Night of the Screaming Terror

Directed by John Williams

2026

John Williams is turning into a prolific director for the Midlands horror scene, having completed his third feature in the space of two years. His 2025 found-footage film Beyond the Witching Hour cranked up the horror, while this year’s Beast of Riverside Horror settled into a slightly sillier horror/comedy. A more slapstick An American Werewolf in London.

The comedy remains in his new anthology film, Night of the Screaming Terror; four short bursts of gore and laughs, interspersed with a wraparound story set in an asylum. We were lucky enough to be invited to the film’s premiere; a sold-out screening at the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent.

John introduced the film, celebrated the cast and crew, explained why he appears twice in one segment (arranging shoots around schedules can be tricky) and gave an indication of how quickly he works. Apparently, he started writing in December 2025 and started shooting in January 2026, filming a segment a month until May.

Anthologies are notoriously tricky to get right. Few manage to maintain a level of quality across the full runtime. However, while there are two definite standout segments here, John has put together a funny, creative and very entertaining 90 minutes.

The opening is a nice tribute to Amicus Productions, as an inspector arrives at a huge asylum to check on the care provided. During his visit, he is introduced to four patients and told their stories. It’s a well-worn setup, given a bit of life by the close-to-the-knuckle humour written into the script. Tasteless jokes that are given new context by the end of the film.

Then we get into the stories themselves. I’ll avoid spoilers, but it’s fair to say that the first segment takes a little while to get going. Our protagonists (played by Amy Goodman and James Whitehurst) meet in person for the first time, having known each other for years due to their rare blood type.

It’s got the naturalistic scripting of Beyond the Witching Hour, which brings about a few laughs, but it’s also the most subdued of the four stories. This leads to John having to quickly wrap up the story during the final moments, with little time for build-up. It’s fun and it plays on the social media and influencer malaise, but it never hits the highs of the rest of the film.

Those highs come first in the form of the gory excess of the second story. Set in a nursing home that is invaded by alien maggots, close on every bodily fluid imaginable is chucked at the cast, as the leads (Alex Draper and Shelly Walsh) navigate the threat to their patients and a potential love story; one which comes a wholly understandable conclusion, given the circumstances.

John’s script shines here, but it’s the timing and the practical effects from Gary Pollard (Labyrinth, The Fifth Element, Star Wars: The Phantom Menace) that really brought out the laughs. It’s a testament to the fact that you don’t need a huge budget to make a creature feature, although knowing a legendary figure in the industry will help a lot.

David Tunstall takes a lead role in the next segment, which plays with the Ed Gein/Psycho narrative and turns it into a darkly humorous horror flick. Wordplay, misunderstands, and that very British desire to stay out of someone’s business leads to a series of gory kills as our protagonist tries to bring his mother back from the dead. It’s probably the darkest tale here, but it’s peppered with enough awkward humour to stop it feeling out of place with the rest of the film.

The final part sees two hitmen hired to take out a demonic pig. It’s a riff on The Exorcist, with a little bit of Pultrygeist thrown in, and it sees the film fall back into full comedy. It’s complemented by more excellent model work from Gary Pollard, including a flock of turkeys that cause havoc by the end.

We get a final twist on the wraparound story before it comes to a close. Night of the Screaming Terror sees John build on the template of The Beast of Riverside Hollow, showing his comedic chops without celebrity cameos. Instead, it’s the strength of the script, with game performances from a wide array of familiar Midlands faces, that make the film shine.

★★★★

4/5

Matthew Tilt

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