From a Whisper to a Scream / Old Review

 

There's also a review for the blog written in 2015. But the one below was my IMDb user comments, downvoted to hell from July 2008:

Southern Gothic horror anthology from director Jeff Burr(Leatherface-TCM III)starring the one and only Vincent Price as Julian White, relating four grisly tales of his town, Oldfield Tennessee's violent history to reporter Beth Chandler(Susan Tyrrell), who had documented his niece, Katherine's(Martine Beswick, in a cameo)execution for serial killings. The first tale concerns a deeply disturbed, sexually repressed nerd(Clu Gulager, with slicked blonde hair & thick bi-focal glasses, in a chilling performance)whose obsession with a co-worker results in a strangulation when she resists his advances. He also snaps after finally having enough of his demandingly clinging sister. His necrophiliac sexual urge yields horrifying results. The second is about a greedy swindler(Terry Kiser), who is revived by an "old timer" with powers of black magic that can grant eternal life. When Jesse(Kiser)obsessively seeks the potion that grants the ability of life over death, even going as far as threatening his savior, Felder Evans'(Harry Caesar) life(..which is an impossibility), he will obtain the secret in the most unfortunate way. The third tale follows a carnival, whose owner(Rosalind Cash) has the power of voodoo wielding it against her hired help, criminals needing her shield of protection, with love thwarted as the "man with the ability to eat objects" and an outsider, Amarrillis(Didi Lanier) wish to have a relationship which is a no-no. When the couple attempt an escape, with the murder of a performer(..with an all-seeing-eye on his chest)as a result, Snakewoman's(Cash)voodoo will be used with nasty results. The final tale, set at the end of the Civil War, shows three cruel soldiers who have the misfortune of coming across cannibalistic children who operate their own little community seeking council from the "magistrate" a shrine dedicated to their parents, lost to the war...the irony of this tale is that their community would the founding fathers of Oldfield!

Each and every tale consists of unpleasant characters and grim conclusions. The wrap around story regarding Price's revelations of his town's infamous history even has a fitting conclusion which states the point that Oldfield does yield an atmosphere of evil culminating in violence taking place. Except for the first tale, the others' stories move at a quicker pace, often ending with unsettling violence, such as Kiser's fate(..the burn make-up is effective), and how a man whose unhealthy appetite used as a profession can come back to haunt him if his employer is displeased(..this one is especially bloody with poor Lanier getting a blood shower). I think the final tale comes out best, a parable of the madness of war and the victims left behind as a cause of it. Lawrence Tierney has a small role as a witness to the execution of Katherine. Price was the real draw for me and I enjoyed his moments on screen. It's appropriate that his last true horror film would be an anthology. The long list of producers(..and how long it took to make the bloody thing)proves why "The Offspring" is rather uneven and only partially effective. I did have high expectations because of word of mouth, and this anthology, at times, looks rather cheap, but there's a flavor this film has that won over me even if most of the tales presented didn't quite overwhelm me.