View source for Scream for Help


{{about|the film|the film's soundtrack|Scream for Help (album)}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Scream for Help
| image          = Scream for Help.jpg
| caption        = Original poster
| director       = [[Michael Winner]]
| producer       = Michael Winner
| writer         = [[Tom Holland (filmmaker)|Tom Holland]]
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* Rachael Kelly
* David Brooks
* [[Marie Masters]]
}}
| music          = [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]]
| cinematography = [[Robert Paynter]]
| editing        = Arnold Ross<br>[[Michael Winner]]
| studio         = Miracle<br>Torremodo Ltd.<br>Videoform
| distributor    = [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]]
| released       = {{film date|df=yes|1984|07|01|U.S.|ref1=<ref name=rt>{{cite web|work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|title=Scream for Help|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scream_for_help|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200829211856/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/scream_for_help|archive-date=29 August 2020}}</ref>|1985|03|15|London|ref2=<ref>{{Cite news|work=[[The Guardian]]|page=24|date=15 March 1985|via=Newspapers.com|title=Entertainments Guide|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/58279613/the-guardian/}}</ref>}}
| runtime        = 89 minutes
| country        = United States 
| language       = English
| budget         = $3-6 million<ref name="spy">{{cite magazine|magazine=Spy|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_KJly6nVC7qkC/page/n91/mode/1up/search/%22green+ice%22+?q=%22green+ice%22+%22ryan+o%27neal%22|title=The Unstoppables|date=November 1988|page=90}}</ref><ref name="ScreamForHelpProd">{{cite magazine |last=Jones|first=Alan|date=September 1984 |title= Scream for Help|url=https://archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2014%20No%204-5%20%28Sept%201984%29/page/n9/mode/1up?view=theater|magazine=[[Cinefantastique]]|location= |publisher= Fourth Castle Micromedia|access-date=August 1, 2023}}</ref>
}}
'''''Scream for Help''''' is a 1984 American [[horror film]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6c0782f9|title=Scream for Help (1984)|work=[[British Film Institute]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021015911/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6c0782f9|archive-date=21 October 2020}}</ref> directed by [[Michael Winner]], written by [[Tom Holland (filmmaker)|Tom Holland]], and starring Rachael Kelly, David Brooks, and [[Marie Masters]]. filmed & Set in [[New Rochelle, New York]], the film follows Christie Cromwell, a teenage girl who discovers that her stepfather Paul Fox is trying to murder her and her mother Karen, but her repeated claims of her findings are disbelieved by those around her. Former [[Led Zeppelin]] member [[John Paul Jones (musician)|John Paul Jones]] composed the musical score.

==Plot==
In [[New Rochelle, New York]], Christie Cromwell, a teenage girl, discovers that her stepfather Paul Fox is trying to murder her and her mother Karen for her money, but when she tries to tell other people about it, no one will believe her. After a maintenance worker dies in the basement, Christie believes Paul set the trap for her mother after she saw him leave the basement the previous night.

Christie begins following Paul everywhere and discovers he is having an affair with a young attractive woman named Brenda Bohle. She is caught by Brenda's brother Lacey but manages to run away. Paul convinces Karen that Brenda is a client of his and she believes him over her daughter.

Christie convinces Josh Dealey, her best friend Janey Ralston's boyfriend, to accompany her to catch Paul, but the brakes to her mother's car have been tampered with, almost killing them. Christie and Janey discover Paul and Brenda at a motel and run when Paul sees them, and soon after Janey is killed in a hit and run by an unseen driver. Christie tells the police that Paul killed Janey, intending to kill her, but she is not believed. Josh sticks up for Christie after she is bullied and blamed for Janey's death.

Later, Christie loses her virginity to Josh but they are interrupted by Paul, who orders Josh to leave. When Christie goes to the bathroom, she notices gas, and she realizes that Paul is trying to kill her too. Karen also falls down the stairs after a trap Paul set for her, putting her in a wheelchair. Christie takes a picture of Paul and Brenda having sex but drops the picture and is seen; while retrieving the picture she overhears that Brenda and Lacey are in fact a married couple who plan to blackmail Paul after he kills Karen and Christie. She shows her mother the picture and Paul is ordered to leave.

At midnight, Paul, Brenda, and Lacey invade the house and force Christie and Karen to the basement, revealing their plans to kill them both at 2 a.m. and blame it on a burglar. Christie tells Paul about the real relationship between Brenda and Lacey, which angers him. Christie tricks Brenda into letting her out to go to the bathroom while Karen cuts the electricity to the house from the basement, giving Christie a chance to run and stab both Lacey and Paul. After Brenda attacks Karen and turns the lights back on, Christie surrenders herself to Lacey, and both victims are forced back to the basement, where they devise another escape plan by wetting the fuse box.

