For a horror anthology/omnibus from the 1980s(one of my least favorite decades as far as horror films are concerned), The Offspring(also known as From a Whisper to a Scream)isn't all bad. It opens at an execution of a woman(Martine Beswick in a very small cameo) who was a crazed killer from a small town in Tennesee - Oldfield. A reporter leaves the execution and finds an old library in Oldfield and meets the librarian/curator there - Vincent Price no less. Price is asked questions about the executed - his niece it seems and then relates four tales of horror, sick perversion, and nasty murder that have taken place in Oldfield through the years. The first tale deals with an interesting performance by Clu Gulager as a small-town, unmarried man who has a special relationship with his sister and regularly bathes her while naked in a tub filled with ice. It also seems that Clu - Stanley in the piece - wants a piece of a woman that works with him. From there the story does indeed go overboard with whiffs(and downright stenches) of necrophilia, incest, zombie progeny, and other less than tasteful themes. This story; however, is not as bad as you might expect with Gulager giving a decent performance as a Southern man basically impotent of any manliness. The second story is about a ruthless man who is shot for owing money and saved by an old man living in the swamp. This story touches on black magic and has a definitely repulsive yet somewhat intriguing resolution. The third story is about a guy at a carnival that swallows glass, metal, and razor blades. It seems that everyone that works at the carnival is under the spell of its owner, Rosiland Cash. This guy wants to break away and marry a girl that has been coming to see him regularly. Tragedy ensues as we learn he just isn't CUT out to be on his own. The last story, oddly enough, was my favorite about three Union soldiers, knowing the Civil War has ended, still killing and pillaging until they are captured by a band of children in an old Southern manse. The children have a secret for their success and share it with the soldiers. Cameron Mitchell excels as a swarthy, dishonest, treacherous soldier who meets appropriate justice. All of these stories are well-made in terms of direction, acting, and other tangibles. The story-lines are a bit over-the-edge even for the 1980s, but I wasn't really offended by any of them - just a bit surprised. Each story is supposed to represent another ugly chapter of Oldfield in defense of Vincent Price blaming the town for the wickedness of his niece. The wrap-around story, though a real treat seeing Vincent Price in one of his last meatier roles, is ineptly ended with a very stupid plot contrivance. Nonetheless, Price is in full glory for a man of his years and his Southern accent, though very thick, comes off acceptably. Lawrence Tierney has a bit part in the beginning as the warden.