Scream Bloody Murder

Scream Bloody Murder (also known as Matthew; Claw of Terror; The Captive Female and, more recently, repackaged on DVD-R with the splendidly sleazy title Amputee With an Axe) is a 1972 horror film written, directed and produced by Marc B. Ray (The Severed Arm; Stepfather III story lines) and co-written by Larry Alexander. The film could easily be claimed to be one of the first slasher films though has suffered from the many guises it has appeared under and remains relatively unknown.

Farm-based nutcase, Matthew, drives the family tractor over his father but inadvertently gets his own hand trapped in the machinery, resulting in a quick stop-off at the hospital to be fitted with a claw/hook contraption before enjoying his new surroundings in the local asylum. Upon release some years later, Matthew returns to the family home but is horrified to find his mother isn’t sat about moping about her son but has remarried and is getting on very-nicely-thank-you. Matthew’s love for his mother rather breaches the ‘traditional’ and it’s not long before he sets out to rescue her from her husband’s clutches by hacking him to death with an axe.

Alas, reconciliation talks with his mother end with her cracking her head on a rock, leaving mental Matt even more traumatised. Murdering a couple on his way to a new life in a new town, his sexual hangups lead him to kindly prostitute, Vera, whom he becomes increasingly protective of and vows to offer her a better life, achieving this by slaying the owner of a local mansion (and her pet dog, for good measure) and masquerading as the owner. Despite his efforts, Vera remains unimpressed, leading to Matthew tying up the object of his affections and keeping her captive. Can Vera escape the knots of a man with one hand?

Packed with gory deaths and an engagingly silly story, Scream Bloody Murder is top-notch low budget exploitation fare from a director who only made one other film (1969′s Wild Gypsies) and a lead actor (Fred Holbert) who decided not to chance his arm in any further roles, in all senses of the phrase. Elsewhere, Leigh Mitchell, who plays the dual role of Vera and Daisy, appeared again in a small role in the similarly enjoyable The Incredible Melting Man in 1977. The most recognisable face is that of Matthew’s doctor, played by Angus Schrimm, best known as The Tall Man in the Phantasm franchise, appearing in one of his first screen roles.

The film succeeds, despite the best efforts of the character of Matthew who it’s difficult to have any sympathy for; everyone he kills is getting on with life without causing any upset, a fact that seems to enrage him. Psychologically damaged for no particular reason, it’s something of a novelty not to have a rambling back story explaining how he arrived at his madness, the pre-credit sequence of him killing his father already clarifying he’s a loon. The film was marketed with typical 1970′s exploitation bravado, proclaiming it to be the first film classed as ‘gore-nograpghy’ and filmed in breath-taking ‘violent vision’ and ‘gory color’. To complete the effect, cinema-goers were supplied with a Scream Bloody Murder blindfold to shield them from the film’s bloody excesses!

Daz Lawrence, Horrorpedia