At 2 a.m., they are ordered upstairs but are interrupted by Josh knocking at the door. Lacey orders Christie to open the door and get rid of him. Josh is suspicious and informs the police. When the electricity goes off, both mother and daughter flee their attackers. Lacey orders Brenda to go to the basement and turn the lights back on, but the wet fuse box electrocutes Brenda. After almost catching Karen, Lacey runs to the basement after hearing Brenda's scream and finds her dead. Christie tricks Paul into believing she is in her bathroom; when Paul enters the gas-filled bathroom with a lighter, it explodes and he is killed. Josh saves Christie from the burning house.

With their ordeal over, Christie and Karen reside at another house temporarily when Josh comes over to kiss Christie; Lacey appears, knocks Josh out and plans to kill Christie for what she did to Brenda. Christie pulls out a knife and stabs Lacey through the stomach, killing him.

==Cast==

* Rachael Kelly as Christie Cromwell
* [[Marie Masters]] as Karen Cromwell
* David Allen Brooks as Paul Fox
* Lolita Lorre as Brenda Bohle
* [[Rocco Sisto]] as Lacey Bohle
* [[Corey Parker (actor)|Corey Parker]] as Josh Dealey
* Sandra Clark as Janey Ralston
* Tony Sibbald as Bob Dealey
* Stacey Hughes as Seudi
* Matthew Peters as Charlie
* [[Clare Burt]] as Patty Sea
* Diana Ricardo as Mrs. Ralston
*{{ill|Burnell Tucker|fr}} as Mr. Ralston

Additional appearances include [[Richard Oldfield]] and [[Jeff Harding (actor)|Jeff Harding]] as unnamed police officers.

==Production==
[[Tom Holland (filmmaker)|Tom Holland]] wrote ''Scream for Help'' shortly after completing ''[[Psycho II (film)|Psycho II]]'' with Holland saying he wanted to do a horror film with a psychological bent that was based in reality.<ref name= "ScreamForHelpProd"/> Holland also stated that the film was meant as something of a reaction to the over-saturation of the [[Slasher film|slasher]] genre as he felt it had become too reliant on special effects, violence, and gore and wanted to emphasize the psychological aspects of horror rather than the exploitative.<ref name= "ScreamForHelpProd"/> [[Michael Winner]] loved the script and called [[Lorimar Television|Lorimar]] telling them he wanted to do the film.<ref name= "ScreamForHelpProd"/>

The exterior sequences were filmed on location in [[New Rochelle, New York]] over the course of two weeks, while interior sequences were shot in [[Finchampstead]] in [[Berkshire]], [[England]].<ref name= "ScreamForHelpProd"/> The two weeks in New Rochelle were to accommodate an elaborate action sequence which was one of the few additions Winner made to Holland's script saying of the process "I have never done less work on a script in my life".<ref name= "ScreamForHelpProd"/>

==Release==
===Critical response===
[[Derek Malcolm]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' wrote that director Winner "pushes his plot to further and further levels of implausiblity, and ends with a bloodbath that looks ominously like a practise run for the forthcoming ''[[Death Wish 3|Death Wish III]]''."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117012490/|work=[[The Guardian]]|last=Malcolm|first=Derek|author-link=Derek Malcolm|title=A street Carmen named desire|date=14 March 1985|page=11|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

Writer Holland, disappointed in Winner's direction, chose to direct his next screenplay himself: ''[[Fright Night]]'' (1985).

===Home media===
''Scream for Help'' was released on [[VHS]], [[Betamax]], and [[LaserDisc]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117014493/|work=[[Star Tribune]]|date=21 September 1986|page=117|title=''Scream for Help'' video trade advertisement|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> in North America by Karl-Lorimar Home Video on 15 October 1985.<ref name=winnipeg>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/117014116/|work=[[Winnipeg Sun]]|date=14 September 1986|page=105|title=Halloween Scream|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The film's home video release received a significant promotional campaign in retail markets, including special brochures, posters, counter cards, and a cardboard standup.<ref name=winnipeg/> Stuart Karl, then-president of Karl-Lorimar, commented at the time: "To our knowledge, this is the first time in home video history that a company has approached advertising for a home video feature as if it were a theatrical release."<ref name=winnipeg/>
 
The film has not been issued on DVD but a [[Blu-ray]] from [[Shout! Studios|Scream Factory]] was released on 18 September 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/scream-for-help?product_id=6830|title = Scream for Help - Blu-ray :: Shout! Factory}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
{{Main|Scream for Help (album)}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0088066|title=Scream for Help}}
*{{Mojo title|screamforhelp|Scream for Help}}
*{{rotten-tomatoes|scream_for_help|Scream for Help}}

{{Michael Winner}}{{Tom Holland}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scream For Help}}
[[Category:1984 films]]
[[Category:1984 horror films]]
[[Category:British horror thriller films]]
[[Category:British mystery horror films]]
[[Category:British psychological horror films]]
[[Category:British psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:Films about child abuse]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Winner]]
[[Category:Films produced by Michael Winner]]
[[Category:Films set in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York (state)]]
[[Category:Films shot in England]]
[[Category:Films about home invasion]]
[[Category:1984 English-language films]]
[[Category:1984 British films]]
[[Category:1980s mystery horror films]]
[[Category:English-language horror thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language mystery horror films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Scream for Help|access_date=2026-03-05}}