Reviews (7)

The Skull , De Sade &Devil worship
This Amicus film has haunting music by Laurie Johnson. Based on a story by Robert Bloch ,the theft of the Skull of the Marquis De Sade was a true incident. The film improves on the Bloch story and is very cleverly plotted by the screenwriter to center around two collectors of occult memorabilia (Peter Cushing as "Christopher Maitland" and Christopher Lee as "Sir Matthew Phillips") They are supplied their goods by a very shady dealer in antiques known as Mr. Marco who stumbles upon the Skull and sets up the Maitland character with an initial purchase of a book on the notorious life of the Marquis De Sade with a binding made out of human skin. It is important to remember that this book is only a prop. I say this because I have seen advertisements in antiquarian book trade magazines where the dealer states "customer is looking for a book bound in human skin" Incredible but TRUE! The initial sale is followed up by the offer of the Skull and after a short discussion based on Havelock Ellis's "Love and Pain" Maitland considers purchasing it but asks for time to think about it. He is advised against it by former owner and friend,Sir Matthew Phillips during a discussion over a game of snooker. The film has true "scare-ability" in the dream sequences and the mysticism surrounding the collections of both characters. It also has atmosphere. Some of the angles and lighting are really good, especially as Maitland is reading in his library (we have a view from within the fireplace!). When Maitland is kidnapped he enters into a new relationship with evil based on the power of the Skull and ultimately fails to realize that without protection he cannot fight the powers of darkness that are displayed so prominently in this work.If the film has a weakness, it is in the end where the "floating skull" sequences are rather ridiculous (wires can be seen). Otherwise it is an excellent adaptation of the original story and contains some memorable scenes and camera work.

Classic British Horror Cinema
First of all The Skull, (Amicus, 1965) is not a Hammer film.
The Skull has a few of Hammer's alumni, such as Peter Cushing,
Christopher Lee (in a small role), Patrick Wymark, and Michael
Gough. The Director Freddie Francis directed a few Hammer Horror
shockers himself, so The Skull can easily be mistaken for being
a Hammer film. The Skull is adapted from a short story by Robert
Bloch (Psycho) called, The Skull of The Marquis deSade, which
originally appeared in Weird Tales back in the late 1940's.
The Skull is a very interesting little film, highly recommended
to fans of sixties British Horror Cinema. The Skull's cast of
players alone tells something of the quality of this Amicus
Films production. Get The Skull before it gets you.

Great for a stormy night
This is a very good "B" Hammer horror movie. If you are a Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee fan, as I am, you will just love it. Nothing like the stupid horror movies they are "attempting" to make nowadays. If you liked this one you should watch House of the Long Shadows made in or around 1979. It has all the greats Cushing, Lee, Price & Caradine. Just enjoy this movie of long ago when they had so little to work with but knew the true meaning of horror so unlike today.

Interesting idea built around the Marquis de Sade legend
"The Skull" brings to life (no pun intended!) a most interesting horror tale built around the evil doings written down in history concerning the notorious Marquis de Sade. He was supposedly not insane but simply the personification of pure evil with his handsome looks and anti social/sadistic behaviour towards all he encountered. His life here serves as an ideal and indeed original basis for a horror tale about the bizzare and frightening powers he still possesses after his death in the form of his skull which is unleashed on some unsuspecting individuals in a later century.

This 1965 Amicus production stars the always terrific combination of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and explores this rather frightening premise of life, or power, after death. Adapted from a short story by the very talented horror writer Robert Bloch who was responsible for such horror classics as "Psycho" and "The House That Dripped Blood" it tells of the exhumation of the skull of the Marquis de Sade which passes from one curio collector to another and through its strange and deadly powers manages to continue the terror from beyond the grave and bring misfortune and death to all who possess it.

Peter Cushing plays Christopher Maitland an avid collector of antiques and curiosities such as a book that once belonged to the famed Marquis, the cover of which is made of human skin! Despite warnings from his fellow collector Sir Matthew Phillips (Christopher Lee) about the skulls evil powers Cushing through fair means and foul comes into possession of the skull and once it is placed among his collection it starts to take a frightening control over his mind turning him into a killer who eventually takes his own life at the skull's beckoning.

Ably directed by veteran Hammer director Freddie Francis this film has a very spooky premise which delivers a good but not great story. The film does tend to drag at times, in particular in Cushing's dream sequence where he is abducted and taken to a mysterious court where he is almost forced to commit suicide. However "The Skull" has some very memorably scary moments.Particulary effective is the way the skull seems to take on a life of its own. Some of the action is shot from within the skull which is excellent in engendering an eerie sense that we are seeing what it is actually thinking. It's movements around rooms and its appearing in different locations is also well handled. The film also boasts one of the finest graveyard sets of any Hammer/Amicus production in the flash back sequence at the beginning when the Marquis's skull is dug up. Full of creepy old headstones, wrought iron fencing and an eerie whistling wind it is unsurpassed in creating just the right sense of doom and horror in this story. Indeed as in all these types of productions the attention to detail is excellent. Cushing and Lee work well together as always and it is good to see Peter Cushing, a highly underrated actor performing in a role that has a bit of menace thrown in for good measure.

"The Skull" is definately interesting viewing and has a theme which is original and a move away from the usual Vampire/Wolfman/Frankenstein features that predominated at this time. While not a great horror classic it is still a good film that has its share of spine chilling situations guaranteed to keep your interest.

Do not let the skull of the Marquis de Sade into your home
You might think that since "The Skull" stars Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee that it is a Hammer films production, but this 1965 effort comes from Amicus Productions. Based on the Robert Bloch short story "The Skull of the Marquis de Sade," this film deals more with psychological fear, until the somewhat laughable conclusion. It seems that in the 19th-Century a phrenologist, believing there is a connection between human physiognomy and character, unearthed the body of de Sade in France to steal the skull. We then shift to "today," where Christopher Maitland (Cushing) buys the skull for his private collection, even though his friend Sir Matthew Phillips (Lee) tells how he once owned the skull, which he believes to be possessed. Maitland becomes obsessed with the skull and apparently will kill anyone and everyone to have it for his own.

There are moments where this film drags, and I have trouble watching the sequence where the skull starts flying around the room, but director Freddie Francis lucked out when he decided to shoot several shots from the perspective of the skull. To do this he put a skull mockup in front of an aeroflex camera and moved around on roller skates. The happy result of this seeming absurdity is that the roaming camera serves to help involve the viewer with the developing psychological horror. The best sequence is when Maitland has a nightmare where he's kidnapped by the police and forced to play Russian Roulette. Despite what you would think to be inherent shortcomings, "The Skull" is an above average horror film carried in large part by Cushing's performance. It is nice to see him doing someone other than Dr. Frankenstein or Dr. Van Helsing. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

Has it's moments
I always put off seeing this one because I heard a lot of negative things about it, but it is far better than it is given cradit for. I think this film gets a great deal of slack due to the fact that it followed up the first two Frankenstein films which were just outstanding. This film is certainly not in the same league as those two, but I would say it is the fourth best of the seven Hammer Frankenstein films. one of the major criticisms about this one is the monster's appearance because they switched to using the old Karloff make-up, only cheaper. The make-up does like several layers of old oatmeal, but it is certainly no worse than the make-up used in Horror of Frankenstein and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell. Peter Cushing puts forth a good performance, some people say his character begins changing in this one, but I don't think that is true. The story does get a little shaky once the hypnotist is brought, but it is still entertaining. Films of Freddie Francis always seemed to have some fine visuals here and there, and this film is no exception. The scene where the body snatcher is carrying the body along the ridge and the scenes of the castle are the stand-outs. This is certainly a step down from the first two, but it still fairly good.

