My World Dies Screaming (1958) User Reviews

Definitely grade B, but not bad

[hoffmann-13 · 6/10 · 17 February 2007]

As a child this movie always scared the daylights out of my sister and me whenever we saw on TV. In fact, in my mind it has always been *the* horror movie of my childhood. After finally discovering its name and seeing it again decades later, I was relieved to see I don't have to be embarrassed to admit that. Sure it's 50 years old, has mediocre acting, and those hokey "subliminal" images, but I still find the situations, especially the woman's dream, haunting. And, though you'll probably think you know what the surprise ending is going to be, there's one or two little twists yet to go. You have to give the filmmakers credit for trying to produce something a bit more psychologically satisfying than the usual 1950's horror movie did.

Worth checking out if you like thriller movies. Just don't spend too much on it!

Cathy O'Donnell in a rare starring effort

[kevinolzak · 5/10 · 2 April 2019]

1958's ""My World Dies Screaming" languished on television under a more misleading title, "Terror in the Haunted House," one I always lumped together with "The Screaming Skull" due to the identical number of just five cast members and both made the same year. It's fairly obvious early on that this particular house is haunted not by ghosts but by the long repressed memory of bloody murder, and with the tiny cast only two options are possible. Cathy O'Donnell makes for a sympathetic heroine, her character Sheila newly wed to Philip (Gerald Mohr) following a whirlwind romance in Switzerland, where she's spent time in a sanitarium. Philip insists that she never went insane, simply suffering a nervous breakdown, and takes her back to the deserted Florida house that remains the setting of her nightmares, empty for 17 years since the ax murders of its previous occupants. The current owner (William Ching) and the caretaker (John Qualen) both try to dissuade Sheila from staying, but Philip persists in remaining, a simple case of husband out to drive his pretty young bride insane, or is it? "The Screaming Skull" is the better of the two, as the supernatural may just be involved, but this one is quite watchable due to Cathy's fine performance. The picture was initially issued with a William Castle-type gimmick, actor Gerald Mohr (also the star of "Invasion USA" and "The Angry Red Planet") introducing 'Psychorama, the fourth dimension, the dimension of the human brain,' in other words the use of subliminal overlays to prompt a specific audience response, repeated for its video release but with different images, more silly than scary. At certain points a skull was flashed to inspire terror, a snake to inspire hate, two hearts to inspire love, and large letters spelling out 'blood' to create fear (another Mohr title, 1959's "A Date with Death," uses the same technique, more recently "The Exorcist" as well). Director Harold Daniels went on to twice work with Lon Chaney, first on an unsold 1961 TV pilot for THE PHANTOM "No Escape," then on 1965's "House of the Black Death," co-starring John Carradine. Incidentally, the Mary Pickford house where this picture was shot was the same one previously used in the 1957 Carradine vehicle "The Unearthly," best identified by the staircase.

Entertaining 1958 Film

[whpratt1 · 5/10 · 27 July 2009]

This film deals with a young gal who has bad dreams about a haunted house which have put her in a sanitarium and her husband is trying his best to help her with this problem.

The husband takes his wife to a house that looks exactly like the haunted house in her dreams and this is when the story becomes interesting with mysterious people making appearances who claim to be owners of the house and even the care taker of the house becomes a dark side to the story.

Good acting, with plenty of surprises and great for a 1958 film classic. Enjoy.

"Must...Buy...Goobers...."

[ferbs54 · 31 October 2011]

Although the practice of using subliminal advertising--that is, flashing messages on a movie or TV screen for a fraction of a second, too quickly to register with the human brain but capable of having a subconscious effect--was banned by television stations and by the National Association of Broadcasters in 1958 (and, years later, was claimed to be ineffective), it wasn't in time to prevent the first big-screen film from using the technique. That picture, originally released under the artier and more appropriate title "My World Dies Screaming," and years later, for home viewing, as "Terror in the Haunted House" (a somewhat misleading appellation), turns out to be an interesting enough little film that hardly requires this tiresome gimmick (presented as "Psycho-Rama" here!). In it, we meet a pretty newlywed, Sheila, who has been going to a psychiatrist in Switzerland to cure her of recurring dreams involving an old house, and, most particularly, of a flight of steps in that house leading to a cobwebbed attic. And when Sheila's new husband, Philip, brings her to America to stay at that EXACT SAME HOUSE, her nightmares become a living reality, and the viewer is thrown into a state of confusion about whether Philip is trying to help his new bride or, a la "Gaslight," perhaps drive her insane....

