From a Whisper to a Scream is a 1987 anthology horror film directed by Jeff Burr. In the small town of Oldfield, Tennessee, historian Julian White (Vincent Price) is interviewed by journalist Beth Chandler (Susan Tyrrell) after the execution of his niece Katherine (Martine Beswick), who had been accused of murdering her husband. Julian tells her that Oldfield has always been plagued by horrific violence since the town was founded, and tells her four stories taking place further and further back in time to prove this.
Stanley
In contemporary times, mousy, awkward old man Stanley Burnside (Clu Gulager) lives a lonely life caring for his invalid sister Eileen (Miriam Byrd-Netherly). He pines for his beautiful boss Grace (Megan McFarland), and one night he takes her in a date. When she rejects him, he kills her, then breaks into the mortuary where her body is held and has sex with her corpse. But the consequences of his actions begin to haunt him, quite literally.
On the Run
In the 1950s, lowlife thug Jesse Hardwick (Terry Kiser) is rescued and nursed back to health by elderly Voodoo priest Felder Evans (Harry Caesar) after being shot by gangsters. The scummy Jesse discovers Felder to be immortal, and plots to force him to give him the immortality he craves.
Lovecraft’s Traveling Amusements
In the early 1930s, Amarillis Caulfield (Didi Lanier) falls in love with sideshow performer Steven (Ron Brooks). The two run away together to escape the Snakewoman (Rosalind Cash), the controlling owner of the sideshow. But the Snakewoman won’t let them get away that easily.
Four Soldiers
Following the end of the Civil War, Union soldier Sgt. Gallen (Cameron Mitchell) and his men decide to continue the war themselves and take what they want from any Southerner they encounter. This all ends when they stumble across an isolated town inhabited by a group of militaristic children, who take Gallen and his men captive. Gallen plots to find a way to escape the children before he is killed.
List of tropes applying to the film:
- Actor Allusion: After the fourth story ends, Beth likens it to something out of H. P. Lovecraft or Edgar Allan Poe, and Julian says he'll drink to those masters of horror. Vincent Price previously starred in multiple Poe adaptations (including The Raven (1963) and The Pit and the Pendulum), as well as The Haunted Palace (based on Lovecraft's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward novella).
- All Take and No Give: Snakewoman recruits desperate people to become her carnies and transforms them into freaks. As far as she’s concerned, that gives her the freedom to abuse them and treat them as slaves, and take whatever she wants from them.
- And I Must Scream: After Jesse betrays him, Felder restrains him and reveals he had already given him the potion in order to save his life. Felder then takes an axe to Jesse, burns the body, and leaves what's left in a bag on the side of a road, but passersby see the bloody bag moving. At the hospital, a doctor and nurse are stunned Jesse is still alive, despite all the physical trauma. The nurse even says the EKG shows normal brain activity, so he is still fully aware of everything. After the doctor tells her the best option would be for him to die as soon as possible rather than go on like this, Jesse recalls Felder telling him he'll live at least 70 more years.
- Ax-Crazy: Stanley turns out to be... really sick, to say the least.
- The Bad Guy Wins:
- The Snakewoman brings about Steven's death and forcibly adds a new member to the carnival's sideshow.
- Downplayed with the kids in the fourth story. They're antagonists with no regard for any Union soldiers, but they're avenging their parents that were killed during the war. We also only see them facing Gallen's men, who are themselves openly cruel and motivated just by the sick thrill of their actions.
- Bait the Dog: Stanley and Jesse initially seem sympathetic, before revealing how truly vile they are.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Felder is a nice guy, but as Jesse learns the hard way, pissing him off is ill-advises.
- Bullying a Dragon: The McCoy brothers are gangsters, and Jesse offended them by owing them money and making a run for it.
- The Cameo: Lawrence Tierney pops up as the prison warden when Katherine is executed.
- Casting Gag: The leader of the vicious Union soldiers, Sgt. Gallen, is played by Cameron Mitchell. He previously played another, much kinder real-life union soldier, General Lew Wallace, in George C. Scott’s 1970 TV adaptation of The Andersonville Trial .
- Creepy Child: The kids in the fourth story were unbalanced by the deaths of their parents in the war. They serve the Magistrate (stitched together remains of their parents) and kill whatever Union soldiers they encounter.
- The Farmer and the Viper: Felder saves Jesse out of the kindness of his heart and is even willing to share his secret with him. After three weeks of seemingly no results, Jesse betrays and attacks him. When an attempt to force him to reveal his secret goes south, he leaves Felder to die in the swamp.
- Good Is Not Soft: Unlike many in and around the town, Felder is a genuinely good person who lives a content, peaceful life, is willing to help a stranger in distress, and won't hesitate to share his biggest secret. Jesse learns the hard way, however, that Felder doesn't take kindly to betrayal. Felder responds in a way that would make the movie's actual villains wince.
- Greed: How Julian describes Jesse, and it quickly proves accurate. He has a history of ripping people off, is in hiding from the McCoy brothers for his latest stunt, and seeks Felder's secret to enrich himself.
- Hypocrite:
- Jesse takes great offense to being betrayed by his wife, only to betray Felder when it suits him.
- Gallen tries to tell the lead child that the war is over and that there's no reason to keep any of this up, even though he wasn't going to let the end of the war stop him from preying on people.
- I Did What I Had to Do: As Jesse pleads for mercy, Felder points out he'd never get a moment's peace if he simply let him go.
- I Love the Dead: Stanley.Stanley: We can't let a little thing like death interrupt our romance.
- Immortality Hurts: Jesse observes that Felder isn't invincible, as he bleeds after being attacked. This is also key to Felder's revenge; as he says, the potion means he can't kill Jesse, but he can subject him to prolonged agony in a hacked up, severely burned body.
- Irony: Felder reveals Jesse was desperately searching for a potion that he had already been given.
- It Works Better with Bullets: As Jesse readies his gun against the people he owes money to, Mary reveals she already removed the clip and promptly throws it out.
- Lampshade Hanging: After the first story ends, Beth remarks it was a little farfetched.
- No One Could Survive That!: One of the McCoy brothers manages to shoot Jesse in the back, and they stop chasing him because they figure he'll soon die in the swamp from the wound. Justified, as he would've died if not for Felder's potion.
- Only Sane Man: At least that's how Julian sees himself, claiming he simply watched all the evil pass by and avoided getting caught up in it. Beth very much disagrees in the end.
- This Cannot Be!: The doctor's reaction to Jesse still being alive, despite the massive blood loss and physical trauma. He says outright that it's impossible and figures he'd lose his license if he submits his report on this.
- Token Good Teammate: There were four Union soldiers at the start of their story. Despite learning the war has ended, three of them intended to continue doing as they pleased against the Southerners, while the fourth just intends to go back home. Gallen orders him to stay and shoots him in the back when he doesn't.
- Understatement: When Beth talks about how Oldfield has a history of violence, Julian feels that doesn't go far enough and says the town's foundation is human suffering.
- Ungrateful Bastard: After Felder saves his life, Jesse immediately begins plotting to steal his potion to eternal life from him.
- Woman Scorned: Jesse's wife, Mary, is sick of hiding in trailers and living in squalor because of his actions. She not only leaves him; she rats him out to the McCoy brothers.
