(Thre are Spoilers) A movie that's incomprehensible no matter how you try to describe or explain it. "The Shout" is a film with an irrational story about a lunatic spinning a tale about his experiences from the wild Australian outback to a sleepy little town on the coast of England as he's being examined by a doctor at the mental institution that he's been incarcerated in. This happens during a game of cricket on the hospital grounds between the staff and inmates.
Charles Crossley, Alan Bates, is telling his doctor Robert Graves, Tim Curry, how he developed strange and mystic powers while he was living with the aborigines for 18 years in the wild reaches of the Australian desert and perfected among other things the "Terror Shout" that can kill in an instant anyone who's near enough to hear it.
Imposing himself on a naive and unsuspecting couple Anthony, John Hurt, and Rachel, Susannah York, Fielding when returning to England Crossley became the guest that just doesn't want to leave. Using what he learned from the aborigines Crossley steals one of Rachel's shoes and casts a spell on it where she becomes madly in love with him giving into his every whim and command. Even sitting at the foot of the kitchen table, like the family dog, and eating scraps that Crossley throws at her as her astounded husband Anthony watches.
Crossley talking about the human soul and how it can be hidden in a tree or stone or anywhere else besides the human body and about his power to be able to affect the dreaded "Terror Shout". Crossley then takes Anthony out into the sheep meadow, where there's no one around, and demonstrates the "Terror Shout" by telling Anthony to stuff his ears with whatever is available to him and then let's it roar.
Anthony gets his brains scrambled and almost all the sheep that were in the meadow were killed by Crossleys animal-like howl. Anthony later finding the stone where Crossley's soul resides in and then breaking it that in affect breaks the hold that Crossley had on him and his wife and lands Crossley into the asylum that he is in now.
Reliving his story in what looks like a hot dog or refreshment stand on the institutions park grounds it suddenly begins to rain very heavily. As the cricket game is called off some of the staff an inmates start to push the stand where Crossley and Dr.Graves are in away from the downpour.
With his talk being suddenly interrupted by all this Crossley becomes very violent and agitated and starts to scream out hysterically. It's then Where Dr. Graves tells him to shout, maybe believing that it would settle him down. That turned out to be a bad mistake on the part of Dr. Graves where Crossley gives out a tremendous and ear-splitting "Terror Shout" where the stand that he and Dr. Graves are in seems to be hit by a sudden bolt of lighting with both Crossley and Dr. Graves as well as a number of staff and inmates of the institution ending up dead.
The more that I watch this movie the more I get confused, just what were the writer and director trying to tell the audience? Or was the film supposed to be a lesson of how a man can become so immersed in his detachment from reality that in the end he descends in to total madness.
Charles Crossley, Alan Bates, is telling his doctor Robert Graves, Tim Curry, how he developed strange and mystic powers while he was living with the aborigines for 18 years in the wild reaches of the Australian desert and perfected among other things the "Terror Shout" that can kill in an instant anyone who's near enough to hear it.
Imposing himself on a naive and unsuspecting couple Anthony, John Hurt, and Rachel, Susannah York, Fielding when returning to England Crossley became the guest that just doesn't want to leave. Using what he learned from the aborigines Crossley steals one of Rachel's shoes and casts a spell on it where she becomes madly in love with him giving into his every whim and command. Even sitting at the foot of the kitchen table, like the family dog, and eating scraps that Crossley throws at her as her astounded husband Anthony watches.
Crossley talking about the human soul and how it can be hidden in a tree or stone or anywhere else besides the human body and about his power to be able to affect the dreaded "Terror Shout". Crossley then takes Anthony out into the sheep meadow, where there's no one around, and demonstrates the "Terror Shout" by telling Anthony to stuff his ears with whatever is available to him and then let's it roar.
Anthony gets his brains scrambled and almost all the sheep that were in the meadow were killed by Crossleys animal-like howl. Anthony later finding the stone where Crossley's soul resides in and then breaking it that in affect breaks the hold that Crossley had on him and his wife and lands Crossley into the asylum that he is in now.
Reliving his story in what looks like a hot dog or refreshment stand on the institutions park grounds it suddenly begins to rain very heavily. As the cricket game is called off some of the staff an inmates start to push the stand where Crossley and Dr.Graves are in away from the downpour.
With his talk being suddenly interrupted by all this Crossley becomes very violent and agitated and starts to scream out hysterically. It's then Where Dr. Graves tells him to shout, maybe believing that it would settle him down. That turned out to be a bad mistake on the part of Dr. Graves where Crossley gives out a tremendous and ear-splitting "Terror Shout" where the stand that he and Dr. Graves are in seems to be hit by a sudden bolt of lighting with both Crossley and Dr. Graves as well as a number of staff and inmates of the institution ending up dead.
The more that I watch this movie the more I get confused, just what were the writer and director trying to tell the audience? Or was the film supposed to be a lesson of how a man can become so immersed in his detachment from reality that in the end he descends in to total madness.