For a cheaply made "B picture," "My World Dies Screaming" is surprisingly effective, and most of the credit for the film's success must surely go to Cathy O'Donnell in the lead. O'Donnell, who most viewers might remember from the 1946 classic "The Best Years of Our Lives" as well as for appearing in the cult item "They Live By Night" and the excellent film noir "Side Street" (both from 1949 and both costarring Farley Granger), is truly excellent here, lovely and appealing, and appearing in every single scene of the film. Gerald Mohr, playing Philip, gives a nicely ambiguous portrayal (many viewers will remember him from the following year's "The Angry Red Planet"), and the film's other three performers (Barry Bernard as Sheila's shrink, John Qualen as the house's uberstrange caretaker, and Bill Ching as Philip's cousin) are all fine as well. Harold Daniels directs his picture competently, eliciting chills on a regular basis, although it must be said that the film seems a bit eerier in its first half. Still, the mystery of Sheila's nightmares, and her familiarity with a house she's never been in, is a fascinating one, and keeps the viewer involved throughout; to the film's credit, the resolution of that mystery entails a surprisingly complex backstory that does manage to tie up every loose end. As to those subliminal messages, they ARE visible, although only a frame-by-frame viewing on your DVD player will reveal their contents. Basically, they consist of demon masks with the following captions: "Scream." "Scream Bloody Murder." "Prepare To Die." And "Die Die Die." (One message, very amusingly inserted by the DVD manufacturer, exhorts us to "Buy Rhino Videos Every Day"!) As I mentioned before, these flashes of...something become hokey after a while, and the film is good enough to stand on its own without them. It's nothing great, surely, but is an engaging entertainment nevertheless. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to wrap up this little review and run down to the grocery store. For some strange reason, I've just developed a sudden urge to purchase popcorn, Goobers and Raisinets....

"You see, I'm waiting for them to come back, that's why I keep it like it was, for them."

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 12 September 2005]

The video box proclaims "The First Picture in Psycho-Rama! The Fourth Dimension! Using Subliminal Communication! For added emphasis, the movie was "Banned by the U.S. Government!" Having seen it this evening, I'm ready to ban it from my own video collection after one day in my possession.

The movie does have a pretty good set up though, and with some more work could have been a neat psychological thriller. After two years in a Swiss sanitarium, Sheila Justin (Cathy O'Donnell) has begun having nightmares about an old house that she's never seen before. Her husband Philip (Gerald Mohr) may have a cure; let's bring her to that very same house. Obviously, he knows something that his wife and the viewer doesn't, and his suspicious activity while there lead us to believe that something ominous will occur of his own doing. Though unoccupied for seventeen years, the home is tended by a caretaker named Jonah (John Qualen), and before long the home's owner shows up to discourage the guests from staying any longer.

The subliminal messages that the film touts come at you fairly early, and if you pause the action and proceed a frame at a time, you'll see some cartoony images that state "Get Ready to Scream" and "Scream Bloody Murder". The messages work for Sheila, she's the only one affected by events in the home enough to exercise her lungs.

It turns out that all of the participants in the old home's reunion have a relationship from the past, but I won't bother you with those details. If you're up for a late night fright fest though, here's a secret - the house is not haunted, and the story takes it's time revealing what the legend of the "Mad Tierneys" is all about.

My copy of the film is the Rhino Video version, with the "Psychorama" treatment restored by a character named Johnny Legend, if that's to be believed. My viewing of the film probably took almost twice as long as the stated run time of ninety minutes, as I couldn't help myself from investigating the subliminal text as they occurred. But like the lead character in "The Christmas Story" who was left demoralized when he decoded his Ovaltine message, I had to kick myself in the pants when a subliminal cobra head appeared to advise me to "Rent Rhino Videos Every Day".

