![]()
“Shout” (1978)
by Sam Juliano
Autumn weather is trying real hard to make its presence known but summer is driving a hard bargain in these parts. In any event mid October is usually a fun time of the year. We Yankee fans were so thrilled when our team took out the Indians in five after an amazing comeback, but we do presently stand in a precarious situation, down two zip to the Houston Astros. The Bronx Bombers must win tonight if they are to stand any realistic chance. The prestige movie season is nearly upon us and many are noting what films are on the docket. Holloween Horror is all the rage and our resident expert Jamie Uhler has penned another fantastic review of a comparatively little seen gem:
The Shout (J. Skolimowski… 1978) psychological/fantasy
Knowing the brilliance of Polish master Jerzy Skolimowski for some time now, I’ve sort of been surprised I’ve never seen a second film of his; Deep End (1970) is one of the towering works of cinema, a scathing, brilliant piece of subversion, it being so great that it stands out in an era where subversive political cinema happened somewhat regularly, a telling fact by itself. But it remained all I’d seen from him, until, last night of course, when I did his abstract piece of Horror, The Shout from 1978 (I should say, my neglect on him isn’t due to pure laziness, I’ve long wanted to see Le depart [1967] and Hands Up! [1967], but have found both to be pretty illusive to quick, or even lengthy, searches).
Outlining the plot reveals a little to the abstract nature of the film, while it has concrete notions of plotting—a mysterious man (Crossly; Alan Bates at his most disheveled mysteriousness) invades the otherwise tranquil, English country side life of a young couple (the beautiful Rachel [Susannah York] and avant garde musician Anthony [John Hurt]) who claims to be coming back from a time spent living with Aboriginals where he murdered his family and learned a ‘terror shout’ from a shaman that can kill anyone who hears it without proper ear protection—its abstract style reveals a film illusive and hard to pin down. It’s clearly for the better—the auditory nature of the Horror implies that you need to feel and really ‘hear’ the film as much as you see it, with much of the spoken lines being muffled or whispered somewhat, with Anthony’s time in the studio being a smorgasbord of audio invention; he plucks a sardine can with a violin bow, or he shouts in a glass box around his head, each effect adding to the scary nature of a film where a deep, bellowed scream can kill and maim. Other touches add ever more focus, Anthony’s home studio is adorned with several of the terrifying Francis Bacon paintings of the mid-century for example, images that are later quickly echoed by Rachel if you pay close enough attention. Skolimowski’s deft use of the camera also deserves mention.
![]()
Seeing this so closely after mother! provided quite a nice treat; here are two films so laser focused on hellish, brilliantly inventive sound mix, that you realize that many Horror films totally miss this idea of profound unsettling potential. Hell, I just did Twin Peaks: The Return this year, another scary work that effects the ears as much as the eyes, that you realize there are a lot of works out there like this, one just needs to properly keep your ear to the ground, listening intently.
Lucille, Jeremy and I attended the annual Chappaqua Children’s Book Festival in the hometown of Bill and Hillary Clinton. We got to see many great friends and some wonderful books at the scenic outdoor venue.
We saw one film in theaters:
Professor Marston and the Wonder Women *** 1/2 (Saturday) Chelsea Cinemas
![]()
![]()