Best Hammer Frankenstein...
For my money, this is the best of the Hammer Frankenstein films. I'm a big Terrence Fisher fan but his Frankenstein don't do much for me personally. They're decent, but his Dracula films are better. Freddie Francis keeps things moving with great sets, wonderful matte paintings and Peter Cushing chewing up the scenery. Hammer films have always been melodramatic and this one is wall to wall with it. One can only hope that Universal will put this on DVD soon.

A GREAT Guilty Pleasure!
As you, or may not know, this was the only Frankenstein film starring Peter Cushing that was not directed by Horror maestro Terence Fisher. Instead the workman-like Freddie Francis steps in for old Terry(who was apprently sick at the time) And delievers a sort of quase-shawshbuckler-mad scientist movie. Not special or in-depth like Fisher's entries, but a fun sleazy gulity pleasure trip. Francis imbues the film with a gritty damp feel, quit unlike the earlier entrys or later ones, contrasted in John Wilcox's flat photogaphy. And Anthony Hinds's poorly scripted screenplay (one of his worst) manages to conjure up some absurd snappy diolouge, that will keep any Bad-cinema buff entertained.

Unfortunetly this guilty treat is not avaiable in it's un-cut format, which consists of scense shot from TV upon it;s original TV airing. Though these cut, or added scenes (which ever you like to term them) can be seen on AMC, whenever they happen to air it.

wha??
i thought freddie francis's Dracula has risen from the grave was the worst hammer film, but it turns out freddy francis's Evil of frankenstein is... the don banks score is the only good thing in it. Oh you think i am being harsh? well everything from the title onwards is ridiculous (its the only frankenstein where cushing ISN'T portrayed as evil). Monster make up terrible, plot inane, and about 20 minutes of flashback reshot by francis instead of just using the footage from the first film (continuity was never a hammer concern at the best of times, but this version is monstrously boring compared to the original).

Why is it that a cinemaphotographer the quality of francis always direct films that look so ugly? i don't understand... only the scene of cushing rexploring his abandoned home has any resonance at all, the rest is just cobbled together from older frankenstein films without anything fresh to add (unlike those later in the series, must be destroyed and monster from hell etc which are far more gruesomely inventive).

the film ends with the monster getting drunk (probably wishing he were out of this horrible film) and in best hammer style the house burns down.

i could go on and on about this dismal film, just avoid it, watch any other hammer frankenstein film (yes, even the horror of frankenstein is better than this drivel) because there are some funny, intelligent and grotesque films out there made by this studio (but not this director).

To be fair to Francis, his darker images found a better outlet in later tyburn films (hammer became tyburn i think?) like the creeping flash and the ghoul, his style was more suited to these 70s horror films rather than the picturesque hammer films of the 50s and 60s. But having said that, he did make a lot of those terrible amicus anthologies too, (particularly silly is the one with a killer piano, can't remember which it is) and who could watch trog? nobody....

Complete mediocrity.
The problem with this Hammer Frankenstein entry is not simply that it uses Universal's aesthetic approach to the myth. The real problem is that Freddie Francis was a professional but erratic director who was generally not terribly inspired. Fisher had a brilliant vision of both Shelley and Stoker's gothic myths. If he had turned his hand to this Universal-Hammer fusion, who knows what the results could have been? Anthony Hinds did not use the pseudonym John Elder because he was ashamed of the screenplay; that was a common practice of his, and he used it in such other superior films as Kiss of the Vampire and the masterly Taste the Blood of Dracula.

Freddie Francis's best film is probably the Robert Bloch-scripted anthology film Torture Garden. His other anthology films should also be checked out. But as far as feature length films are concerned, Francis's work can range from atmospheric but banal (Dracula Has Risen from the Grave) to outright disasters (The Deadly Bees). Pretend that this entry in the series doesn't exist and skip directly to Frankenstein Created Woman.

Oddly enough, the professor who wrote the Cliffs Notes for Shelley's novel gave this film 5 stars in the appendix and referred to it as a masterpiece! This same professor is also strongly critical of Hammer's other Frankenstein films, referring to them as "hysterical" and "exploitative." I've never been able to figure that out. ... Read more

Reviews (40)

You just can't keep a good man down!
Seems like people either love or hate this particular entry into the Hammer Dracula line of films. I, myself, enjoyed it very much, and would recommend it to anyone interested in the vampire genre.

Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1969) has Christopher Lee reprising his role as the ultimate blood-sucking creature of the night, which is kind of strange as in the last film, Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), he was destroyed...or so we thought. The film takes place a year after the last film, as Monsignor Ernest Muller (Rupert Davies) visits the small village near Dracula's no empty castle to see how things are getting along. Well, things aren't getting along too well as the Monsignor finds the church empty and in a rather poor state of housekeeping. Finding the priest at the local bar, he learns that the villagers believe that while Dracula may be dead, his castle projects an aura of evil, casting a malignant shadow of evil on the town. The Monsignor decides the only course of action is to trek up to the castle, say a prayer of exorcism, and place a fairly large cross at the doorway, expelling the curse forever. Taking the priest with him, the two begin a long and arduous journey up the mountain, but, as they near the castle, the priest balks from fear, and the Monsignor continues on alone. He reaches the castle, says the prayer, and places the cross (the result of both actions cause a rather freakish lighting storm...good thing he rid himself of that big, metal cross). Meanwhile, the priest, who remained behind, starts freaking out, and begins to stumble down the mountain, trips, cracks his head open, and lands on and cracks a pool of ice, one which contains the body of Dracula, and begins to bleed onto the ice, to which the blood revives the dark, yet frozen, one. Upon waking, Dracula takes the weak-willed priest into his service, and returns to his castle only to find his entry spoiled by the cross affixed to the doors. This angers him, as his house has been defiled, and being a creature of evil, seeks revenge on whoever did this. Good thing he's got the priest to fill him in on the details...

The Monsignor leaves the village to return to his home, which he shares with his sister and her daughter, Maria (Veronica Carlson), soon followed by Dracula and his new little buddy. We also get to meet Maria's boyfriend, Paul (Barry Andrews), who works in a local bakery/bar/hotel (interesting combination, to be sure), but is only doing so until he can complete his education, and move on to bigger and better things. Anyhow, Dracula moves into the sub-basement (the sewers) below the bakery/bar/hotel, setting up his coffin and such, and begins with his plans to exact vengeance on the Monsignor and his house. He learns of the Monsignor's niece, and sees a perfect opportunity to carry out his goal...does he exact his revenge? Can anyone stop this monster once and for all?