You'll die screaming of boredom

[evilskip · 1/10 · 6 October 1999]

This stinker was filmed in "Psychorama" which means there were subliminal "messages" in it.They were images flashed too fast for the eye to see like skulls,bats etc to make you scared. Supposedly the government banned this film for 26 years as a result of this process.Yeah, right.(This movie sat in a vault somewhere because it was so freaking bad).Johnny Legend "restored" those images and you can see them for a split second on the screen.They are ludicrous.Images of Richard Nixon naked would be scary but not these foolish cartoons.

What little plot there is revolves around a woman and her nightmares about a rundown house. She and her new husband go to America and guess what house they move into.Then weird unscary stuff happens and she wonders if she is going out of her mind or is her husband up to no good.It boils down to ax murders and repressed memories.By the time any of this comes forth you'll be pounding your head against the wall to stop the pain.

The plot isn't anything you haven't seen before. The acting is somewhat below par as only the actor playing the husband isn't wooden or hammy.There is almost as much bull^%$# in this movie as in a politicians speech.Again evilskip's rule of thumb:Too much dialogue on exposition leads to screaming boredom.After 20 minutes you'll be looking for the fast forward or the rewind.Skip this abomination.

Gothic story

[grnhair2001 · 2/10 · 24 August 2011]

Adding the review because no one seems to have noted that this is a pure Gothic romance story: a relative-less, advocate-less female with what may or may not be mental illness, two men, one of whom is good and the other evil, but we can't tell which is which, all at an isolated old house, the hereditary curse, the oddball retainer, blah blah blah. Straight to the Gothic formula, only missing fog.

This is not a very good treatment of the genre, however. We know all along which man is the nice one and which the evil. The female is so stupid and weak, I can't care if she dies or not (this is the most dated part of the movie--you couldn't get away with a female lead like that today). Lots of exposition disguised (but not well) as dialog and the ludicrous cartoon "subliminals." Taken seriously, the plot doesn't work at many levels. In particular, that psychiatrist needs to get disbarred. The casting is odd--the female and male hero played together as children, but the actors look 15 years or more different in ages. The woman screams far too often, and it's just irritating.

Not so bad it's good for a laugh. Just bad. Want a decent Gothic movie? Rebecca or your choice of Wuthering Heights. Or read Barbara Michael's charming metagothic novel, Houses of Stone (a Gothic novel about hunting for an old Gothic novel manuscript). Want a bad 50's horror movie that makes you laugh at how bad it is? Lots to choose from. This is neither fish nor fowl.

A True-Love That Echoed Through The Ages...

[johnmirramax · 7/10 · 18 July 2006]

I will start off by saying that I, personally, enjoyed this movie VERY much. Yes...Sadly, I must place emphasis on the word "personally" because I seem to be the only experimental/nostalgic-viewer that shares this optimism...drag!

I praise this movie for it's decent, but at times in-consistent acting, music-score, and wonderful plot! The male-lead, Philip (Gerald Mohr) was VERY good through the picture especially. The female-lead (and ONLY feature female at that), Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell) had some dull and predictable character moments (characther moments not at all uncommon for Female roles in 1958).

As for the ***"Subliminal Messages"***, they were nothing more than a minor headache at best, and were used VERY sparingly. (Incedently, I own this movie on a Rhino Home Video cassette and took the liberty to view the "subliminal messaging" in slow motion). I found some of the ORIGINAL messages were quite vivid and disturbing once they were slowed-down, but it seems that AT SOME POINT later on, after Rhino Home Video had apparently bought rights to this movie, decided to implement their own messages during the last ten minutes before the climax...("Rent Rhino Videos Every Day" was my favorite) HAHA! Very funny, guys at Rhino! You sure know how to use media...(Kinda scary if you think about it)...

