before it’s too late?  

Silent Scream again is a decent film, but it’s a highly entertaining one, thanks in large part to the whack-a-mole style storytelling.  If one did not know that the film was reshot and recast, one would still know there is something that went awry with this production.  That isn’t a criticism because this works in favor of the film.  Rather than knowing exactly who the killer is, you’re led down a rabbit hole of lunacy that ends so unbelievably baffling you can’t help but slow clap.  

Its final reveal and moments are of such illogical joy that your brain just lets it go that it’s the biggest clerical error that no one would ever make.  This is the type of mistake that ends in people losing their jobs and possibly being prosecuted for criminal negligence.  Who does it matter to in the wake of telling a great crazy story that simply wants to outdo Psycho but manages to go so far outside that it makes the entire thing fun. 

Silent Scream forgoes logic and swings for the fences with its so stupid it’s brilliant ending that will make any slasher or 80s film fan slow clap with glee.  Also, when you’re making a film that’s one of the major points is a song, and that song is SEA OF LOVE… pay for the rights for SEA OF LOVE and don’t create a song that sounds like it.  It doesn’t work. 

The Transfer 

The all-new HDR 10 Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is an excellent upgrade to the picture.  The transfer is beautifully sharp with a wonderful patina of grain, giving it the look of a flawless 35mm print.  There are moments where the film uses diffusion filters for that sunny seaside effect, but it’s nothing the UHD cannot handle.  The image is mostly free of any dirt, scratches, blemishes, or artifacts throughout the runtime.  

The Extras

They include the following;

DISC 1 (4KUHD):

  • Audio Commentary by Writers Jim and Ken Wheat with Actress Rebecca Balding
  • Audio Commentary by Actress Barbara Steele, Moderated by Film Historian David Del Valle

DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):

  • Audio Commentary by Writers Jim and Ken Wheat with Actress Rebecca Balding
  • Audio Commentary by Actress Barbara Steele, Moderated by Film Historian David Del Valle
  • Scream of Success – 30 Years Later 
  • The Original Script
  • The Wheat Brothers – A Look Back 
  • Interview with Actress Rebecca Balding 
  • Audio Interview with Director Denny Harris 
  • TV and Radio Spots
  • Theatrical Trailer

The first of two Audio Commentaries is by Writers Jim and Ken Wheat with Actress Rebecca Balding.  The trio opens with moderator Lee Christian introducing the participants and giving a bit of contextual tidbits before diving into the film.  Some of the details include the tricks of low-budget filmmaking and the use of the opening twice in the film; only the four college student roles/actors remained, and everything else changed during the reshoots; details of the various story points and plot details from the original version, and what they changed; the time frame they had to do reshoots; the reasons and how it came about to do the reshoot and radically change the story; how the use of editing equipment helped the production during reshoots to match shots; a larger discussion throughout of the various scenes that were from the original shoot and what was reshot for the film; a larger discussion throughout the various locations they used during the production; and much more.  

The second Audio Commentary is by Actress Barbara Steele, moderated by Film Historian David Del Valle.  Del Valle opens the track with an introduction and a dedication to Director Denny Smith and the context of the reshoot, and who was recast.  Some of the details include why Steele was cast in the film – Del Valle, was Steele’s agent at the time; a discussion of Steele meeting with Smith for the first time and the context in which she was cast; the work and professional history of Yvonne De Carlo – including a side conversation about her work on The Munsters; the reason why Steele did not accept the role of Mortia Addams in the original Addam’s Family series; Steele’s recollections of working with Elvis and the personal side of the legend; a discussion of her time filming the Elvis film Flaming Star – including anecdotes about Don Siegel; her work with Mario Bava on Black Sunday; her work in Dark Shadows and working with the great Ben Cross; they do eventually get to the film eventually at the behest of Steele and discuss the production her time on it and working; and much more.  Del Valle provides and prompts Steele about a lot of her career outside of Silent Scream, which makes for a truly interesting track if one is a Steele fan. If one is looking for more details about the film, please hop over to the other track.   

Scream of Success – 30 Years Later (40:42) – this archival featurette looks at the unique making of this film.  Featuring interviews with actor Rebecca Balding, writers Jim and Ken Wheat, the trio discusses the context at which they came aboard and how director Denny Harris came to reshoot the picture, recasting some of the cast, and building sets.  Much of the information and anecdotes do come up on the trio’s commentary track.  Though there are some unique stories told in this interview.  

The Original Script (10:13) – this archival featurette actor Rebecca Balding, writers Jim and Ken Wheat, is a detailed breakdown of the original screenplay. 

The Wheat Brothers – A Look Back (12:17) – this archival featurette with writers Jim and Ken Wheat looking back at the actors, the original idea for Pitch Black, and how it relates to Silent Scream, the writing and directing of Ewoks: The Battle for Endor, the writing and production of Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, the writing of the direct to Cable movie The Birds II, and more.  

Interview with Actress Rebecca Balding (3:15) – the archival featurette where the actor discusses her roles in Silent Scream, the TV Series Lou Grant, and The Boogens, a production where she would eventually marry the director.  

Audio Interview with Director Denny Harris (30:04) – this archival interview is as the on-screen text tells us the final interview with director Denny Harris.  It should be noted that the audio quality is at times subpar, but has nothing to do with the content’s quality.  The director discusses why he wanted to make a horror film, the context in which he felt were the best kind of horror films, the importance of characters, the influence of Hitchcock’s Psycho, his feelings on the cast, both their performance and working with them on set, the success of the film at the box office, and much more.  

Radio Spots (2:15) – the four radio spots play over the poster art. 

TV Spot (0:33)

Rounding out the special features are trailers for Silent Scream (1:16); The Boogens (2:06); April Fool’s Day (1:42); Cujo (1:47); Happy Birthday To Me (1:17); New Year’s Evil (1:48) 

The Final Thought 

Kino Lorber has gone all out with the 4K UHD upgrade to Silent Scream, with a new, beautiful transfer and special features, new and old.  Recommended. 

Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Silent Scream is out now. 


Discover more from The Movie Isle

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Discover more from The Movie Isle

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading