Scream For Me (2000)

Scream For Me is the first movie in the 3 Dead Girls trilogy from the sordid mind of director Christopher Alan Broadstone, and is possibly the most accessible. I say possibly, as this contains murder and male rape, but the structure and style lend it to a more conventional style of filmmaking. Even so, this isn't your average run of the mill horror flick, no, this is head and shoulders above average. It's a sick and twisted journey into madness.

The plot of this short (22 mins) movie revolves around a murderer, who just after killing his victim, gets visited by another killer, who quite frankly is way out there on the crazy scale.

Scream For Me is easily the most violent of the 3 Dead Girls movies, as well as being the nastiest in tone. It is a visual tour de force that never lets up from the opening scene until its climax. As a debut short movie it is incredibly assured, the camerawork isn't flashy but does serve to keep the action firmly in your face without being gratuitious.

As in the latter movies actor Tony Simmons once again plays the lead role and, once again puts in a performance a million miles away from those in My Skin! and Human No More. Nonetheless he is no less impressive, putting in a performance that is scary in its intensity. Believe me you would not want to meet this character.

As mentioned Scream For Me is probably the most accessible of the three shorts, the narrative style is far more traditional without even remotely touching on the mainstream style of filmmaking, so it would make sense to catch this one before the other two. It actually makes no difference what order you catch them in as they aren't linked through plot, just the theme of murder and death.

This is a fantastic movie which I wholeheartedly recommend to fans of alternative cinema. It is raw and visceral viewing that won't let up until it reaches the bitter end.

Rating 3.5 stars (out of 4)

Review by Jude Felton