Anyway, after looking beyond the fact that, YES, this movie is OLD, you will discover a VERY true and stirring romance that I REALLY was able to identify with. The idea that you might have met your wife, or girlfriend, or loved-one many many years ago, then became suddenly separated from them during childhood (when young-love is the most impressionable and dream-like)...and then to have met that same person again in the future, not remembering who they were, and yet you fall in love with them just the same :)...if that makes sense!

Seriously, watch this film and try to imagine yourself in Philip's position. What if YOU searched high and low for your long lost loved-one, only to find them decades later in a deteriorating mental state...and only YOU can bring them back to reality! Very moving indeed, I love it!

BORING

[NateW · 1/10 · 11 April 2001]

When you look at it, this is just another typical 50's bad horror flick that bores it's audience to death before the ending unfolds. As for the psychorama technique, I hardly noticed it, and when I did it was more of an annoyance than a scare. Stay away from this yawner.

creepy good show

[johnc2141 · 7/10 · 17 June 2010]

Terror in the haunted house resembles a William Castle horror film it has gimmicks,subliminal messages during the film.they flash images of skulls and cartoon monsters and even the word scream in blood red colors,but this movie is pretty good without the subliminal messages.its creepy and pretty entertaining,it stars Gerald Mohr who a few years later starred in the great b movie the angry red planet.and Cathy O'Donnell(related to Rosie?)and William Ching.a new bride is having visions of a haunted house,well nightmares and is later on a trip with her new husband to America from Switzerland.to an old plantation mansion that turns out to be the house from her nightmares, its kind of like the screaming skull only much better.i seen this years ago on VHS from rhino video when they redid all the subliminal messages.and if you run it in slow motion you can clearly see these goofy and cartoonish subliminal images.as a fan of b movies and old horror movies i enjoyed terror in the haunted house,even though it is not as great as the infamous house on haunted hill.but alas it is better then the screaming skull and yes the really inept hillbillies in the haunted house.i recommend terror in the haunted house.7 out of 10.

Overacted and overwrought.

[planktonrules · 2/10 · 12 August 2013]

Apart from the novelty of 'Psycho-Rama', I cannot see much reason to watch "My World Dies Screaming". It's a pretty bad film--with many reasons to dislike it.

"My World Dies Screaming" begins with Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell) working through some recurring dream with a hypnotherapist. However, like in all the other attempts, she is unable to see how this all ends. After her discharge, she is taken by her new husband, Philip (Gerald Mohr) to Florida ostensibly for their honeymoon. However, soon it becomes obvious Philip has some agenda, as he ends up taking her to the very same old home she keeps seeing in her dreams! What gives? This film has several serious problems working with it and the novelty of Psycho-Rama* isn't enough to save it. Cathy O'Donnell, who could deliver a nice performance (such as in "The Best Years of Our Lives") was just awful here--as she way overplayed her character. It was almost laughable when she emoted and the director SHOULD have coached her through this or re-shot the scenes. Other scenes he should have re-shot involved nighttime scenes--which ranged from daylight to dark night alternative--just like Ed Wood infamously did in "Plan 9 From Outer Space"! Additionally, the film alternated from very boring to being very, very talky. Most of the plot was actually explained near the end through exposition--a very, very sloppy indicator that the writer was not competent. All in all, I wanted a fun, campy horror film but it was only dull.

*Psycho-Rama consisted of supposedly subliminal pictures appearing throughout the film--such as warnings that a scare is about to occur. With a DVD machine, it's easy to stop and see them clearly. However, in a funny twist, Rhino Video added one of their own--encouraging the viewer to watch more Rhino releases! Cute but also completely disproved to have any real impact on audience behaviors.