Directed by Freddie Francis, who won academy awards for cinematography for his work on Sons and Lovers (1960) and Glory (1989), Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is certainly stylish, oozing with atmosphere and providing a good deal of suspense. Christopher Lee provides an excellent performance, despite his overall lack of dialogue. The settings are very suitable for this kind of film, enhancing the performances, and certainly add to the overall presence of oppressive evil throughout. Not really embraced by the critics when it first came out, with claims that the gore was a bit much, now it seems rather understated to the 21st century viewer. The film does proceed slowly, but the pacing seems methodical, all building up to the thrilling climax.

Warner Brothers provides a crisp, clean looking wide screen print here, but very little along the lines of special features, including only a theatrical trailer for the film. I am appreciative that this film finally made it to DVD, as Warner Brothers, in general, is pretty stingy about releasing their catalog of films to this format, and even stingier when it comes to enhancing their releases with special features, falling back mainly on recycling ones released for the laserdisc format. If you are interesting in seeing the other films in this series, look for Dracula, Prince of Darkness (1966), Taste the Blood of Dracula (1969), Scars of Dracula (1970), Dracula AD 1972 (1972), and The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973).

Cookieman108

Superb, atmospheric horror
This was perhaps the first horror movie I ever saw (on a TV at a Ramada Inn when I was seven or eight) and it had a profound impact on me. Watching the film again, after more than 15 years, I was surprised by how well it holds up. Although some of the acting is a bit stilted, and the dialogue tends to be rather uninspired, the direction, cinematography, sets, and the presence of Christopher Lee as Dracula are all top-notch. Several scenes in the film are quite horrifying, and there is a pervading sense of dread in the production. Like a lot of Hammer films, the key word here is "atmosphere," and "Dracula Has Risen From the Grave" delivers impressively. Also, don't let the "G" rating fool you. Although there is no sex, nudity, or extremely graphic violence, a great deal is suggested (which only adds to the suspense and tension), and even older viewers may find themselves lost in the spell that this film so admirably casts.

Vintage Hammer hokum
Dracula Has Risen from the Grave is an entertaining addition to Hammer's Dracula series. Terence Fisher, who directed the first three in the series, had to pull out at the last minute due to an accident, and it was left to lighting cameraman Freddie Francis to take the reins. The film reveals a shift in the underlying worldview: Fisher's triumphant vision of good conquering evil, God defeating Satan is supplanted by Francis's bleaker universe, where God is apparently no guarantee against the Devil, and whose central religious figure (Monsignor, played by Rupert Davies, no match for Andrew Keir or Peter Cushing) is blustering, naive and impotent in the face of evil.

There are some great scenes, as one would expect from a distinguished cinematographer like Francis, although some of the most visually compelling moments (eg. Maria's bedroom scene with the Count, by far the most explicitly sexualized portrayal of vampirism seen up to that time) sit uneasily alongside the bizarrely artless, shakey, badly focused handheld shots.

Still, it's vintage Hammer hokum, and certainly miles ahead of later additions to the Dracula series. I bought this for nostalgic reasons -- hadn't seen it since I was a kid -- and I wasn't disappointed.

Picture quality on the recent DVD release is clear and sumptuous, apart from a brief snatch towards the end when the picture momentarily reverts to an older, grainier print. Hammer buffs should add this to their collection.

OK film is a little improvement over the first sequel
A little better this time around, although having Professor Van Helsing would have made it a nicer film to watch. At least this time, the Count actually speaks.

If you are a fan of these Hammer films, stick with this and the other period films. This is one to have for your collection if you are a die hard fan like myself. If not, at least rent this one at Halloween for a night of horror.

He's Back
Dracula, played by Christopher Lee, is accidentally resurrected from the dead by the dripping blood of a priest. Finding a cross on the front door of his castle, he chooses the niece of the monsignor as his next victim, because the Monsignor performs the exorcism on his castle.

It hard to watch a Dracula movie within out Peter Cushing as Van Helsing

The next film in the series is Taste the Blood of Dracula. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Devil You Say --
Based on a true story, The Doctor and the Devils present several fine performances by outstanding actors including Timothy Dalton, Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Pryce, Stephen Rea, and Julian Sands. Nineteenth century medicine for one forward thinking physician, Dr. Roc (Dalton), was the fight to teach medicine as science that relied on empirical fact and first hand observation, not folk lore nor religious philosophy. His primary source was fresh cadavers, the fresher the better. Alas, the Victorian mind-set was in the dark ages and regulated the number of cadaver's faculty used for teaching. Into the situation stumble two fiends (Price and Rea) who recognize a quick way to earn money for cheap gin and the local harlot (Twiggy, miscast but not a bad performance) was grave robbing. Rather than steal dead bodies from graves, however, why not avoid the grave altogether? Killing any unfortunate who happened across their path, Pryce and Rea are soon Dr. Roc's best suppliers of fresh bodies. Science versus morality, need and ambition, truth before conscience are issues explored by the stellar ensemble cast. A superb film for any library. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Day of the Triffids
Wonderful 1960's science fiction movie based on John Wyndam's book. The film follows the book's plot reasonably well. In a world gone blind beset by killer plants, Howard Keel tries to save what he can and hold the line until help arrives. A classic 1960's film that I am pleased to see return to availability when so many other classics have gone out of print. After I wrote this review, I viewed this version and was not pleased with the poor quality of the film. See my other review about this particular copy for more details.

Attack of the Giant Asparagus
One other review and they use the asparagus line!!! Well, maybe my perceptions aren't really all that unique, after all. "Day of the Triffids" was my Halloween rental this year. It's good campy fun, and although it's been many a year since I've read the (quite good as I recall) book, I didn't get the impression that it did its source work as great an injustice as some other reviewers seem to feel.

Today's audience would laugh out loud at the cheesy special effects on display in this 1962 magnum opus, and musical buffs will likely be dismayed to see the depths to which latter day musical star Howard Keel (the only name in the cast I recognized at all) had sunk. And how the heck did the couple in the lighthouse ever get off that damn island anyway? Let alone share their discovery about how to kill this evil weed. Don't expect answers. This movie is clunky, awkwardly acted and poorly edited--but it's good fun in the way only late 50s-early 60s horror or sci-fi flicks could be. See it with someone you love to laugh with.

Looks better on LASERDISC!!!
This is an o.k. film for the SF exploitation genre, however, all of the existing DVD transfers are either in the wrong aspect ratio or very badly mastered. There IS a decent print out there, somewhere, as I have it on letterboxed laserdisc (...My laserdisc player is alive and well, thank you--after two of my VCR's have conked out--SO THERE!!!) Wait and see. Maybe someone like THE ROAN GROUP (Roan Group, are you listening?) who specialize in restoring and remastering forgotten films will pick up the distribution.

