Review #1,452: 'Horror Express' (1972)

With a cast list boasting the names of both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing and a claustrophobic setting aboard a high-speed train, it would be easy to assume that Horror Express is another low-budget gothic effort from Hammer, or perhaps a portmanteau effort from Amicus. It is neither, and is in fact a joint Spanish and UK production made at a time when gothic horror was falling out of favour with audiences, who were being treated to more graphic, socially-aware films such as Night of the Living Dead, and psychological horrors from the US. Helmed on a measly budget by Spanish director Eugenio Martin (so low-budget that the shadow of the camera and cameraman is clearly present in the very first shot), Horror Express actually deserves more attention. It may not be particularly original, but it's shockingly entertaining, utterly bonkers, and provides an interesting sci-fi twist to a familiar genre piece.

Stuffy British anthropologist Sir Alexander Saxton (Lee) discovers the mummified remains of what appears to be a primitive human in a Manchurian cave. With hopes of this find-of-the-century providing some insight on the missing link in human evolution, Saxton packs the body into a wooden crate and hops onto the Trans-Siberian Express from China to Moscow. Before boarding the train however, a Chinese thief attempts to pick the crate's lock, and is found dead just moments later with his eyes completely white. The discovery also catches the eye of Saxton's friendly rival Dr. Wells (Cushing), who pays a baggage handler to cut a hole in the box so he can sneak a peek. The porter is too found dead soon after, and the crate empty. With the beast now loose aboard a moving train, it isn't long until the bodies start to pile up. Saxton and Wells are on the case, but the commotion also catches the attention of Inspector Mirov (Julio Pena), Polish countess Irina (Silvia Tortosa) and crazy Orthodox monk Father Pujardov (Robert DeNiro lookalike Alberto de Mendoza).

It's a strange but enticing mixture of Agatha Christie and The Thing from Another World. The discovery that their foe is actually a body-hopping alien capable of devouring memories and knowledge with each kill allows for some whodunnit fun to be had in between the many gory moments, and gives the film a strange sci-fi kick that, while completely ridiculous, adds something different to an otherwise straight-forward monster flick. The special effects have also aged rather well. It isn't scary, but the sight of corpses frozen in shock with their eyes rolled to the back of their heads makes for a rather creepy sight, and graphic scenes of surgical procedures means that Martin's picture has a welcome nasty edge that helps it to distance itself from Hammer's campier gore. You can pick the film apart, but Horror Express is simply outrageously entertaining and never lets up. Once the horror starts, each scene seems to want to double-down on what came before, even introducing Telly Savalas late on as an intimidating, vodka-swilling Cossack officer named Captain Kazan. A must-see for any fans of European horror from the Lee/Cushing era.


Directed by: Eugenio Martín
Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Alberto de Mendoza, Silvia Tortosa, Julio Peña, Telly Savalas
Country: UK/Spain

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,353: 'The Man Who Could Cheat Death' (1959)

Its 1890, and a mysterious hidden figure stalks the smoggy streets searching for his next victim. The atmosphere and imagery may bring to mind the crimes of Jack the Ripper, but the setting here is in fact Paris, although I'm convinced this opening was purposely designed to evoke the planet's most notorious serial killers. The Man Who Could Cheat Death is an early effort by Hammer Film Productions, based on the Barre Lyndon's play The Man in Half Moon Street, during the era when the famous British studio was emerging as the most popular name in horror, usurping Universal Studios, who dominated the genre during the 1930s and 40s. Hammer produced a different breed of horror, one that was ghastly and sexy, and audiences lapped it up. But this is one of the studio's tamest and most plodding efforts, despite the presence of Terence Fisher behind the camera and Christopher Lee in front of it.

The story surrounds sculptor, doctor and socialite Dr. Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring), who we meet entertaining his dinner guests with the unveiling of his new work. Bonnet's model Margo (Delphi Lawrence) marvels at the magnificent bust, but the eligible bachelor is eager to rush everyone out of the door when attendees start asking about purchasing the works of art he never sells. Bonnet thinks he's alone, and opens a hidden safe containing a bubbling green liquid he seems incredibly desperate to drink. Only Margo has stayed behind and startles him. When she refuses to leave, Bonnet kills her, but not before his skin seems to age and his eyes are drained of colour. The good doctor is in fact 104-years old, and must drink the potion to maintain his youthful appearance. On the eve of undergoing vital surgery that will keep him young forever, his old friend Dr. Ludwig Weiss (Arnold Marle) reveals he has suffered a stroke, and will be unable to perform the operation. With the police on his trail and the potion running dry, Bonnet must find a new surgeon fast before his crimes against nature are uncovered.