Terror In The Haunted House

[MarcoAntonio1 · 8/10 · 21 August 2005]

Firstly, I would like to say that this film was not banned by the US government for 26 years as was written by someone in a previous comment. I think that person was referring to the films " Psycho-Rama" gimmick because I've read that it was banned, but I'm sure that it's alleged banning was just hype anyway (The gimmick itself is awful!). This film actually used to play on local television an average of twice a year during the early to mid-seventies. I used to watch it. Now then, "Terror in the Haunted House" is an atmospheric little film about a young bride who is terrified of a house that has been tormenting her dreams. In the opening scene we are given a tour of the house as the bride approaches it (off camera) and narrates (sort of like the opening of Hitchcock's "Rebecca"). The front door opens and the camera moves through the house and up the stairs to the second floor and finally to the attic door which opens and we see to the top of the attic steps. That's all the wife can remember. She tells her psychiatrist that she knows that danger lies up there. Soon the wife is taken by her new husband to that very same house. There are nice touches that follow such as the wife discovering her and her husbands initials carved into the trunk of an old tree (which has been overgrown with vines) and as she slowly starts to remember that her childhood was indeed spent at that estate. The acting by everyone is acceptable. The house itself is a colonial plantation and is a very beautiful home to look at. My only gripes are those annoying subliminal messages ("Psycho-Rama") and the par for the course low-budget way that some of the shots that were supposed to be taking place at night-time were obviously filmed in broad daylight.

Your World Will Die Screaming From the Terror in the Haunted House!

[michaelasiclari · 7/10 · 24 March 2013]

This was one of the better B movies of the 50's. The film " Terror in the Haunted House " from 1958, is a creepy little movie with some fine performances by Gerald Mohr and Cathy O'Donnell. She plays a newlywed to husband Mohr, who has recurring dreams about a house she has never been to, or so she thinks. While this house isn't haunted, there is plenty of terror associated with it. With "weirdo" caretaker Jonah lurking about, you can understand why O'Donnell thinks she is losing her mind. I won't spoil the fun, and there's plenty of it in this film, so sit back and enjoy the plot twists and turns and the creepy and foreboding atmosphere! Try to ignore the "Psycho-Rama" gimmick, which flashes subliminal images and words across the screen. It might have been cutting edge back in 1958, but seems silly and unnecessary today.

I have included this film on my list of Ten Best Horror Films of the 1950's. Enjoy!

Interesting performances in a mediocre movie

[funkyfry · 5/10 · 8 November 2002]

*******SPOILERS*********

Fairly average melodrama disguised as a haunted house movie (for this distribution on DVD, anyway). There are no ghosts here, just an insane family. Mohr plays a man who brings his new wife to his ancestral home (where, it turns out, she grew up also) so that she can lose her fear of its attic. It makes even less sense than it sounds like, but features a nice performance by O'Donnell and also by lead Mohr.

Good acting, solid direction, but with a script like the one this film's hobbled with, that can only go so far. A sincere, but mostly failed, attempt at a psychological thriller.

Humdrum Haunted House Mystery

[BaronBl00d · 31 July 2001]

While the film is watchable to the degree that it does have a story about a woman returning to a house she has seen in her dreams, the ultimate feeling left upon the viewer after seeing this is that it wasn't anything special in any way. The budget is suitably low. That means there are no special effects to speak of, save the house which on the outside looks creepy with huge decaying palm trees but looks rather nice(save the wallpaper in the bedroom) inside. The acting talent is indeed meager with no one giving a good performance. The female lead Cathy O'Donnell is adequate, but the guy that plays her husband is awful. He is the kind of guy that grates on you and you want something to happen to him fast. That was one wish un-fulfilled. His name by the way is Gerald Mohr(he looks kind of like a young Morton Downey Jr.). The most interesting performance is given by John Qualen as an old caretaker. He is at least acting with some ability and able to make a unique characterization. The story is not anything special either as it tells about a woman reliving her past and surrounded by people she cannot trust. Nothing new there nor is it done any differently than countless of other times. The major claim to fame of the film is that it was filmed in Psychorama which is when subliminal pictures pop on for seconds and then disappear. Too bad they didn't disappear altogether as they are very aggravating because you are trying to see what they are, and when you do, you say, "Hey, it's a painted face of a red devil...Big Deal!" At the very least, that will give you something to think about as you watch the film.

Bound to confuse people with the two titles that don't reflect the true scope of this gothic thriller.

