ANDREW GARVEY reviews The Silent Scream, the seventh episode in Hammer House of Horror TV Series
Title: The Silent Scream
First televised: 25 October 1980
Director: Alan Gibson
Screenplay: Francis Essex
Starring: Peter Cushing, Brian Cox, Elaine Donnelly and Anthony Carrick.
Plot of The Silent Scream
Impulsive, troubled ex-con Chuck owes a debt of thanks to Nazi concentration camp survivor Martin and accepts an unusual job Martin has to offer at his rather unusual pet shop.
Tempted to steal the old man’s money, Chuck finds himself in a horrifying predicament.
Where Have I Seen Them Before?
Aside from the unforgettable Peter Cushing (Star Wars and, of course some of Hammer’s greatest films) and the excellent Brian Cox (Manhunter, Braveheart, Troy, the Bourne Identity) Elaine Donnelly has appeared in a slew of soap operas and TV drama series.
Anthony Carrick had a recurring role in razor-sharp 80s political sitcoms Yes, Minister and Yes. Prime Minister and appeared in 2007 historical epic, Elizabeth: the Golden Age.
Best Line
“Now please, do not try to thwart my plans.”
Review of The Silent Scream
This superb episode pairs a beloved Hammer legend who played Baron Frankenstein with a superb actor who portrayed Dr. Hannibal Lecktor (before Anthony Hopkins’ more famous pantomime villain version).
What horror fan could resist? And this seventh instalment of the series has plenty more going for it than a couple of impressive names.
Tense throughout and featuring great performances from Cox and a deeply, perfectly sinister Cushing, a genuinely chilling concept and a strong, intelligent script, The Silent Scream is possibly as good as television horror gets.
It also has a fantastic ending.
Watch it. Now.
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My second-favourite episode. I use the ending as a cure for insomnia in that sometimes, if I can’t get off to sleep, I’ll lie there and I try to figure out how Chuck and his wife might extricate themselves from their final dilemma. I can only come up with two realistic suggestions. a) hope and pray for a power cut (unlikely!) or b) find something to write with. Even if their own blood is all there is. Find something – anything – to write on and scribble, using a piece of cutlery as a makeshift pen if need be, in large block capitals, a message (along the lines of “WE’RE TRAPPED IN HERE! GET THE POLICE! PLEASE!!) and, when the postman comes round, hold it up to the window whilst leaping up and down to attract his attention. If that doesn’t work the first time, repeat the process the next day. They can access tap water so won’t die of thirst and, even if there’s no food, they can last without that for over a week. Meanwhile, back in the shop, there is no such faint hope for Martin….