The Shout is a 1978 British horror film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski, starring Alan Bates, Susannah York and John Hurt. It was based on a short story by Robert Graves and adapted for the screen by Skolimowski and Michael Austin. The film was the first to be produced by Jeremy Thomas under his Recorded Picture Company banner.
Plot
Crossley (
Alan Bates), a mysterious travelling man, invades the lives of a young couple, Rachel and Anthony Fielding (
Susannah York and
John Hurt). Anthony is a composer, who experiments with sound effects and various electronic sources in his secluded
Devon studio. The couple provides hospitality to Crossley but his intentions are gradually revealed as more sinister. He claims he has learned from an Aboriginal
shaman how to produce a "terror shout" that can kill anyone who hears it unprotected.
Cast
Production
Background
Producer
Jeremy Thomas had initially wanted to get
Nicolas Roeg to direct the film but Roeg turned down the offer due to being unavailable.
Eventually Thomas hired Jerzy Skolimowski due to Skolimowski's fluency in English as well as having been impressed with his prior work on
Deep End.
Filming
Interiors were shot at
Pinewood Studios; the film's sets were designed by the
art director Simon Holland. The North Devon coastline, specifically
Saunton Sands and
Braunton Burrows, was used for the bulk of the location shooting. The church of St Peter in Westleigh was used for the church scenes. The producer, Jeremy Thomas, later remembered his experience making the film,
Music
The soundtrack is by
Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks of the
progressive rock band Genesis.
The central theme "From the Undertow" features on Banks's album
A Curious Feeling.
Reception
Accolades
The film was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1978 Cannes Film Festival and received the Grand Prize of the Jury,
in a tie with
Bye Bye Monkey.
External links