[mark.waltz · 5/10 · 7 June 2018]

Starting off with the Joan Fontaine like opening narration from "Rebecca", this little thriller is more mysterious than horrific. There's no real haunted house as the alternate title suggests, only a gloomy old Florida mansion that looks like it could be haunted, yet filled with as much mystery as the young Fontaine found in Manderlay. Delicate flower Cathy O'Donnell has been having issues with nightmares, dreaming about this gloomy mansion she claims she has never been to in her life. Her new husband (Gerald Mohr) is a mysterious sort, rather like Maxim De Winter, and perhaps keeping some secrets that make it appear as if he is "Gaslighting" her. They leave on their honeymoon and when O'Donnell sees the mansion she has been dreaming of when they arrive at their destination, she is instantly horrified. Mohr tells creepy groundskeeper (John Qualen) that they've rented the house, and soon it becomes obvious that he knows something more than he's telling, especially when a distant relative of his (William Ching) shows up and begins to plant ideas in O'Donnell's head that Mohr might be out to kill off the entire family to escape a curse, including her.

With its two different titles and the advertising reflecting otherwise, this film might disappoint those looking for another "House on Haunted Hill" or 'The Haunting", but if you go in knowing that this is quite different, you might find yourself intrigued by the various thrills that do pop up in this often slow moving saga. Certainly, the house does look creepy, like a vacation getaway for Katharine Hepburn's "Suddenly Last Summer" character, with its ivy covered frame and the unkempt grounds overgrown with dying palm trees and other vegetation that provides plenty of atmosphere. O'Donnell's character is perhaps a bit too fragile to be believable or for some audiences to take seriously, and Mohr's moody character has various moments where he seems both alternately sane and loco. Qualen gives some depth to his groundskeeper, and is perhaps the most interesting character in the film. Ching is obviously influenced greatly by the George Sanders character in "Rebecca". which makes me wonder how this would have been had there been a Mrs. Danvers like housekeeper who knew all but revealed little.

Your Hopes Die Silently

[rmax304823 · 4/10 · 3 July 2014]

This is drive-in fodder. Cathy O'Donnell, born Ann Steel in Siluria, Alabama, appeared in some impressive movies in the post-war years -- "The Best Years of Our Lives" and "They Live By Night." The role of the girlish, loving figure fitted her. She was always winsome and delicate and had an attenuated but compelling beauty. She'd never have done "Mommie Dearest" or "MacBeth." She looks as youthful as ever here. Any normal man would want to mutter vacuous reassurances in her frightened ear, while cuddling her and biting her neck. Alas, she didn't have much of a life ahead of her and died at 48 of cancer and a stroke.

Unfortunately, her husband here, Gerald Mohr, is only barely normal. You have to stretch the definition. He turns sinister the moment they arrive at the isolated mansion he's rented for them. He delivers his lines as if reading them for a male enhancement product and he has a high forehead. I immediately suspected him of being an illegal alien. All the aliens from outer space in the 50s drive-ins had overdeveloped frontal areas. But, no. I should have known. The aliens always have names like Gort, while his name is just plain Phil. His motives are benign. It's just that he believes in psychoanalytic mumbo-jumbo about repressed memories.

Well, O'Donnell is scared to death of the house. This is not an old haunted mansion with cobwebs all over the place and Victorian tchotchkas on the shelves. It's a pedestrian modern house, only bigger than most. John Qualen has been the day caretaker but all he does is gulp, bug his eyes out, and act half crazy.

The movie was shot in "Psycho-Rama," meaning there are instantaneous inserts of Halloween masks, unreadable subtitles, and other jokes. The 50s were the age of subliminal perception. The unconscious mind can grasp an image that's so brief that the rest of the mind doesn't see it. It seems to work, too, within limits but no one is playing with their stachistoscopes anymore.

I won't get into the plot because it's so twisted I couldn't really follow it and because the entire movie is not worth the effort it would take to paper over the holes. O'Donnell gets to scream four times, I think, and faints once.

