IMDb RATING
4.7/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
A deranged kid murders his father and has his arm crushed by the farm tractor. After being discharged from the mental hospital with an amputee, he discovers that his mother has remarried, pr... Read allA deranged kid murders his father and has his arm crushed by the farm tractor. After being discharged from the mental hospital with an amputee, he discovers that his mother has remarried, prompting him to go on a homicidal rampage.A deranged kid murders his father and has his arm crushed by the farm tractor. After being discharged from the mental hospital with an amputee, he discovers that his mother has remarried, prompting him to go on a homicidal rampage.
Willey Reynolds
- Lex
- (as Wiley Reynolds)
Angus Scrimm
- Dr. Epstein
- (as Rory Guy)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOriginally titled The Captive Female when it was shot in 1971. Released in 1973 as Scream Bloody Murder. Then rereleased in 1976 with the single word title Matthew.
- GoofsOn the top of the shot, when Vera takes off her top in the bathroom (trailer only).
- Alternate versionsWhile the US version is only 85 minutes, a German version exists with an additional six minutes of footage. Most are extensions of dialogue, with two notable sequences missing from the US version being Matthew stalking a young couple before meeting Vera, and cleaning himself in a bathroom after murdering the mansion's owner and her maid. There is, however, no additional gore or violence.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-in Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996)
- SoundtracksMatthew's Theme
by Don Bagley
Featured review
Do Look Out For The One Armed Man- "Scream Bloody Murder" Is A Surprisingly Effective Little Film
Even before the opening credits roll "Scream Bloody Murder" lives up to its title.
Little Matthew(Fred Holbert, in his only film performance) decides he digs his father better dead, and apropos of absolutely nothing, runs him over with a tractor. Even more inexplicably, he manages to mangle his own arm in the process.
Sent away to a mental institution for many years he comes home a teenager with a hook for a hand and an axe to grind(literally) with his mother and new stepfather who soon die painfully for having the unmitigated gall to get married and seem happy about it on the very day he came home from the loony bin.
He then goes on an all out run.... away from the mother of all Oedipus complexes, cutting a bloody swath through everyone he meets, from a young couple giving him a ride out of his small town, to whoever happens to stand in his way.
Meeting painter/hooker with a heart of gold Vera(Leigh Matthews, a two film wonder), things look up a touch for our protagonist. He compliments her art, renames her Daisy,brings her flowers, and kills a john for treating her poorly. If that isn't love, he doesn't know what is.
Desperate to impress and to make good on his claims of wealth and success to fulfill his weird white knight fantasy of "saving" Vera/Daisy, he murders the entire residency of the closest fancy house he can find, kidnaps his lady love and steals from locals to provide her with all the creature comforts you could possibly need while tied to the stolen bed of a psychopath. The resulting action/reaction struggle of Vera/Daisy's survival instincts and Matthew's manias eventually lead to a quirky but extremely satisfying bloody climax, proving the old adage of "where ever you go, there you are".
This film is amateurish on near every level (hammy acting, garish color, jerky cinematography, thin as gossamer plot) and the print that has passed into public domain and an epic ton of multi movie DVD sets is blown out and grainy.
However, "Scream Bloody Murder" succeeds almost in spite of itself. It doesn't bother with overambitious story touches it wouldn't have had the budget for, keeps the plot moving quickly, the body count mounting tidily and the dialog simple. Holbert rips through his campy lines with delightful abandon, and Ms. Matthews manages to be appealing enough to root for despite being little more than a cliché archetype. It isn't trying to teach us moral lessons or have pretensions to high art. It's the mania, madness and mayhem fans of the genre want to see....and while it is often goofy, it is never boring.
By going further than is necessary at every possible turn, the creators of "Scream Bloody Murder" managed to polish their turd into an excellent bloody Valentine, and a forgotten little gem of B film.
6.5 stars
Little Matthew(Fred Holbert, in his only film performance) decides he digs his father better dead, and apropos of absolutely nothing, runs him over with a tractor. Even more inexplicably, he manages to mangle his own arm in the process.
Sent away to a mental institution for many years he comes home a teenager with a hook for a hand and an axe to grind(literally) with his mother and new stepfather who soon die painfully for having the unmitigated gall to get married and seem happy about it on the very day he came home from the loony bin.
He then goes on an all out run.... away from the mother of all Oedipus complexes, cutting a bloody swath through everyone he meets, from a young couple giving him a ride out of his small town, to whoever happens to stand in his way.
Meeting painter/hooker with a heart of gold Vera(Leigh Matthews, a two film wonder), things look up a touch for our protagonist. He compliments her art, renames her Daisy,brings her flowers, and kills a john for treating her poorly. If that isn't love, he doesn't know what is.
Desperate to impress and to make good on his claims of wealth and success to fulfill his weird white knight fantasy of "saving" Vera/Daisy, he murders the entire residency of the closest fancy house he can find, kidnaps his lady love and steals from locals to provide her with all the creature comforts you could possibly need while tied to the stolen bed of a psychopath. The resulting action/reaction struggle of Vera/Daisy's survival instincts and Matthew's manias eventually lead to a quirky but extremely satisfying bloody climax, proving the old adage of "where ever you go, there you are".
This film is amateurish on near every level (hammy acting, garish color, jerky cinematography, thin as gossamer plot) and the print that has passed into public domain and an epic ton of multi movie DVD sets is blown out and grainy.
However, "Scream Bloody Murder" succeeds almost in spite of itself. It doesn't bother with overambitious story touches it wouldn't have had the budget for, keeps the plot moving quickly, the body count mounting tidily and the dialog simple. Holbert rips through his campy lines with delightful abandon, and Ms. Matthews manages to be appealing enough to root for despite being little more than a cliché archetype. It isn't trying to teach us moral lessons or have pretensions to high art. It's the mania, madness and mayhem fans of the genre want to see....and while it is often goofy, it is never boring.
By going further than is necessary at every possible turn, the creators of "Scream Bloody Murder" managed to polish their turd into an excellent bloody Valentine, and a forgotten little gem of B film.
6.5 stars
helpful•20
- missmonochrome
- Jan 2, 2013
- How long is Scream Bloody Murder?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Amputee with an Axe
- Filming locations
- Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA(Location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 30 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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