SILVER SCREAM

Produced, Directed, Written ,Edited, and videotaped by Jimmyo Burril

The Count - Jimmyo Burril
Mr. Friedkin - David Calhoun
Shelly Freeling- Kristen Hudson
Tobe Freeling- Andy Wentsel
George - Justin Alvarez

Jimmyo Burril's horror musical SILVER SCREAM is a loving homage to an era of genre cinema that's long since past. The horror movies of yesterday had something that today's don't - novelty. Everything today is post-modernist or formula-based, and more often then not, soulless. It's rare to see a horror film that sets trends or strive for uniqueness. The movies of yesterday, though, were something different. They had class and character, and were about something more than just tits, ass, and a knife-wielding maniac.

Mary Shelly's FRANKENSTEIN was a film about isolation and the fear of the unknown. Stoker's DRACULA was a romanticized tale of forbidden loves and lusts. THE INVISIBLE MAN dealt with themes of societal insignificance. THE CREATURE OF THE BLACK LAGOON touched upon man's encroachment upon the environment. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a direct reaction to the 1960's, dealing with everything from Vietnam to racism.

SILVER SCREAM contains none of the sub-textual elements found in the films it celebrates; it rarely even addresses those issues. Instead director Burril takes a fanboy's approach and applies it in the form of musical appreciation. He takes a flimsy Ed Woodian excuse for a plotline where a haunted cinema is about to be shut down and traps viewers inside movies from decades long past by and crafts a story that allows for breaks via musical numbers where every vignette is taken from a landmark genre film.

Consider that classic line from Bela Legosi in DRACULA, "Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make." It's the basis for the first musical number sung by Burril himself as the copyright infringement-free The Count. As The Count sings, his three hot vampiretts dance and jiggle around him.

Can you guess what the second song "Kong" is from? What about "Bates Motel?" Other direct homages include THE WOLF MAN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, BLOOD FEAST, THE EXORCIST, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and every slasher series from the 1980's.

Burril based his film on his play of the same name, and his directing style often reflects a certain theatrical stage-like atmosphere . His lack of close-ups and camera movement during most of the musical numbers comes across stiff and wooden, often conflicting with the excellently produced high energy musical arrangements. As the film progresses, Burril becomes noticeably more visual-centric, perhaps due to his growing comfort behind the camera, perhaps to reflect the cinematic stylings of each subsequent time period.

Comparisons of SILVER SCREAM to the cult classic THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW are bound to be made, but the two films share little in common despite their musical-horror nature. One could argue that the campiness found in each unites the two, but true camp is unintentional. The makers of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW never intended to produce a movie to be made fun of, and neither did the filmmakers behind SHOWGIRLS. Both were intended as serious efforts - fun, but serious.

Instead, SILVER SCREAM is a post-modernist deconstruction that breaks each horror film honored down to its core elements. Unlike many of today's shot-on-video horror titles, it's not condescending or jaded, but reflects genuine genre affection that brings back joyous memories of the first times I saw the films honored. The DVD contains a trailer for the film introduced by actress April Burril in her Sally Chainsaw persona, as well as an option that allows viewers to jump right to the musical numbers.

Silver Scream