Awesome movie, Sh*tty DVD
I would have given this movie the full 5 stars... but this DVD is of awful quality, not to mention it's pan and scan. I recommend the "Cheesey Flicks" DVD over this P.O.S. since it's in widescreen and is a better presentation of the movie.

LOOKING FOR A BAD FILM WITH FEW REDEEMING QUALITIES?
This movie is just begging for the folks from "Mystery Science Theatre" to take a seat in the front row. Killer plants from outer space terrorize Earth and dismay movie fans everywhere. How do these plants manage to stay rooted while transversing across Europe? Don't ask but they need not be plants for all their maneuverability. Why not killer frozen TV dinners from outer space? How about terrifying air freshener from Mars? The plants, kind of a cross between walking cactuses and seaweed, are finally lured away by a Spanish ice cream truck with a melody that sounds like the tune from "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" as sung by an out of key doorbell. It gets no better than this for lovers of bad film. Favorite line: As a scientist is dissecting a plant to learn it's origin, he screams in exasperation, "Dammit, I'm not even a botanist!" I howled. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Who told you I was paranoid??
A delicious horror psychodrama, about a splintered aristocratic family with more than a few hidden secrets. A young Oliver Reed is wonderfully way over the top as a possessive, demented, violent older brother who struggles to control the rest of the family. Nicely directed, and well shot (with a heavy debt to Hitchcock)... Good fun, although the ending is lamentably rushed.

Simon is crazy, but he's still interesting.
This story revolves around a young girl who may be crazy and her alchoholic brother. Their parents died years ago in a plane crash and their older brother Tony is believed to have committed suicide when he was a child. Then a man shows up claiming to be Tony because he says he faked his suicide and ran away. His sister believes him, but everyone else has their doubts. Then it looks like someone is trying to commit murder and no one is certain who is sane and who is not. I had always heard this film was just average, but I think it is above average. There are some suspenseful moments here and there, good photography and the cast is overall solid. Oliver Reed is actually exceptional in his role, probably his best performance with Hammer. The film could have been improved by not playing their hand so soon, in that they revealed too much too soon. The film would have benefitted by being patient and building a mysterious mood for most of the film, instead we see one mysterious scene followed directly by a scene that reveals what is going on. Not perfect, but fairly interesting to watch late at night. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Joan Crawford has to hunt down Trog the Missing Link
In what proved to be her last film, Joan Collins plays Dr. Brockton, who is studying a troglodyte she found in a London sewer. The good news is that she gets to proclaim this is the Missing Link; the bad news is that apparently this is also the creature responsible for the death of several students in the area. The good doctor's adversary is not Trog (Joe Cornelius), who is something of the son she never had because she had a daughter instead, but rather Sam Murdock (Michael Gough, now known for playing Alfred in the Batman movies), who is an anti-feminist, anti-evolutionist, clown who does not want a prehistoric man in the neighborhood and takes Brockton to court. Joan even implants an artificial larynx into Trog to help him realize his humanity, but in the end he makes off with a young girl and Joan has to hunt the poor creature down before the police show up. This 1970 film was directed by Freddie Francis, who actually had done "Day of the Triffids" in 1962 and would direct Joan Collins in "Tales of the Crypt" in 1972, with a whole bunch of Hammer horror films in between. I am sure the idea of directing Joan Crawford appealed to him, it is just all the bloody violence with the troglodyte that makes this a true camp classic, but a horrible film. However, I do have to admit that Crawford goes out with a bang.

Joan Crawford's Last Horror Film Effort
"Trog", the last film in the illustrous career of film legend Joan Crawford has gone done into cinematic history as one of the biggest and most embarrassing "monster", movies ever to be conceived. Joan Crawford of course nowadays is sadly fair game for any type of attack and "Trog", is a favourite target by her many detractors. Harsh summaries of it run to the fact that Crawford was supposedly drunk all the way through production, that it had one of the lowest budgets of any horror film made in England and that it made Crawford totally unemployable after its release thus becoming the sad final note in a brilliant career. Certainly no masterpiece, "Trog", despite some laughable moments is far from the worst horror film ever made and for Joan Crawford's as always totally committed performance despite the material she has to work with, alone is worth seeing. It marked the second time in two years that movie offers from producer Herman Cohen had brought Joan Crawford to England for filming, (Berserk! in 1968 being the other), and she fitted in excellently with the often gifted British performers, like Michael Gough, Diana Dors and Robert Hardy who supported her in these productions. Despite comments to the contrary Joan Crawford is well and truly in control of her character in this little horror effort and certainly makes "Trog", far more entertaining viewing than it probably deserves to be considering its budget.

Crawford plays Anthropologist Dr. Brockton who works at a rural research centre in England and is involved in the study of early man's development from the Apes. While hiking in the neighbouring moors some local students discover a fisher has opened up and they climb down to investigate the caverns below. Unfortunately they also disturb a very primitive form of life in the caves who is half man, half prehistoric ape. The creature attacks and kills one of the boys and drives one of the others into hysteria. Recuperating at the clinic after their ordeal the incident arouses the interest of Dr. Brockton who's student Malcolm Travers (David Griffin)was part of the group. Taken on board for the summer by Dr. Brockton as her assistant the two go back to investigate the caves and manage to photograph the creature which she believes could possibly be the missing link. However Dr. Brockton however has a hard time convincing the authorities about the significance of her find with local opinion fuelled by the hostile reaction in particular of local resident Sam Murdock (Michael Gough). He firmly advocates destroying the creature before it causes trouble in the community. Aroused from its liar by a camera crew the troglodite, or cave dweller comes to the surface and Dr. Brockton succeeds in tranquilising the creature long enough to get it safely back to the lab. Once there she begins a program with the assistance of Malcolm and her daughter Anne (Kim Braden), to "civilize" Trog and orient it with the present world. The publicity arouses the further anger of Sam Murdock who after an unsuccessful hearing to try and get the creature destroyed, decides to take matters into his own hands. One evening he breaks into the lab and releases Trog however he pays for the foolish action with his life. Trog then proceeds to go on a rampage in the local town, killing shopkeepers, overturning cars and abducting a small child from a playground and taking the unconsious child back to the caves. Now bent on the creatures destruction the police close in and against their orders Dr. Brockton climbs down into the cavern and manages to get Trog to surrender the child. However Trog's fate is sealed as the police despite Dr. Brockton's pleas for more time to calm him, move in and shoot him upon which Trog falls on a wooden stake and dies.

