And Now the Screaming Starts! (1973) Spoiler-Free Summary – What It's About

In the waning years of the eighteenth century, newlyweds Catherine and Charles Fengriffen arrive at their ancestral manor, a sprawling stone house that dominates the bleak countryside. The estate, steeped in the weight of generations, exudes a brooding elegance that feels both welcoming and oppressive. As they settle into the grand yet shadowed rooms, the couple senses that the house holds memories that whisper from its walls, hinting at a past that refuses to stay buried.

From the moment they cross the threshold, Catherine is plagued by unsettling visions of a disembodied figure—a corpse marked by a birthmark, empty sockets, and a severed right hand—that seems to linger just beyond the edge of perception. These specters are not merely dreams; they echo through the corridors, suggesting that a curse lingers within the very foundation of the Fengriffen line. A reclusive woodsman known only as Silas appears on the periphery of the estate, bearing the same uncanny mark, and his presence deepens the sense that something older and more vengeful watches the newlyweds.

Concerned by the growing unease, the family summons the skeptical Dr. Whittle, a local physician, and the enigmatic psychiatrist Dr. Pope to provide a rational explanation for the disturbances. Their arrival sets up a tension between scientific inquiry and the house’s inexorable, supernatural atmosphere. Each attempts to untangle the knot of fear that binds the present to the past, while the manor itself seems to conspire to keep its secrets hidden.

The mood is a relentless blend of gothic dread and quiet oppression, where every creak and flicker of light feels loaded with meaning. Within the ornate halls, the legacy of the Fengriffens hangs like a heavy curtain, promising that the arrival of a new generation will awaken forces long restrained. The film invites the audience to linger in this unsettling world, asking whether love and rationality can ever truly dispel the shadows of ancestral sins.