*****SPOILERS***** At first we see this Charles "Sweet Charie" Manson type hippie leader calling himself Billy Joe Harlen who's using his drug crazed and brain damaged followers to do in this peaceful God fearing couple Fanny & Willis Pierce. It's Billy Joe who feels that in the Pierce's ministry of love and peace that their a serious threat to his power in taking his mind numbed customers or followers away from him. Breaking into the Pierce's church in the dead of night Billy Joe and his gang beat Willis into a bloody pulp and crucify him on the church's crucifix until he bled to death. Arrested and sentenced to death together with two of his followers who participated in Willis's murder Billy Joe puts a curse or hex on Fanny, an eye whiteness to this horrible crime, for her testimony being what convicted him for her husband's murder.It's now three years later with Fanny not fully recovered from her ordeal that what seems like Billy Joe's followers are now back in action to make Fanny pay for having him and his loyal followers as well as co-murderers put behind bars for life. It all started when Fanny was asked to babysit from the Coogans and what seemed like the Coogan house was put under siege by a gang of faceless psychos out to kill everyone, including Fanny, in it. With Fanny going out of her already unstable mind the final shoe to drop is when the what seemed like the "Angle of Death", dressed in all brown carrying a king size wooden cross, broke into the house determined to kill her and the entire Coogan family.***SPOILERS*** We have at the end a surprise ending to all this that has to do with the reason that Fanny was driven insane and to the point of self destruction. But the plan to drive her nuts went a little bit too far with her ending up dropping dead, as she fell down a flight of stairs, of sheer fright! As those responsible for Fanny's death then try to concoct an alibi in not having anything to do with it they get a mysterious phone call from the person who's really behind all this horror, whom they thought was one of them, saying that they'll be his next victims!

What is it with the 70's and religious Horror? What is it with the 70's and Charles Manson? Who the hell knows? All I know is, I'm glad I gave this movie a chance. I've been collecting obscure Horror for years, and I've never even heard of The Night God Screamed until just recently. It's never been on TV, at least not where I live, and there's certainly no DVD's to be had. I just got my hands on an old VHS. It's always extra satisfying to unearth something this rare. This is true quality Horror. Billy Joe Harlan has it pretty good, this guy has a cult of followers, plenty of dope, aspirations to be like Charles Manson, and an ego outweighed only by a God-complex. So, why all the hate? I mean, The uni-brow problem is easily solved, I'm certain they had tweezers in '71, so, it can't be that. Maybe it's the fact that there's a new preacher in town, and this lunatic thinks he's entitled to all the Church's offerings. Mr. Preacher won't give it up so easily. Charles... I mean Billy Joe then does what any insane uni-brow with a God complex would do. Yep, a crucifixion, right in front of the wife, nonetheless. Although unharmed, the now widowed Mrs. Pierce walks away slightly damaged, yet more than sane enough to help put Billy Joe and his accomplices away. Let's not forget the uni-brow has other followers who are more than willing to avenge their leader. Revenge is coming, and you'll probably think you see it coming a mile away, but chances are high you won't. Truly incredible Horror with a truly incredible twist. I can't praise this movie enough. The Night God Screamed is every bit as effective as others from the era, like Don't Look In The Basement, if you liked that one, you'll like this, and if you haven't even seen that one, forget about this one for now, because Don't Look In The Basement should be a bigger priority, trust me. If you're not impressed with all that modern, big-budget, PG-13 garbage that clogs up the theaters, then maybe an unknown, Horror gem which relies on nothing but suspense and atmosphere, is just what you need. Recommended to real Horror fans... and of course, any Charles Manson enthusiasts out there. 8/10

This unimaginably obscure gem of horror perfectly epitomizes why I, and surely many regular members of this website with me, absolutely worship the 70's decade! "The Night God Screamed" is genuinely creepy without there being much of a budget for make-up effects, the concept is very original and I even daresay unique, the tone throughout the whole film is devastating and grim, the acting performances are far better than they have any right to be and – even though it didn't even need one – the script provides a very clever and almost unpredictable twist near the end. Quite a number of 70's horror movies revolved on satanic cults and devil worshiping ("Enter the Devil", "The Devil's Rain", "Race with the Devil"…), but this film centers, or at least partially centers, on the members of a fanatic Catholic movement and I assure you these Jesus freaks are equally uncanny as Satanists; if not uncannier. Billy Joe, a self-acclaimed prophet oddly resembling Jesus Christ himself, and his herd of brainwashed disciples crucify a preacher before the eyes of his poor and defenseless wife Fanny. The woman testifies in court and the culprits are sentenced to death, but naturally not before Billy Joe swears he'll avenge himself. A certain time later, Fanny becomes stalked and terrorized by religious maniacs, not coincidentally whilst she's babysitting the (adolescent) kids of the judge that sentenced the verdict. In case of movies like "The Night God Screamed", the lack of budget is actually the biggest trump. Director Lee Madden obviously searched for different ways to create suspense and an atmosphere of disturbance, other than the usual visual shocks effects and grisly murders, and he definitely succeeded! The remote rural settings are sublime, the music is chilling and all the characters are terrifically cast. Jeanne Crain is excellent as the dame in distress and especially the Jesus freak dude is supremely eerie. But, undeniably, the biggest triumph here remains the simple yet effective story. "The Night God Screamed" doesn't rely on zombies, vampires or supernatural phenomena. The menace here comes from seemingly normal human beings, with their unpredictable moves and dark twisty minds. It's a truly great film, and I know it's difficult to track down, but luckily enough the people looking for this type of cinematic gold are very persistent.

The Night God Screamed, despite the interesting title, is not a very well known horror film; whether or not that's just down to poor distribution I don't know, but what we have here is an interesting and well made little seventies gem in the exploitation vein, though preceding a lot of the better known entries such as Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left. The title made me expect some sort of religious themed horror movie, but actually religion only plays a minor part in the movie and the movie is actually more of a creepy horror flick with exploitation themes. The main player is a preacher's wife who testifies against a fanatical religious group when they crucify her husband. Time goes by and the judge who put members of the group away invites the woman to look after his kids while he and his wife go on holiday. He gives the kids strict instructions not to leave the house while under her care; which doesn't go down well considering they're all teenagers. The situation gets worse still when they start being terrorised by a bunch of unknown attackers...The Night God Screamed is a slow burning horror movie that doesn't utilise high amounts of gore and violence but delivers its scares through atmosphere and tension. The film has a real gritty feel to it and this bodes well with the dark plot line. The film stars Jeanne Crain in the lead role. She's not the usual horror movie star, but she does well among a cast of lesser actors and helps to ensure that the film is always interesting. The main bulk of the film focuses on the main characters trapped inside a house and this section of the film is tense throughout. Some of the scenes leading up to the finale are not all that interesting, but the film never actually becomes boring. The ending is decent and the twist does make sense, although it's not exactly impossible to guess. It is a shame that this film is so obscure because I'm sure that a lot of horror fans would enjoy it; somehow, however, I can't see it getting a DVD release any time soon. If you can find a copy of this movie, it is well worth getting hold of.