"B" movie nonsense perhaps but there are far worse stories that have been turned into horror stories. "Trog", despite being such a small production boasts very worthy credits in direction by skilled Hammer horror veteran Freddie Francis and a writing team that includes Peter Bryan and John Gilling who was also a most capable director of horror with the celebrated "Plague of the Zombies", to his credit. "Trog", certainly has a number of laughable moments in particular the doctor's absurb "orientation" program involving Trog playing with wind up dolls and the long flashback sequence where through the wonders of technology Trog can see back to the dinosaur age. No reason is ever given for why these experiements on Trog are such breakthrough measures and especially funny is when all the world wide "experts" gather and marvel about Trog's progress and uttering of one word "blue". That aside the film is an enjoyable horror effort. Actor Joe Cornelius who played Trog had an original and interesting monster garb and Joan Crawford brings a seriousness and determination to her role as the crusading doctor that belies the films "B" story. Certainly it is not "Mildred Pierce", or even "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", but it is not a total disgrace either. Crawford's last scene in the movie which of course became her last moments on the cinematic screen after a 50 year career sees her walking away sadly from the camera into the distance and I feel that is in some ways a fitting end to a brilliant Hollywood career.

Laughed at by the critics and now a "cult" favourite with those that like camp movies "Trog", is worth a look. No great cinema art it has a basic story that depite some absurd moments is quite interesting and even with it's low budget like alot of "B" efforts still manages to have an outward polish to it that makes it fun to watch. As the last film in Joan Crawford's career it has it's own curiosity value and no collection of her work is complete without this infamous little horror effort. Enjoy!

I hope she had plenty of Pepsi on hand...
Poor Joan! After such a distinguished career, she went out with this dud as her final feature film. Bad everything, even though La Crawford keep a stiff, overdrawn upper lip throughout. It's fun as a comedy lampoon of horror flicks, which it never intended to be.

Weird !
This was a really weird movie and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh or cry... It's a shame that this was Joan Crawford's last movie although she certainly had a successful career! This movie is difficult to find on VHS.I tried ordering it...through Amazon Marketplace...

She was dead
At time this was filmed, Joan was clinically dead. Altho she remained animated and spoke words out of her mouth, it was obvious that she was dead. She played a person who walked around sort of hunched over and had something to do with some sort of ape person whom she had once been married to.

This was her last film and possibly most distinguished role during her dead years which occured shortly after Bette Davis kicked the behoozes out of her in Baby Jane. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

CAMPY IF DATED FUN
TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS brings us four tales of terror, helmed by reputable horror director Freddie Francis and released in 1973. HALLOWEEN's Donald Pleasance and the venerable British legend JACK HAWKINS frame the four tales with some kind of gibberish about Pleasance finding out the horrible "secrets" of four mental patients. The first is a little boy whose invisible tiger takes an intense dislike to his bickering parents (including Broadway's Georgia Brown in a surprisingly banal performance); Peter McEnery and Suzy Kendall fare a little better in the muddled, but spooky, tale of a bicycle that takes McEnery into the past, for what purpose, I never figured out; sultry Joan Collins and the bland Michael Jayston (NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA) play out a two-character drama about a wife jealous of her husband's new found "tree"; and the ever lovely Kim Novak overemotes her way through a lurid tale about human sacrifice and a particularly disturbing luau. More imaginative direction and some recasting might have made this a classic; however, as it is, it's fun to recapture the style of these horror movies of the 70s. Note that the score was done by Bernard Ebbinghouse, who helmed the Living Strings for several years in the 70s.

Anemic anthology
Director Freddie Francis was recruited for this one after he had some success for Amicus films with Tales from the crypt. This film was made in an attempt to cash on the success Amicus had had with anthologies. This is not the bomb that some make it out to be, but it could be described as being very flat. This film fails to develop any real style and just lacks much of a punch. The framing story has Donald Pleasance claiming he has had a major break through with patients he works with at the asylum and then we get to hear all of their stories. The first story centers around a boy who has an invisible tiger he talks to and the tiger doesn't like the boy's argumentitive parents. This story is almost painfully dull, no real thrills and stale performances. The second story steps it up a notch or two as we deal with a time travel story. A man inherits an old picture and a bicycle from a relative and the picture of his Uncle Albert pulls him to the bicycle and that in turn takes him back in time. The story is mildy interesting, but is greatly helped by a very fast pace. This story could have been even better with stronger lead performances. Some Amicus films like Torture Garden and Asylum did not have great stories, but they helped themselves out by getting some veteren character actors to make them stronger. The third story is the strangestof the four, but certainly the best. Joan Collins turns is her usual solid showing as a wife competing for husband's affections with a tree. An odd concept, but they pull it off with decent acting and by showing the trees gradual transformation from an object to something almost human. The fourth story is quite possibly worse than the first if only because it is every bit as dull and it is even longer in legnth. Kim Novak swoons over a client while he plots to use her daughter as a human sacrifice. This one is so drawn out with virtually nothing to redeem it. Freddie Francis did a number of fine horror films such as Dracula has risen from the grave, Nightmare and the Creeping flesh and many of his films benefitted from some nice visuals, but this film has very few of those to offer. This one is worth seeing at least once just for the tree segment.

Ghoulishly fun horror anthology.
Fans of "THE TWILIGHT ZONE", "TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE", and other horror anthologies will relish this ghoulishly entertaining four part horror film. The movie opens at an asylum in England run by Donald Pleasance who has just recently solved four fascinating cases. This leads to the four patients relating in flashbacks the shocking stories that led them to be brought to the asylum. The first tale, "Mr. Tiger", is about a boy who introduces his bickering parents to his IMAGINARY pet tiger. In "Penny Farthing", an old-fashioned bicycle sends its owner back in time to unveil a horrible crime. The third and best segment, "Mel", stars the beautiful and sexy Joan Collins as a housewife who finds herself competing with her husband's beloved pet tree! And the fourth and final segment, "Luau", is a riveting tale of voodoo and cannibalism featuring Kim Novak as a mother who is better off not knowing what's for dinner. A crazy compilation, but each tale is well-presented and strangely entertaining. A must for fans of way-out horror films. Directed by Freddie Francis reponsible for another equally creepy '70's mystery/horror anthology movie, the original TALES FROM THE CRYPT. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Why was this dubbed into English?
Beautiful sets, lights, props and music were marred by English dubbing.... all of the German had been dubbed over, and there wasn't even any German in the subtitles. "Gebissen wird nur nachts," of course, means "Bites happen only at night" (one of those typical impersonal passive constructions that First Year German students run into. The English cover that came on this DVD was pretty good, as English goes ("The Vampire Happening"), but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't until I opened up the DVD that I found the slip of paper with the original title - 'Gebissen wird nur nachts' - but where on earth did the German go? Why was this dubbed into English? Now, that said, this is not a total disappointment. It is what you would call 'soft-R' and not even 'soft-core.' A couple of scantily clad vampiresses are seen, and the plot was easy enough to follow. What I was struck with most with this film was the Disney-ish sound-track, a little more bouncy than "sound of music" but enough to remind me of the 1960's. If you are only into rap music, or rock, this soundtrack will probably strike you as rather lame. I think most of the value behind this DVD rests in what lessons it teaches the film student who looks at it from the perspective of how to put a movie together. It's a good enough movie if you can get past the English, which proceeds at odds with the movement of the lips of the actors. Sigh. Film collectors that want to follow the career of Pia Degermark might also find this movie valuable. But beware, ordering "Gebissen wird nachts" means getting "The Vampire Happening" when the DVD finally arrives in your mailbox. And there were no menu choices that you could click to turn on any German, not even German subtitling. I sure hope that ordering "Der Blaue Engel" or "Kleider Machen Leute" doesn't mean getting "The Blue Angel" or "Clothes Make the Man" when the DVD finally arrives in the mailbox.

