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

Not a bad little shocker. In fact, it's better (and much more original) than a good number of inexplicably more-famous '80s slashers and probably would have a better reputation amongst genre fans if it weren't so obscure. The version I saw released by the Canadian label Marquis Video (it was also released on VHS by Guild Home Video in the UK and Trans-World in the US) is very dark and scratchy, which only adds to the authentic, gritty and creepy feel of the film. It would still be nice to see a company clean this one up and release it to DVD sometime in the near future but it's hard to tell if that's actually going to happen or not. SCREAMED is home to quite a few tried-and-true genre conventions. The first half deals mostly with religious fanaticism, a backwoods hippie cult (then-popular because of the Manson murders) and psychological torment, while the second half turns into more of a home invasion thriller/slasher flick with some telephone terror thrown in. However, the film manages to pull it all off fairly well and even throws in a few genuine surprises along the way.After drowning a girl during a forced baptism, cult leader Billy Joe (Michael Sugich) and his motorcycle-riding Jesus Freak followers break into a church and crucify preacher Willis Pierce (Alex Nicol) when he won't give up the donation box without a fight. Willis' reserved wife Fanny (Jeanne Crain) witnesses the brutal murder from a hiding spot and later testifies to convict Billy Joe and put him on death row. Billy Joe promises he'll get revenge before being taken away and as Fanny leaves the court house, she's given an evil stare-down by some of the other followers. From then on out Fanny becomes increasingly more paranoid and emotionally fragile. She starts hearing the echoing threats of cultists in her mind and believes she's being followed. The judge from the trial asks Fanny if she'll babysit his four "teenage" children; Peter (Dan Spelling), Nancy (Barbara Hancock), Sharon (Dawn Cleary) and Jimmy (Gary Morgan), for the weekend while he and wife go on vacation. Fanny reluctantly agrees and arrives at the secluded country home only to find her charges harboring hostility toward her because the parents insist they all stay home for the entire weekend.At nightfall, Fanny starts receiving heavy-breathing phone calls, which soon turn into threatening ones as the voice on the other line utters some very familiar sayings; the same ones she heard from Billy Joe at the trial. Not long after, a dummy is left in the yard with a death threat attached, the kids start seeing glimpses of hooded people sneaking around outside from the window, the phone goes out and the power goes on and off. It seems that the surviving cult members have followed Fanny to the home and are now going to get the revenge. Even worse, some of the cultists have managed to sneak inside the home and start murdering the kids one by one... Everything leads up to a twist ending that I personally didn't see coming at all.Not a particularly violent film, this relies more on suspense, twists and exploiting hard-to-see or barely-glimpsed images in the pitch dark to achieve it's horror. It also benefits a LOT from a quality lead actress in the main role. Jeanne Crain (an Oscar nominee in 1950) does a very good job and helps to offset some of the weaker performances from the lesser-known actors/actresses in the cast. Apparently this title rubbed some people the wrong way, so the film had to be retitled simply SCREAM to play in more conservative areas. Check it out if you can find it!

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.

Jeanne Crain is one of the best actresses ever, and in this, one of her last performances to date, she proves that talent never fades away. The plot is hard to explain without giving the ending away, but it is SCARY. It is not a slice-and-dice, this film uses real terror, the kind where you have no idea what's going to happen. A fabulous movie, but don't watch it alone.