I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

This is How Movies Should Be Made

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There's a murderous Manson-like Jesus freak cult, following the unibrowed Jesus-lookalike Billy Joe and his enforcer, the hooded cross-toting Atoner The followers are hippy-dippy teenagers with motorcycles.After the preacher husband of the female lead doesn't let them rob his donations without a few words, he's crucified and stabbed by them. His wife, who did not have a particularly stable mind to begin with, becomes more unhinged. Three of the cultists are put on death row, but The Atoner remains unidentified and free, as do the other cultists who weren't there at the robbery.A judge invites the preacher's wife to babysit his four teenagers, not wise as she flipped out even more after being threatened with "vengeance" by the cultists after the trial. From there, it becomes a tale of a home invasion, mostly. I don't share the high admiration of the other raters, but it's not bad.

This unimaginably obscure gem of horror perfectly epitomizes why I, and surely many regular members of this website with me, absolutely worship the 70's decade! "The Night God Screamed" is genuinely creepy without there being much of a budget for make-up effects, the concept is very original and I even daresay unique, the tone throughout the whole film is devastating and grim, the acting performances are far better than they have any right to be and – even though it didn't even need one – the script provides a very clever and almost unpredictable twist near the end. Quite a number of 70's horror movies revolved on satanic cults and devil worshiping ("Enter the Devil", "The Devil's Rain", "Race with the Devil"…), but this film centers, or at least partially centers, on the members of a fanatic Catholic movement and I assure you these Jesus freaks are equally uncanny as Satanists; if not uncannier. Billy Joe, a self-acclaimed prophet oddly resembling Jesus Christ himself, and his herd of brainwashed disciples crucify a preacher before the eyes of his poor and defenseless wife Fanny. The woman testifies in court and the culprits are sentenced to death, but naturally not before Billy Joe swears he'll avenge himself. A certain time later, Fanny becomes stalked and terrorized by religious maniacs, not coincidentally whilst she's babysitting the (adolescent) kids of the judge that sentenced the verdict. In case of movies like "The Night God Screamed", the lack of budget is actually the biggest trump. Director Lee Madden obviously searched for different ways to create suspense and an atmosphere of disturbance, other than the usual visual shocks effects and grisly murders, and he definitely succeeded! The remote rural settings are sublime, the music is chilling and all the characters are terrifically cast. Jeanne Crain is excellent as the dame in distress and especially the Jesus freak dude is supremely eerie. But, undeniably, the biggest triumph here remains the simple yet effective story. "The Night God Screamed" doesn't rely on zombies, vampires or supernatural phenomena. The menace here comes from seemingly normal human beings, with their unpredictable moves and dark twisty minds. It's a truly great film, and I know it's difficult to track down, but luckily enough the people looking for this type of cinematic gold are very persistent.

There are certain films that are really well written and very scary, but they are totally unlucky. I recall "Let's scare Jessica to death", which is a very very creepy movie, and you just hope this tension would end, at mean time you hope it would never end. Nobody talks about "Let's scare Jessica to death", and you can't find a DVD or data about it, or even watch it on TV. The same is applicable to "The night God scream", which is a very well written movie, that captures the real essence of horror. There are no zombies or special effects. No bowels or beheading and certainly no rotten corpses, but it's a hell of a movie that makes your blood freeze. You breathe with difficulty and you sit at the edge of the chair. Nobody really understands what the real horror is.. What you see in "Saw", "Van helsing" and "Scream" is just gore. I am not amazed that there was only one comment about such a great movie, because it was born unlucky like "Let's scare Jessica...". If you are not into gore and rotten corpses, and you think that apprehension is the real essence of horror, then do yourself a favor and go find this movie.

Jeanne Crain is one of the best actresses ever, and in this, one of her last performances to date, she proves that talent never fades away. The plot is hard to explain without giving the ending away, but it is SCARY. It is not a slice-and-dice, this film uses real terror, the kind where you have no idea what's going to happen. A fabulous movie, but don't watch it alone.