I Liked the picture on the box.
Ok, I'll admit the picture on the dvd package made me buy this dvd. I must say, I didn't know what to expect. It was like a parody of a horror movie by Benny Hill. It was however, atmospheric, the scenery and music gave it a foreign feel. The story is a bit strange though, but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun with it. This wouldn't win any awards, but I intend on keeping it in my collection just as a novelty. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Day of the Triffids
Wonderful 1960's science fiction movie based on John Wyndam's book. The film follows the book's plot reasonably well. In a world gone blind beset by killer plants, Howard Keel tries to save what he can and hold the line until help arrives. A classic 1960's film that I am pleased to see return to availability when so many other classics have gone out of print. After I wrote this review, I viewed this version and was not pleased with the poor quality of the film. See my other review about this particular copy for more details.

Attack of the Giant Asparagus
One other review and they use the asparagus line!!! Well, maybe my perceptions aren't really all that unique, after all. "Day of the Triffids" was my Halloween rental this year. It's good campy fun, and although it's been many a year since I've read the (quite good as I recall) book, I didn't get the impression that it did its source work as great an injustice as some other reviewers seem to feel.

Today's audience would laugh out loud at the cheesy special effects on display in this 1962 magnum opus, and musical buffs will likely be dismayed to see the depths to which latter day musical star Howard Keel (the only name in the cast I recognized at all) had sunk. And how the heck did the couple in the lighthouse ever get off that damn island anyway? Let alone share their discovery about how to kill this evil weed. Don't expect answers. This movie is clunky, awkwardly acted and poorly edited--but it's good fun in the way only late 50s-early 60s horror or sci-fi flicks could be. See it with someone you love to laugh with.

Looks better on LASERDISC!!!
This is an o.k. film for the SF exploitation genre, however, all of the existing DVD transfers are either in the wrong aspect ratio or very badly mastered. There IS a decent print out there, somewhere, as I have it on letterboxed laserdisc (...My laserdisc player is alive and well, thank you--after two of my VCR's have conked out--SO THERE!!!) Wait and see. Maybe someone like THE ROAN GROUP (Roan Group, are you listening?) who specialize in restoring and remastering forgotten films will pick up the distribution.

Awesome movie, Sh*tty DVD
I would have given this movie the full 5 stars... but this DVD is of awful quality, not to mention it's pan and scan. I recommend the "Cheesey Flicks" DVD over this P.O.S. since it's in widescreen and is a better presentation of the movie.

LOOKING FOR A BAD FILM WITH FEW REDEEMING QUALITIES?
This movie is just begging for the folks from "Mystery Science Theatre" to take a seat in the front row. Killer plants from outer space terrorize Earth and dismay movie fans everywhere. How do these plants manage to stay rooted while transversing across Europe? Don't ask but they need not be plants for all their maneuverability. Why not killer frozen TV dinners from outer space? How about terrifying air freshener from Mars? The plants, kind of a cross between walking cactuses and seaweed, are finally lured away by a Spanish ice cream truck with a melody that sounds like the tune from "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" as sung by an out of key doorbell. It gets no better than this for lovers of bad film. Favorite line: As a scientist is dissecting a plant to learn it's origin, he screams in exasperation, "Dammit, I'm not even a botanist!" I howled. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Sexy American movie star Betty Williams (Pia Degermark from Elvira Madigan) flies to Transylvania to get a gander at her ancestral castle. While touring the torture chamber (which inspires kinky fantasies) and the family vault, she inadvertently unleashes her randy grandmother, Clairamonda, an ancient vampire and a brunette double to blonde Betty. A clumsy wig-swapping, door-slamming farce ensues, with Betty seducing a local schoolteacher, Clairamonda feasting on local lascivious monks, and a climactic vampire orgy at a bloodsuckers' ball where Betty finds herself the only fresh plasma in the building. Less a hippie vampire tale than a sexploitation knockoff of Roman Polanski's The Fearless Vampire Killers, this West German comedy features a spoofing performance from Ferdie Mayne, the vampire king from Polanski's film, as a groovy Dracula with an eye for female flesh. Former Hammer director and master cinematographer Freddie Francis shows little facility for comedy and exhibits none of his cinematographic skills in this crude but fitfully amusing farce. The leering performances make Benny Hill look subtle, the slapstick gags are undercut by indifferent execution, and the entire production lumbers under bad makeup and atrocious dubbing. Degermark, however, proves to be a good sport, giving a spirited performance while disrobing at almost every turn, and Mayne has a blast in an over-the-top turn as a deliciously decadent bloodsucker. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Why was this dubbed into English?
Beautiful sets, lights, props and music were marred by English dubbing.... all of the German had been dubbed over, and there wasn't even any German in the subtitles. "Gebissen wird nur nachts," of course, means "Bites happen only at night" (one of those typical impersonal passive constructions that First Year German students run into. The English cover that came on this DVD was pretty good, as English goes ("The Vampire Happening"), but it wasn't what I expected. It wasn't until I opened up the DVD that I found the slip of paper with the original title - 'Gebissen wird nur nachts' - but where on earth did the German go? Why was this dubbed into English? Now, that said, this is not a total disappointment. It is what you would call 'soft-R' and not even 'soft-core.' A couple of scantily clad vampiresses are seen, and the plot was easy enough to follow. What I was struck with most with this film was the Disney-ish sound-track, a little more bouncy than "sound of music" but enough to remind me of the 1960's. If you are only into rap music, or rock, this soundtrack will probably strike you as rather lame. I think most of the value behind this DVD rests in what lessons it teaches the film student who looks at it from the perspective of how to put a movie together. It's a good enough movie if you can get past the English, which proceeds at odds with the movement of the lips of the actors. Sigh. Film collectors that want to follow the career of Pia Degermark might also find this movie valuable. But beware, ordering "Gebissen wird nachts" means getting "The Vampire Happening" when the DVD finally arrives in your mailbox. And there were no menu choices that you could click to turn on any German, not even German subtitling. I sure hope that ordering "Der Blaue Engel" or "Kleider Machen Leute" doesn't mean getting "The Blue Angel" or "Clothes Make the Man" when the DVD finally arrives in the mailbox.

