Scream for Help (1984)

Director: Michael Winner

Starring: Rachael Kelly, David Allen Brooks, Marie Masters

A teenaged girl discovers that her stepfather is trying to murder her and her mother, but when she tells people, no one will believe her.

Christina (or Christie), 17, believes her handsome stepfather Paul is trying to murder her mother, Karen (for her money). Becoming increasingly suspicious of Paul, Christie decides to follow him, and discovers he is having an affair with Brenda.

Brenda, meantime, is married to Lacey and having the affair with Paul with Lacey’s knowledge, in order to get Paul to murder Karen and Christie. In turn they plan to blackmail Paul for the money once he has killed Karen and Christie. (Paul believes Lacey is Brenda’s brother).

It’s not a bad premise, but the execution is very bad. From the cheesy music to the over-dramatic tone and dialogue, the film plays like a daytime TV soap. Add bad acting and the result is a film better left forgotten. After a girl dies in an accident, a doctor breaks the news to her parents in a cold, emotionless tone: “I’m sorry, your daughter died.” No doctor will ever use the word ‘died’ when telling the next of kin. At times some of the actors sounded like they were simply reading their lines.

The final act wasn’t too bad, but by that time it was too late for the movie to redeem itself. If this is your kind of premise, rather watch the far superior ‘The Stepfather’ from 1987. Give ‘Scream for Help’ a skip.

Would I watch it again? No.