Carry on Screaming was regular viewing as I was growing up and I have long remembered it with fondness as one of the films instrumental in kick-starting my lifelong obsessions with Gothic horror and camp comedy. Unfortunately, a recent re-watch has left me feeling a little let down: while the film certainly features some memorable moments and characters (best of all being Fenella Fielding's Elvira-style vamp Valeria), the film isn't anywhere near as funny or as creepy as I seemed to recall.
Admittedly, I was much easier to frighten as a kid, and I was no longer expecting to be scared by the film's monsters (the delightfully daft Oddbod and Oddbod Junior), but I was hoping for a good laugh. Sadly, the comedy here isn't up to scratch, the jokes either too stale or not suggestive enough to be genuinely hilarious, and with the notable absence of series stalwarts Sid James and Babs Windsor also detracting from the fun, this one just doesn't possess that special Carry On magic.
Admittedly, I was much easier to frighten as a kid, and I was no longer expecting to be scared by the film's monsters (the delightfully daft Oddbod and Oddbod Junior), but I was hoping for a good laugh. Sadly, the comedy here isn't up to scratch, the jokes either too stale or not suggestive enough to be genuinely hilarious, and with the notable absence of series stalwarts Sid James and Babs Windsor also detracting from the fun, this one just doesn't possess that special Carry On magic.