Brian Clemens' Thriller 4.1 Screamer

[michaellevenson]

4.1 SCREAMER

American lady, Nicky Stevens is on a late night train heading into the English countryside, she's been invited by English friends Jeff and Virna Holt to stay a few days. In the carriage with her is an old lady reading a newspaper. The old lady puts the paper down and remarks about the rapist who has attacked several women on this very train line.


Nicky is appalled and shocked, the old lady tells her according to the newspaper the only clue the police have is the man is blonde haired in his thirties. The old lady is getting off next stop and asks about Nicky's travel arrangements at her destination. Nicky says she's being picked up by the Holts, so all is okay.
The old lady leaves and the train departs, a couple of minutes later the carriage door opens and in walks a blonde haired man wearing a brown check jacket.


Nicky is decidedly uncomfortable as the man picks up the newspaper and reads, but keeps peering over the top of it, staring at her.
He then takes out a pipe and starts smoking despite a no smoking sign in plain view.


Nicky is really anxious and as the train comes into her station quickly walks out of the carriage and hurries to the ticket barrier. The train employee at the barrier approaches her with a message, " Miss Stevens, your friends have called to say their car has broken down and it will be sometime before they get home, but you can let yourself into the house, the key is under the front door mat.

Nicky gets directions to the house and sets off out of the station forecourt to the road. She glances back, and sees the blonde haired man walking to the ticket barrier, she hurries on up the road anxiously, terror on her face.
The blonde man tries at first to get passed the barrier without showing his ticket until the guard stops him.

 

[michaellevenson]

Nicky arrives at the Holt's home and lets herself in, relieved, looking around, noticing the tasteful decor of the hall, and noticing a pair of ornamental small axes, tomahawks, on the wall over the stairs, antiques possibly. Suddenly she panics, the key, she left it in the front door lock, she runs down, opens the door, the blonde haired man is standing there smiling, Nicky screams !


Virna and Jeff are driving towards home, Virna worried about Nicky, Jeff tells her to relax, Nicky certainly let herself in and went to bed, and will probably be sound asleep when they get home. As the car pulls into the driveway Virna sees the front door open, she gets out and runs in and yells out, " OH MY GOD JEFF QUICK!!"
The hall is a mess, blood on the walls, one of the tomahawks is missing, they both shout out," Nicky, Nicky."

Nicky appears at the top of the stairs, clothes torn, a black eye, bleeding, she collapses. The ambulance is soon here, Nicky taken to hospital. Later Inspector Charles is looking at her unconscious in bed, a doctor with him, he asks when will it be possible to speak to her, the answer is not a while yet. Insp Charles knows she can identify the man, give a description, he admits though being a bit puzzled. Most of the blood analysis from the wall was not Miss Stevens, but the assailant's, presumably she understandably defended herself with the missing axe, so he must be injured, but no trace of him so far at any hospitals. Charles realises he isn't going to get anything out of her for some time, but promises the doctor, " I'll get him."

 

[michaellevenson]

Jeff and Virna visit the hospital, they feel guilty, not being at the station to pick her up. Nicky wakes up and sees Jeff and Virna, looking down at her smiling, Nicky screams, " take him away, take the bad man away."


The Doctor explains privately, Nicky is traumatised, physically she's recovering but mentally not so, even when the doctor walks into the private room in the hospital Nicky screams out, " take him away, the bad man."
The next day Insp Charles is back sitting at her bedside, she seems calmer today, Charles says," I'm a police officer Miss Stevens, no need to be frightened of me, I want to catch the bad man who did this to you and you're going to help me yes?"
Nicky looks at Insp Charles, and then, "aaaarrrgggghh, aaaarrrgggghh!!!."


The doctor sadly looks on, " we'll have to put her in Corby Hall", a mental institution.
Jeff and Virna are of course distraught that Nicky has ended up there, a phone call from Dr Ward of the institute reassures them given time Nicky will recover.


Insp Charles in his office is addressing policewoman Wallace, a tall blonde, Charles has a task for her, to be bait, to travel up and down that railway line until the rapist is lured.

