THE SCREAMING SKULL (1958)

In 1958, American International Pictures offered to pay for the burial of anyone who died of fright while watching THE SCREAMING SKULL. They were likelier to die of boredom.

The plot: newlyweds Eric and Jenni Whitlock (Tony Hudson and Peggy Webster) retire to his desolate mansion, where Eric's first wife Marion died in a freak accident—or was it? Jenni, who has a history of mental illness, begins to see strange things including a mysterious skull, which may or may not be a product of her imagination. Suspicion falls on Mickey (Alex Nicol), the estate's intellectually disabled gardener, who was strongly attached to Marion.

Imagine Hitchcock's REBECCA, except it's very dull and unsuspenseful—unless gobs of door-knocking meet your standard of suspense. It's also weakly written; about ten minutes in, I predicted with some accuracy how the film would play out.  The special effects are abominable, even by the modest standards of 1950s “B” movies. As for the skull, it rolls around on the floor a lot and doesn't so much scream as bray. I kept thinking Gamera was somewhere off-screen.

The cast numbers exactly five, one of whom is director Alex Nicol. As Mickey, he spends most of his time pining for Marion, who he keeps expecting to rise from the pond where she drowned. After seven or eight repetitions, it kinda gets old. And the best I can say for Tony Hudson and Peggy Webster is that on occasion, the chemistry between them comes close to existing.

I've seen a lot of cheesy '50s sci-fi and horror movies that are fun to watch. THE SCREAMING SKULL is not one of them. It is, however, an excellent cure for insomnia.