Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 3: Silent Scream (1979)

 

Silent Scream is a somewhat forgotten slasher about the horrors of trying to find last minute student housing in a seaside college town. I'm not entirely sure how it got on my radar, but learning Barbara Steele is in it may have had something to do with it. And while she's ultimately not in it very much, she does end up being one of the best things about the movie, along with Yvonne De Carlo as the world's least helpful landlady.

The college students living in the house all look like they're pushing their late 20s and the landlady's son is supposed to be fifteen but looks older than any of them; I'm not sure if his weird mullet haircut helps or hinders in that regard.

Silent Scream very obviously borrows a lot from Psycho, from its music, to its kills, to a killer who likes to wear a bathrobe. Originally released in 1979, it benefits a bit from being a relatively early slasher that could still riff off of Psycho instead of the dozens of Halloween ripoffs that were soon to come. And once again this slasher demonstrates that many slasher movies are essentially just whodunits with much more blood. 

I watched this via a Blu-ray I borrowed from my library, and the restored print looked absolutely gorgeous. It's also available to rent online.