I Liked the picture on the box.
Ok, I'll admit the picture on the dvd package made me buy this dvd. I must say, I didn't know what to expect. It was like a parody of a horror movie by Benny Hill. It was however, atmospheric, the scenery and music gave it a foreign feel. The story is a bit strange though, but if you don't take it too seriously, you'll have fun with it. This wouldn't win any awards, but I intend on keeping it in my collection just as a novelty. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

Day of the Triffids
Wonderful 1960's science fiction movie based on John Wyndam's book. The film follows the book's plot reasonably well. In a world gone blind beset by killer plants, Howard Keel tries to save what he can and hold the line until help arrives. A classic 1960's film that I am pleased to see return to availability when so many other classics have gone out of print. After I wrote this review, I viewed this version and was not pleased with the poor quality of the film. See my other review about this particular copy for more details.

Attack of the Giant Asparagus
One other review and they use the asparagus line!!! Well, maybe my perceptions aren't really all that unique, after all. "Day of the Triffids" was my Halloween rental this year. It's good campy fun, and although it's been many a year since I've read the (quite good as I recall) book, I didn't get the impression that it did its source work as great an injustice as some other reviewers seem to feel.

Today's audience would laugh out loud at the cheesy special effects on display in this 1962 magnum opus, and musical buffs will likely be dismayed to see the depths to which latter day musical star Howard Keel (the only name in the cast I recognized at all) had sunk. And how the heck did the couple in the lighthouse ever get off that damn island anyway? Let alone share their discovery about how to kill this evil weed. Don't expect answers. This movie is clunky, awkwardly acted and poorly edited--but it's good fun in the way only late 50s-early 60s horror or sci-fi flicks could be. See it with someone you love to laugh with.

Looks better on LASERDISC!!!
This is an o.k. film for the SF exploitation genre, however, all of the existing DVD transfers are either in the wrong aspect ratio or very badly mastered. There IS a decent print out there, somewhere, as I have it on letterboxed laserdisc (...My laserdisc player is alive and well, thank you--after two of my VCR's have conked out--SO THERE!!!) Wait and see. Maybe someone like THE ROAN GROUP (Roan Group, are you listening?) who specialize in restoring and remastering forgotten films will pick up the distribution.

Awesome movie, Sh*tty DVD
I would have given this movie the full 5 stars... but this DVD is of awful quality, not to mention it's pan and scan. I recommend the "Cheesey Flicks" DVD over this P.O.S. since it's in widescreen and is a better presentation of the movie.

LOOKING FOR A BAD FILM WITH FEW REDEEMING QUALITIES?
This movie is just begging for the folks from "Mystery Science Theatre" to take a seat in the front row. Killer plants from outer space terrorize Earth and dismay movie fans everywhere. How do these plants manage to stay rooted while transversing across Europe? Don't ask but they need not be plants for all their maneuverability. Why not killer frozen TV dinners from outer space? How about terrifying air freshener from Mars? The plants, kind of a cross between walking cactuses and seaweed, are finally lured away by a Spanish ice cream truck with a melody that sounds like the tune from "Close Encounters of The Third Kind" as sung by an out of key doorbell. It gets no better than this for lovers of bad film. Favorite line: As a scientist is dissecting a plant to learn it's origin, he screams in exasperation, "Dammit, I'm not even a botanist!" I howled. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Rehash of "It came from outer Space" (1953)
It is not exactly the same story but mighty close. The technology and feel of this low budget film is that of the Quartermass films. The technology is hokey and the props are amusing.

Meteorites land in formation in a field. Yes we know what this means. So a set of scientists are sent out to find what we already know. Yep they all come back a bit funny. When the attempt to take over the top scientist fails they must regroup. From now on it is one top scientist that can out gun and out sneak any of today's secret agents, against an organized well armed coup with electrified fences and nasty attitudes. Will he ever figure out what is happening? Can they be stopped from doing what ever it is that they are doing? And should they be stopped?

Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!
In this 60's film starring Timothy Hutton,an alien spaceship crashes on the moon and the Creatures then kidnaps earth's most prominent scientists and used them as slave labor to help them make repairs instead of using diplomacy which makes this film a Superb Sci-Fi Drama!!

they came from beyond space
We all know the usual quality of anything released by Diamond dvd,there has been some shockers in the past(the release of Creature springs to mind)but to give them their credit this one is actually not bad.Sod all in extras as per,but a nice clear picture which more than compensates.Retailing at a reasonable price as well makes this dvd a worthy purchase,and after all it is a classic British film!!!

simply the best
the best sci-fi film ever made, the special effects blow away all the new stuff and the plot is cleverly writen

Mediocre. Then the ending ruined even that.
I wondered why this Amicus production was rated so poorly by Maltin and others. It was directed by Freddie Francis of Hammer renown, and featured known names in the cast, such as Michael Gough as the alien leader. Then I picked it up and watched it. It is not that bad, for 98% of its runtime. It's the 2% at the end that I'm sure has soured people's tastes for this movie.

It has to do with rocks from outer space landing in a British field and taking over the minds of all those who study them. One scientist is immune to their attacks, however, because of a metal plate in his head. Sound goofy? Well, it might be. But the whole thing is so solemn that one can overlook the funny-looking headgear the scientist fashions to protect his friends. And there is a lot of activity- not gripping action or suspense per se, but activity: gun battles, sneaking around, etc. You are sure it is all leading to... something.

Then after all the buildup, the ending is such a letdown as to enrage. I don't know if the filmmakers were trying for irony and failed, or were trying to make a statement on Southeast Asia, or just ran out of time and money. Imagine if The Longest Day had ended with Bob Mitchum and the Nazis playing pinochle while they talked out their differences; that will give you a feel for the bland ending of They Came From Beyond Space.

It is low budget and almost completely humorless- except for one scene where the scientist's friend has to melt down his silver cricket trophies to make a helmet to protect himself. Even that was really only a chuckle. But I'm not sorry I watched it. It's not that long, and I just would've thought about my job otherwise.

See also: Quatermass 2. ... Read more

Reviews (16)

The creeping plot
Many British horror films tended to dwell on very similiar themes. This one is somewhat different, but it could have been much better if they spent more time developing it. The film begins focusing on the skeleton of an ancient creature that could be the missing link. Peter Cushing begins studying it and we learn that water makes skin grow back on the skeleton in seconds. This is pretty interesting, but then they fly off on a sub-plot about Cushing daughter learning that her mo ther went insane and she begins to follow suit. This part tends to go on and on showing us the insides of a seedy pub (all British horror movies are required to show a pub, I think it's a rule over there) and a confrontation with an escaped criminal. Christopher Lee plays Cushing's half brother and rival and he wants the skeleton Cushing has. The middle of this film is slow, but when it starts to rain, the movie cuts loose. The last ten minutes of this film is great, both the story and the visuals. This is overall decent film, just don't give up on it in the middle because it will redeem itself.