Many months pass , Nicky makes great progress, as Jeff and Virna discover when they visit. Nicky is in the grounds of the institute playing hitting a ball on a rope tied to a pole with one of the nurses, Virna is allowed to go outside to see her, but not Jeff. Ward explains it's still too soon for her to have male contact. Jeff is puzzled but Ward says, " during the day she's okay, but you don't see her at night Mr Holt, the persistent nightmares, we must gradually get her well, her mind is very fragile."
One evening on the railway line nearby, policewoman Wallace is sitting in a carriage alone, a man gets in and slowly makes his way towards her, blonde haired, brown check jacket. He makes his move, Wallace is no ordinary policewoman, she springs up, wrestles the assailant, and cuffs him.
Insp Charles glares at the man in his office, "tangled with our Miss Wallace did you, now we're going to have a long chat about those women you raped." The man is led away, Charles happy, but, this isn't the same blonde haired man who attacked Nicky.


Insp Charles is in earnest conversation with Dr Ward at the institute, they are watching Nicky through a window she's out in the gardens walking with a nurse. Charles wants to get Nicky to testify in court against the man they've caught. Ward says, "inspector we have spent the last 6 months rebuilding her confidence making her forget that the most traumatic attack that can happen to a woman happened to her, and you want her to relive it, remember it. I can't forbid you to see her but the responsibility must be yours."
Insp Charles realises that he cannot use her, but he reckons he'll get a conviction without her anyway.

The day finally comes, Nicky is released from Corby Hall institute, Virna picks her up, they take a train from the institute to home, and Nicky hears the news that the rapist has been caught. Nicky recovered, smiling and happy as she and Virna alight onto the platform, Jeff is waiting to greet them, he picks up her luggage and leave. As they do Nicky glances as the train goes on its way, out of a window on the train is ' blonde haired man ' looking at her. Nicky stares transfixed, Virna asks if she's alright, Nicky replies, " I thought I saw ....no it's okay, my imagination I guess."
When they get home, Nicky tells Jeff and Virna what she saw, the blonde haired man on the train.

Insp Charles comes over straight away and listens to Nicky but says the man is under lock and key. Privately Charles tells Jeff that Dr Ward told him that Nicky is not completely cured mentally, a lot better but not 100%. The man they caught has confessed to the rapes, but Charles confides that strangely not to Nicky's rape, the others but not hers.

Nicky settles in with Jeff and Virna and Jeff suggests a day out will do them good, a trip to the nearby horse racing meeting.
On the way home all three of them in the car are belting out the song The Camptown Races, the car passes a white van parked at the roadside, a man is unloading eggs to take into a store, the van has,' Taylor's Farm Stirbridge ' on the side of it. The man is the blonde haired man .
Nicky , " aaaarrrgggghh aaaarrrgggghh!!
Back home Jeff is on the phone to Dr Ward who says, " I know she has nightmares but this was during the day, you don't know what set her off?"
Jeff says, " no idea."
" alright Mr Holt, just treat her gently and if it happens again call me."

Nicky is so apologetic, " you two have been so kind to me and I've just given you nothing but trouble."

 

[michaellevenson]

The next day Nicky says she wants to start being independent again, and wonders where Stirbridge is. Jeff says it's not far, and Nicky asks if she can borrow the car, so she can retreat into it if an anxiety attack occurs. Jeff hands her the keys, no problem, Nicky sets off for Stirbridge.

At Taylor's Farm outside Stirbridge village, Nicky drives up to the farm gates, she looks into the farm, there he is, the blonde haired man, calmly standing in the roadway by a table, on it is eggs, dozens of them, he is putting them into punnets ready to be loaded onto his van. Nicky glares at him, determined for revenge.


She drives into the farm, the blonde man looks up, Nicky pushes hard on the accelerator, 60, 70, 80 mph, and smacks straight into him, flinging him into the air, eggs go everywhere, splattering the car windscreen. Nicky calmly switches on the wipers to get the yolk and the guy's blood off of the car, then reverses out.....mission accomplished.


Back home Nicky apologises for the little "accident" she had in the car, Jeff says it's just a minor bump, don't worry about it.
Later that evening the three of them are having dinner when the doorbell rings. Nicky answers it, and is stunned, transfixed in fear, it's the blonde haired man standing there with a walking stick. Nicky can't utter a word , Jeff comes to the door, the guy wonders if he can borrow their phone, his car has broken down.

The blonde haired man is invited in, Nicky's worst nightmare as Jeff and Virna offer him a drink and the guy calls the garage up. Everyone goes on eating, Nicky saying nothing and eating nothing either, just sitting petrified. After 30 minutes the phone rings, the garage man is outside, the blonde haired man says his goodbyes and leaves. Nicky runs upstairs to her room, Virna couldn't help but notice that Nicky looked absolutely petrified of the guy. Understandable says Jeff given what's happened to her, a stranger in the house.