It's hard to imagine what the kids were doing in their cars while this cheap and ill-written garbage unfolded on the drive-in screen. Maybe playing canasta.

Pause button on standby.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 9 September 2017]

Married couple Sheila (Cathy O'Donnell) and Philip (Gerald Mohr) travel from Switzerland to Florida for a relaxing break in a rented property. To Sheila's horror, the house is identical to that which features in her recurring nightmares. Coincidence? Or does hubbie Philip have a hidden agenda?

The plot for Terror in the Haunted House feels extremely dated, like a product of the '30s or 40's rather than the late '50s (remember, the groundbreaking horror of Psycho was only two years away). In order to add a little pep to proceedings, the makers resort to one of those lame gimmicks so prevalent of the time, in this case 'Psycho-Rama', subliminal images (a cartoon face with a rat in its mouth!?!) and words (Scream Bloody Murder!) designed to unsettle the viewer. They don't work.

With its uninspired story-line, overly verbose script and overwrought performances, this film is unlikely to set chills running up the spine. Psycho-Rama might be wholly ineffective as a way of creeping out the audience, but it at least provided me with the challenge of trying to pause the film every time an image or phrase appeared—far more fun the film itself.

4.5 out of 10, rounded down to 4 for some of the worst day for night filming I have seen: it looks like they didn't even try.

Psycho- Rama!

[jcaraway3 · 7/10 · 11 October 2009]

This was originally titled "My World Dies Screaming", and that's a much better title. I don't even know why they changed it to "Terror in the Haunted House", because there are no ghosts or demons in this film at all. I thought this movie had a great plot and storyline, but it was somewhat marred by irritating "subliminal" messages of devils, skulls, etc. These "messages" are only slightly startling, and used in only three scenes. The best ones say "rent Rhino videos everyday", and they were added by the Rhino company once they released it to home video. This was probably only meant to be a joke, but they could have had more sinister ideas in their head... Some people have called this movie boring, and that it looked more like a play than a movie. Well, think about it. The movie only had five speaking parts,and not many locations. Listen to the dialogue and try to come up with a picture in your mind for all of the events they discuss. When I did that, I got creeped out. Other pros to this film: Good (over)acting, exciting climax, a beautiful actress, and clever plot twists. Psycho- Rama was canceled the year it debuted. Some people probably think it was because it was too scary, but I think it was because it was lame.

A house is not just a home. It has an entity of its own.

[michaelRokeefe · 2/10 · 3 August 2002]

This member of the "World's Worst Movies" is just freakin' BAD. Changing the title to "TERROR IN THE HAUNTED HOUSE" strikes no fear. A newlywed couple prepare to move into an old house. Upon first sight, the bride(Cathy O'Donnell)remembers it in her nightmarish flashbacks. This movie claims to be one of the first to use subliminal messages as a gimmick...ho-hum. Strictly low budget and forgettable. Also in the cast are Gerald Mohr and John Qualen.

Don't Look Too Closely

[Hitchcoc · 7/10 · 6 July 2015]

Pretty easy to figure out if you've seen a lot of movies where the poor wife is left to decide whether to go in "that" room. In this one a couple newlyweds come to live in a house. It turns out that the woman has been in Switzerland since she was seven. She has been having recurring dreams and they take place in "this" house. When they get there they are greeted by a spooky caretaker who makes cryptic comments about previous residents. We suspect the husband is up to something shady. Of course, one must question why he would get married just to bring this poor neurotic woman to the place occupying her incredible fear. The owner of the house wants her out of there because he knows it can't be healthy for her. But, while a lot of clichés are here, this is a decent movie with lots of twists and turns. I won't even comment on the stupid subliminal junk that is imposed on the video.

My World Dies Screaming Under the Terror in the Haunted House

[SerpicoJones · 5/10 · 9 October 2010]

I saw this under the title Terror in the Haunted House. I didn't know anything about this movie and I didn't bother to look up any information about it. So, I presumed it could be some creepy ghost story like The Haunted. But nevertheless I didn't have to disappoint. Well, maybe a little bit because I learned what is the Psycho-Rama and subliminal message in the film.