The World, the Flesh and a Devil in an unusual Amicus film.
The best aspect of this film is perhaps during the opening credits, where we see various sections of a truly fascinating painted canvas ecompassing all the aspects of the plot you are about to witness conveyed in a series of panned shots. The colors of this prop are brilliant. The second is perhaps when evil approaches and you see only an ever growing shadow of a caped figure rising ever larger over the front of the house! The story is well written, with an unusual idea on the origin of evil and implies a "book of revelation" portent for the future. The musical score is haunting and the acting and sets are fair. Two banes of humanity, Insanity and Evil are the focus of what our two adventurers are trying to solve, mainly to get the 10,000 pound Richter prize and the fame that would follow. However, a series of tragic foul-ups by lab assistant "Egors" release a catastrophe on all mankind, or so we are led to believe! Not the best film that this dynamic duo of horror ever made but very different and well plotted with a lot of Edwardian laboratory mumbo jumbo thrown in for "atmosphere".

The naughty finger...
The Creeping Flesh (1973), originally produced by Tigon Pictures and directed by Freddie Francis, a man fairly well known to fans of films from Hammer Studios and Amicus Productions (The Studio That Dripped Blood), brings together two screen legends in Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (they appeared in a total of 22 films together over the years) in a slightly fantastic tale of things evil and nasty.

Peter Cushing stars as Emmanuel Hilden, a 19th century scientist, involved in the study of human evolution, recently returning from an expedition to New Guinea with what he believes to be a find of epic proportions in that of a rather grotesque looking skeleton, humanoid in appearance, but much larger than any man. Emmanuel sees innumerable opportunities associated with this find, and believes it's his ticket to recognition and lucrative scientific grant monies. On arriving home to England with his boney buddy, we meet Emmanuel's comely daughter, Penelope, played by Lorna Heilbron. Seems she's been holding down the fort, and things have been pretty tight, money-wise, as she's had to let go of two of the three or four servants employed at the house (talk about being in dire straits). Oh yes, Emmanuel's wife and Penelope's mother, Marguerite, has long since passed, or, at least that's what we're lead to believe.

Emmanuel's half-brother, James Hilden (Christopher Lee), who runs a mental asylum, sends word that Emmanuel's wife, who was an inmate, has just died, to which Emmanuel goes to the asylum to collect her personal papers and such, and we learn that James, who has been financing his half-brother's expeditions, is cutting Emmanuel off, and that James is on the verge of a scientific breakthrough dealing with curing insanity or some such thing. One can't help notice there seems to be a bit of jealously in the relationship, coming from James towards Emmanuel.

Anyway, Emmanuel returns home, and begins studying his find. In cleaning part of the skeleton with water (its' finger bone), he notices the part he cleaned with water begins growing flesh...ew...in examining a blood sample (it differs slightly from humans) and reading some dusty tomes, Emmanuel concludes he's found the source of evil, and that evil is not so much a concept but a disease, a plague, and something that one can be inoculated against. He seems to prove this by testing his newly developed serum on a monkey, and fearing that his daughter may suffer the same fate as her mother, possibly madness passed in the genes, he gives the serum to his daughter. Well, we see that the initial success with the monkey didn't last long, and Emmanuel's assistant comments that thankfully they didn't test the serum out on a human test subject (he didn't know about Emmanuel's injecting Penelope). So what happens? The madness overtakes Penelope, brought on by the effects of the injection from her father, and she runs away, only to end up in James' asylum after she commits various crimes involving murder. Obviously James recognizes her, and brings her back to Emmanuel's home, discovers Emmanuel's notes on his recent experiments, and sees the possibilities of incorporating Emmanuel's work into his own, which Emmanuel strongly declines, so James decides to make arrangements to steal his half-brother's work. Unsure of how the skeleton comes into play, but knowing it's a crucial element, he steals it, riding away with it in his carriage. Emmanuel realizes what happens, and begins pursuit. Oh yeah, it also starts raining. Do you think the skeleton, the one that reacted to the water when Emmanuel tried to clean it, will get wet? Count on it...what happens next? You'll just have to watch...

I thought the concept of evil being a disease, something which may be curable, to be a pretty original notion within the film. Cushing was great as the scientist swept up with visions of ridding society of evil, allowing for a, in his words, a new paradise on Earth. His character certainly falls into the category of the scientist with the best intentions, not foreseeing the dangers until it's too late. Lee was also wonderful as the greedy, resentful half-brother, living in the shadow of Emmanuel's achievements, capitalizing on an opportunity when it presents itself, not fully realizing the implications but seeing only the chance for personal gain. Some of the elements of the story seemed a bit slipshod, kind of like they were assembled of ill-fitting pieces, specifically designed to move the plot along. And I was hoping to see more of the creature, but, from what little we do see, it was probably for the best as it was kind of funky, probably due to budgetary constraints. The scenes with the creature's flesh covered severed finger were suitably disgusting, but I'll be darned if that appendage didn't look like some sort of battery-powered martial aid. (Keep in mind the creature was like seven or eight feet tall, and had proportionally sized fingers.) While the movie wasn't particularly scary, it was definitely creepy, and kept my interest all the way through the end. One thing that annoyed me a little was habit of hearing spoken dialog played again later on as a character would recall it within their mind. Seeing as how we were there the first time the dialog was spoken aloud, I didn't see the need to remind us of the pertinent information relayed through a character's inner dialog, as if to aid us, the viewer, in following along. It seemed a bit patronizing, and unnecessary. I did love the ending, despite the huge loose plot thread left dangling with regards to the creature. Maybe it was meant to be that way, left to our speculation.

Columbia Tristar Home Video provides a very nice looking wide screen print here. The audio seemed a bit soft at times, but there are English subtitles, which I made use of...the only thing in regards to extras available is an original theatrical trailer.

Cookieman108

Creepy Flesh
Emmanuel Hildern, played by Peter Cushing, returns from New Guinea with a large prehistoric skeleton. While cleaning one of the fingers of the skeleton with water, the finger starts to grow flesh. Hildern starts to reflect on the origin of "evil" and creates a serum that he believes will be an antidote for evil. He injects his daughter with the serum, because he believes she may be insane, since her mother was. The serum does not work and causes his daughter to go insane. James Hildern, played by Christopher Lee, is Emmanuel brother and after finding out about the skeleton and steals it. The skeleton is exposed to the rain and the "Creeping Flesh" comes to life.

Classic English Horror
So we have Christopher Lee (Dracula, Lord of the Rings, and Star Wars Episode III) and Peter Cushing (Star Wars and Shock Waves) in this 1973 film about "a terrifying journey through the nightmare worlds of evil, insanity, and terrible revenge." The film is wonderfully directed by Freddie Francis of such infamy as "Tales From the Crypt," "Son of Dracula," The Ghoul," and "Legend of the Werewolf."

Plot: A paleontologist comes to believe that evil is a blood-borne illness and that the vehicle for said disease is the re-animated flesh of a skeletal specimen recently recovered from New Guinea. Convinced that his wife had contracted this evil prior to loosing her mind, he is driven to concoct an immunization in an attempt to save his daughter from a similar fate. As this is a horror movie, things don't quite go as planned.

I own the movie on VHS and so eagerly anticipate its DVD release. ... Read more