The Shout (1978)
A film by Jerzy Skolimowski
This is a strange film about a
sinister man named Crossley (Alan Bates) who invades the lives of a man (John
Hurt) and his wife (Susannah York) in a sleepy English town. He tells the story
to a fellow scorer (Tim Curry) at a cricket match in the grounds of a mental
asylum, and we are left to try and disentangle it.
Crossley tells the couple that he spent eighteen years in the Australian
outback, and that he killed his children when they were born. He also tells them
he met a magical man in the outback, who taught him how to shout to kill. The
scene when Crossley 'shouts' on the sand dunes is good. The shout is so severe
that it kills sheep,
birds and a shepherd. The sound is good, too. The film was made in Dolby system
sound, which is rare for that time. During the 'shout' the effect is impressive.
The ending is rather weird. Alan Bates is good as the creepy Crossley. It's an
odd film, that is curiously compelling to watch.
