The Comeback (1978 film)

The Comeback
DVD cover for 'The Comeback'
Directed by	Pete Walker
Produced by	Pete Walker
Written by	Michael Sloan Murray Smith
Starring	Jack Jones Pamela Stephenson David Doyle Bill Owen Sheila Keith Holly Palance
Music by	Stanley Myers
Cinematography	Peter Jessop
Edited by	Alan Brett
Distributed by	Troma Entertainment Shriek Show
Release date	1978
Running time	100 minutes
Language	English

The Comeback (also known as The Day the Screaming Stopped) is a 1978 British horror film directed by Pete Walker. The film was first released in the United Kingdom on 16 June 1978 and was given a theatrical showing at the Barbican Centre in London as part of a Pete Walker retrospective in November 2014.The Comeback is considered to be more conventional than some of Walker's earlier works and has been credited along with Walker's Schizo as "foreshadowing the development of the slasher movie of the 1980s."

The film opens with Gail Cooper (Holly Palance) traveling to her ex-husband Nick's (Jack Jones) apartment in Los Angeles in order to remove some of its more valuable items. It soon becomes apparent that while Nick (a successful singer) isn't at home, someone is clearly there. The anonymous person watches Gail take a phone call from a reporter asking about the couple's divorce and inquiring as to when Nick will release his next album, as he's been on a six-year hiatus since marrying Gail. As the phone call ends and Gail walks around the house she is ambushed and murdered by the person, who is wearing an old lady mask and women's clothing.

The film then cuts to Nick, who is trying to recover from the divorce while also attempting to record a new album that will satisfy his manager Webster (David Doyle). Nick finds some solace in Webster's secretary Linda (Pamela Stephenson), with whom he shares a strong mutual attraction. After some debate, Nick moves into a manor in the English countryside that is overseen by the housekeeper Mrs. B (Sheila Keith) and the gardener Mr. B (Bill Owen). Soon after his arrival Nick begins to experience strange phenomena that include visions of his ex-wife Gail. Nick is unaware of Gail's death, so he's confused by her appearance at the manor. Despite this, Nick begins to work on his album and further develop his romance with Linda. His psychological state is not helped when his associate Harry (Peter Turner) goes missing and Nick discovers that Linda was formerly dating Webster. One night Nick decides to investigate some of the strange noises he's seen and ends up finding Gail's severed, decomposing head. This puts Nick into a catatonic state and he is temporarily admitted to a hospital because of this.