The story first seems simple but as more the movie grows the more peculiar and more complex it goes. It has so much plot twists that even M. Night Shyamalan would be envious. The film builds up the tension and pace so fast that the ending seems to comes too abruptly. And I will go that far and call this movie little bit Hitchcockian.

But remind, this is more a suspense-thriller than a horror film. Otherwise it would have been decent movie but those ridiculous subliminal messages(?). Why were they needed anyway?

Overall My World Dies Screaming is nice entertaining B-flick with great performances.

Brilliant plot twists, thrilling by 1950s standards

[thewag777 · 9/10 · 6 July 2005]

Many of the reviews I have read complain that this film is boring or mediocre. I think they are forgetting that it was made in 1958. Considering that, I thought it was very exciting for its time. I certainly loved the acting, but that too is very much in the style of the 50s.

It is the plot twists that make the movie worth watching today (That is, for normal people, not just nostalgics like myself.) You know that the woman is not evil, but what about the two men, Phillip and Mark, and that servant Jonah? Just when you think you have them figured out, the movie flips them again. If you follow it, and don't get too easily bored by the 1950s effects and black and white, I think you will be surprised by how it turns out.

I gave it 9 out of 10. It was a masterpiece of its time and still entertaining today, though I might suggest watching it more as a mystery/drama than a horror film. My only complaint is the title itself, for I was hoping for a haunted house, but there was nothing supernatural about it. No ghosts or ghouls or anything. Ah yes, and I stopped noticing the 'subliminal messages' about 15 minutes into it. They really serve no purpose.

Terror in the Haunted House

[kynolan97 · 7/10 · 13 May 2011]

SOO SPOOKY!!! "Terror in the Haunted House" is a really great movie! that i highly recommend! It has great acting, good special effects, and is scary(at times) but also has a funny twist to it. At times there were flashing funny cartoon

faces that would pop out

during some of the scary, suspenseful scenes, but they were out of place

and didn't really go with the plot of the story. Besides that, Cathy O'Donnell was excellent in the film! I think that this movie and "The Best Years of Our Lives" were her two

best films. If you want a thrill but also want to laugh, then I recommend this movie!

Psycho-Rama - what a lame idea.

[bensonmum2 · 4/10 · 24 September 2017]

Sheila Wayne (Kathy O'Donnell) has reoccurring dreams about an old, foreboding house. Recently married, she and her new husband move to Florida. Their house . . . well, it's the house of her nightmares. She quickly learns that this house is a place of evil, a place where bad things have happened. But how did Kathy end up in this house? How is it that her husband just happened to find this house? Who's crazy, who's sane, and what actually happened in the house?

Terror in the Haunted House (or My World Dies Screaming - which i prefer) is like cross between Hitchcock's Rebecca and the dreadful The Screaming Skull. Unforutnatley, our movie has more in common with the latter than it does Hitchcock's masterpiece. I'll start by saying it's not the worst movie in the world. This isn't much of an endorsement, but you could certainly do a whole lot worse. But make not mistake, it's still pretty bad. Here's a quick list of some of the things that bothered me:

1. Sheila Wayne - The screaming got old real quick. And for a woman in peril, she's not very sympathetic. After a while, I didn't care what happened to her. She was just so annoying and stupid.

2. Acting - Some of it is plain old bad. In particular, William Ching gives a totally wooden and unnatural performance. No one talks like that in real life.

3. Gerald Mohr - He's a decent enough actor, but he's miscast here. The New York accent really got in the way. No way was I buying the notion he grew up in Florida.

4. Predictable - The director does everything he can to throw the viewer off the track regarding who's crazy and who's not. But it's all so obvious that it backfires. I could spot the baddie almost immediately.

5. Psycho-Rama - Was William Castle associated with this movie? The constant subliminal images were about as annoying as Sheila Wayne.

With all the problems I had with the movie, I think I'm being generous in rating Terror in the Haunted Hiuse a 4/10.