Screams of a Winter Night

1979 "In the shadow of evil, in the echo of sins. In the icy stare of moonlight, our ghostly tale begins."
4.8| 1h31m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 26 January 1979 Released
Producted By: Full Moon Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

Ten college friends take a winter weekend camping trip to Lake Durand. The group holes up in an old cabin where the original owners were once found dead, with local Native Americans suspecting they were the victims of a spirit called Shataba. As the group nestles in for the night, they start telling each other scary stories.

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Anthony D I decided to watch this movie because I've heard a lot about it. I figured it must be a pretty good movie, even though I knew it would be a little cheesy (also, I always love getting my hands on rare stuff). I wasn't expecting anything close to a masterpiece, but at the same time I feel like it fell a little short of my expectations.To start off, give this movie the award for scariest title of all time. If the title alone doesn't make you curious about this movie, then I don't know what planet you're on. The opening scene is also pretty great. The movie is basically about a small group of young adults who go up to an isolated cabin for some time while they take turns telling pretty lame scary stories to each other. At the same time, the very area that they're staying at has quite a frightening legend of its own.There isn't anything scary in the slightest about the stories they tell. It's really quite boring actually. The bit that I found to be pretty chilling is the atmosphere when they're telling them. You can just tell that something isn't right, so kudos to the director for being able to create that vibe. Unfortunately, that's the only scary part of the entire movie. The rest of it is interesting (I guess), but fails to accomplish the task of scaring you.The end is pretty bizarre, which makes me wonder if there's more than meets the eye with this movie. Is there some kind of point, or message that they're trying to get across here? Is this supposed to be some kind of representation of how people can turn stories or ideas into a bigger deal than they need to be (especially since that's kind of a recurring theme throughout the film), or is it really as pointless as it seems? I honestly don't know. Either way I'd give it 4/10 because its scary moments did legitimately spook me, but the majority of the movie falls a bit short in my view.Also to be fair, it truly appears they had NO budget to work with on this film. I think they did okay with what they had.
yairdann I watched this on Halloween night that year with the whole town and it scared the heck out of everyone at the theater. Good enough for me to look it up after all these years. Just something way creepy about the green light scene I can't forget. Im sure some of it is my youth perspective in 1979 but I think its in the class of something like Legend of Boggy Creek which is a classic because it brought something new though campy as all heck. Screams is dated by now Im sure but still good fun compared to a LOT of other bigger budget movies. Be nice to see it posted somewhere like on you tube as Im sure its a rarity! I gave it a seven meaning you ought to check it out for yourself.
Woodyanders A bunch of young adults go deep into the woods to a remote cabin and tell each other several scary urban legend-style stories. First and coolest vignette - A diminutive albino Bigfoot creature stalks a teenage couple who find themselves stuck in the middle of nowhere after their car runs out of gas. Second and most frightening tale - Three college fraternity pledges spend the night at an old abandoned hospital that's said to be haunted. Third and most disturbing yarn - A mousy, repressed young coed turns out to be a deranged murderess. Finally, our motley group of young adults discover that the local legend of a vicious Indian wind demon isn't far-fetched in the least. Director James L. Wilson and writer Richard H. Wadsack neatly craft a fun and engrossing omnibus outing that eschews the usual graphic gore and bloodshed in favor of creating and sustaining a potently creepy and nightmarish midnight-in-the-graveyard gloom-doom atmosphere; the opening credits sequence in particular is very chilling and the conclusion packs one hell of a terrifying punch. The isolated sylvan setting projects a truly unnerving sense of dread and vulnerability. The spirited shivery'n'shuddery score by Don Zimmers does the flesh-crawling trick. The pretty, fairly polished cinematography by Robert E. Rogers likewise hits the spot. Moreover, the game no-name cast all contribute winningly sincere and enthusiastic performances. A shamefully neglected and unheralded drive-in terror treat.
Scott-212 I was 14 in 1979, and my brother and I went to a twin theater in Bowie, Maryland. I don't remember what film we intended to see, a comedy I believe, but when I saw there was a horror movie playing in the other theater I decided to watch it while my brother saw the comedy. So there I was, sitting by myself in the near empty theater with about ten other people sporadically seated throughout. I figured a PG horror flick might be good for some cheap thrills, maybe a few laughs, but nothing I couldn't handle. Then the movie started, and from the scary opening which is comprised of sound effects over the credits through the second story, I was scared nearly to tears by this. It's hard to say exactly what it is, but this movie just has that special "something" that can't be planned, but must come through in the execution. I recently attained a copy of this and watched it again after all these years, and I still think it is quite effective. Reading the other reviews here, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one with a soft spot in their heart for this little unknown movie. To the filmmakers who just might read this, I say ignore the negative critics. That little movie you made way back in the 1970's still holds up well, and has a good creepy atmosphere that many of today's big-budgeted have not a clue of how to accomplish. Oh well, thanks for reading!