Movie Review: SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: April 24th, 2026 / 12:16 PM

SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER movie poster | ©2026 TLA Releasing

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Richie Fusco, David Bloom, Jessica Joy, Roe Hartramph, Sara Sevigny, Snag Flynn, Sydney Lolita Cusic, Ryan Gold, TJ Lee, Amanda Bruton, Madison Tevlin, Justin Prince Moy, Melody Betts
Writer: Cory Wexler Grant
Director: Cory Wexler Grant
Distributor: TLA Releasing
Release Date: April 14, 2026 (VOD)

Set in the upper-middle-class suburb of New Forest, Illinois in the mid-1990s, SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER has a fair amount of verisimilitude. Writer/director Cory Wexler Grant almost effortlessly persuades us that this is what high school juniors (who become seniors over the course of the story) would do with the opportunity to have a radio show of their own.

WNFH, 88.4 FM is the radio station of the high school attended by lifelong best friends Julien Rosdahl (Richie Fusco) and Cary Geller (David Bloom). Of the two, Julien is the more passionate about getting a program on the high school radio station, though Cary is happy to join him.

After a few predictable snags, Julien and Cary get the coveted Tuesday morning slot of 6:30-8:30 AM, which means they and their team have to get up at zero-dark-thirty to arrive at to the school’s broadcast booths on time.

The program is called “Screams from the Tower,” a designation that gets some explanation further down the line. Among those joining the founding duo are quiet, brainy newscaster Robin Chung (TJ Lee), anxious fan Peter (Justin Prince Moy), and occasional guest Liz (Snag Flynn).

There is also lots of encouragement from fellow student Suzy (Madison Tevlin), who is a favorite of Mare (Sara Sevigny), the teacher in charge of WNFH. Suzy has Down’s Syndrome and a major crush on Julien, which he exploits to an extent that Cary notes it out loud. Julien is never cruel to Suzy and tries to honor his commitments to her as best he can.

The first hour of SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER is predominantly devoted to the production of the title block. We see that Julien comes from wealth and has super-supportive parents. We see that the “Scream” team are subjected to homophobic taunts by the hosts of another WNFH show, although it’s never clear if the other boys understand that Julien is gay or if this is just the kind of typical verbiage spouted by high school jerks everywhere.

The second hour has the situation devolving, as many of Julien’s cohorts leave “Scream,” some overwhelmed by their schedules, others by parental demands and, in one case, emotional ambivalence. Hurt, Julien develops a drag-style female alter ego to join him on the air.

Let us stipulate that most of what happens in SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER is plausible, albeit the adults are sometimes a bit cartoonish. “Screams” seems like something actual ’90s high school students would actually put together. Writer/director Cory Wexler Grant gets lively performances from his cast, including a striking turn from lead Fusco and very strong work from Tevlin. The dialogue all sounds like things teens would say then and now, without being either dated or overly contemporary. The independent and likely low-budget filmmaking is professional-grade.

However, the self-congratulatory tone becomes increasingly annoying and unwarranted as SCREAM unspools. Being a bit naughty – and already having Howard Stern as a model – is not the same as being groundbreaking and inclusive.

“Screams” is in fact somewhat racist. Having a desperate-to-be-liked Chinese-American student say that he doesn’t find the use of a gong sound after his name to be offensive doesn’t absolve Julien or the movie; it just demonstrates that Peter doesn’t want to upset the apple cart.

Also, while it is shown to be the character’s choice, having the one working-class Black woman interviewee (Melody Betts) decide that she wants to sing a spiritual song – and yes, she has an awesome voice – is somewhat stereotypical.

It’s not incumbent on Julien or SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER to have his radio program be exceptionally progressive or inclusive, except for the fact that the movie and its characters keep insisting that it is, at some length. The film itself is inclusive, especially when it comes to neurodivergent people, but “Screams” the radio show is not.

While one’s mileage may vary, this reviewer, having been a major high school outsider, did not find in what we hear from the “Screams from the Tower” radio show, at least until its concluding sequences, anything other than mainstream high school humor, amplified. It’s unclear what about it exactly is supposed to make outsiders (other than Julien himself, who’s making the thing) feel seen or included.

The appeal of a somewhat “naughty” high school radio show is obvious, so far as getting away with something, but saying it’s expanding the scope of community perceptions is an over-reach.

There is a small slice of coming-out drama, but it doesn’t seem to greatly affect either the plot or Julien’s trajectory, given that his ambition and OCD get a lot more attention.

SCREAMS FROM THE TOWER has authenticity in what it is doing. It just doesn’t do what its characters claim that it’s doing.

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