Meanwhile in Insp Charles office, a German private eye , Herr Balsam is telling the inspector why he's here in this English town.


He is trying to trace a German citizen who has gone missing for 6 months now, and investigations have led him to this town. The missing man met previously a girl who was holidaying in Germany, and even though he never knew the girl's full name he did tell people she lived somewhere in this town. The man was in London on business, and that is where Herr Balsam's investigations are concentrated on, but it is possible that while having a bit of spare time he travelled to this town to see if he could find the girl again. Insp Charles gives Balsam permission to sniff around, do some investigating around town and see what crops up. Balsam produces a photo of the missing German, it's the blonde haired man .

 

[michaellevenson]

Jeff and Virna are worried because they've been invited for an evening out with friends, Nicky is staying in the house alone, but assures them she'll be fine.
That evening Nicky is dozing on the settee when she wakes with a startled look and sees the blonde haired man standing over her. His walking stick is gone and he's holding a box of chocolates. He says he wants to pay back the kindness Mr and Mrs Holt showed him the other night. Nicky remaining calm says they are in the back garden, the blonde haired man goes out to look for them. Nicky runs to the hallway picks up the ornamental tomahawk from display on the wall. The blonde haired man returns to the living room through the French windows, Nicky is standing to one side as he comes in saying he can't see them in the garden.

She attacks, the axe hits the man several times, blood pouring out, she then runs.
Herr Balsam is at the railway station speaking to the ticket guard on duty at the barrier, the same guy as 6 months previous, showing him a photo of the blonde haired man. The guard remembers him," yes at first I thought he was trying to get passed me without paying."
Balsam says, " then you realised he just didn't speak English."
" how did you know that?"
" my friend, when you add 2 and 2 it invariably makes four."


Jeff and Virna have returned, quietly entering the house not wanting to wake Nicky. Jeff creeps upstairs, suddenly a tomahawk axe swings at him, his shoulder is hit. Virna screams," NICKY IT'S JEFF IT'S JEFF!!"

Nicky drops the axe, a strange look far-away look on her face. The front door is open, Balsam walks in, Virna thinking he is police tries to explain that Nicky is still disturbed from her ordeal. Before explanations get very far, the living room door opens, out staggers blonde haired man, blood covered and collapses dead on the carpet.
Nicky is delighted, " good he's dead at last."
Balsam and Jeff look down at the man, NOT BLONDE but grey haired in his fifties, Jeff says he's the guy whose car broke down the other night who they invited in.
Balsam looks beyond the living room door into the garden and sees a smoker's pipe on the grass. He walks into garden, the earth around the pipe has recently been dug up, and looks hurriedly replaced.

Balsam with his hands digs into the earth, to reveal a hand, then a sleeve, in a brown check jacket. The body of the blonde haired man is here, where it has been all along.

Insp Charles and Herr Balsam discuss the case in the police office.
Charles says, " two men attacked two dead, and just because she read in a newspaper about a man with blonde hair."
" And then my man came along."
"Your citizen Herr Balsam just happened to fit her fantasies."

Nicky is back at Corby Hall mental institution, sitting in a chair , two male nurses standing on either side of her, a far-away expression on her face. Dr Ward turns to Jeff and Virna, Jeff with his arm in a sling.
" you see after the imagined assault she began seeing this man everywhere, why? Fear, terror of something half forgotten. Something from her childhood perhaps, a traumatic experience buried deep. The human mind can torture itself to destruction, probably we'll never know why"
Virna bends down to face Nicky, " Nicky can you hear me?"
Nicky smiles, then looks at Jeff, she sees blonde haired man. Nicky looks at the nurse to her left....blonde haired man, then to the nurse on her right......blonde haired man. Then at Dr Ward....blonde haired man.

Nicky " aaaarrrgggghh aaaarrrgggghh ", the nurses restrain her as she tries to grab the doctor , and she is dragged out screaming.

Cast;
Nicky....Pamela Franklin
Virna....Frances White
Jeff.....Donal McCann
The blonde haired man.....Jim Norton
Insp Charles....Derek Smith
Dr Ward......Peter Howell
Balsam.....Wolfe Morris
Wallace.....Carinthia West

 

[michaellevenson]

Thriller (1973)