The main problem with The Man Who Could Cheat Death is that any potential mystery to the story is blown by the film's very title. We know that Bonnet has somehow cheated death and that the green liquid must be the thing sustaining his power, so the majority of the running time is filled with inane conversations and philosophy 101. There's also a love interest in Janine (Hazel Court), Bonnet's beautiful former muse who appears to be dating stoic surgeon Dr. Pierre Gerard (Lee), although it's clear she only has eyes for the man who was sculpted her. It's a glorified cameo for Lee, who makes more of an impression with a relatively small role than Diffring manages as the lead, and it's easy to wonder how much better the film would have been with the roles reversed. With limited sets and a minuscule cast, Fisher seems happy to continue the aesthetic of the story's theatrical roots, and unwilling to embrace the potential hideousness of this part Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, part The Picture of Dorian Gray tale. It isn't the worst of Hammer's back catalogue, but it's a hell of a distance away from their best.

Directed by: Terence Fisher

Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee, Arnold Marlé, Delphi Lawrence

Country: UK

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,240: 'Beat Girl' (1960)

Beat Girl, known as Wild for Kicks in the U.S., was another entry in the juvenile delinquent sub-genre started by the likes of High School Hell Cats and Teenage-Age Crime Wave, which took a look at the 'troubled' youth of the post-World War II generation when rock 'n' roll was moulding the clean-cut teenagers into misanthropic tearaways. Directed by Edmond T. Greville, Beat Girl is far too silly and melodramatic to leave any lasting impact, but there is a joy to be had with watching a bunch of pretty 1960's teenagers mope and complain in what would likely be classed as acceptable rebellious behaviour nowadays, and to see Swinging 60's London in all its glory.

The story concerns Jennifer (Gillian Hills), the 'beat girl' of the title, and her struggle to accept a new addition to the household. Her rich and rather liberal father Paul (Black Narcissus' David Farrar) dotes on his young, beautiful daughter, but remains concerned about her late night partying and dead-beat friends. Her behaviour takes a downturn when he brings home his new young and gorgeous French wife Nichole (Noelle Adam), who Jennifer takes an instant disliking to, as most children of divorce do. Nichole makes all the effort to bond with her new step-daughter, but Jennifer would rather be hanging out at the local jazz dive with her friends (including real-life musician and teen idol Adam Faith). After a chance encounter reveals Nichole's past life, Jennifer becomes intent on revealing the big secret to her work-obsessed father.

My main issue with Beat Girl is that it isn't totally clear whose side we're meant to be on. On one hand, the parents are shown as forward-thinking and modern while the youngsters (including a baby-faced Oliver Reed) squabble on a dusty floor over a half-drunk bottle of gin. On the other, the apparently misguided youth act out for good reason, and ultimately pose no actual threat ("Fighting's for squares, man!"). The film improves when it dabbles in the sleazy side of London, particularly as Jennifer's curiosity over strip joint Les Girls leads to shady club owner Kenny (Christopher Lee) trying to recruit the jailbait as one of his main attractions, which also leads to the sight of some surprisingly revealing routines. This is exploitation after all, and there's a wonderful sense of grime in these moments. Ultimately, Beat Girl suffers from long periods of off-putting melodrama and silly dancing, but there is a tremendous raunchiness to the film also.


Directed by: Edmond T. Gréville
Starring: Gillian Hills, Noëlle Adam, David Farrar, Christopher Lee, Adam Faith
Country: UK

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,213: 'Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith' (2005)

For the third time in six years, I left the cinema back in 2005 after a screening of the eagerly anticipated conclusion to George Lucas' Star Wars prequel trilogy with a smile on my face, and satisfied with a decent addition to the franchise canon. Yet again, as time went by, I felt my opinion towards the film rapidly decline after subsequent viewings. I decided to re-visit the Star Wars series again in the hope of finding some unique charm to the prequels, be it nostalgia or just my general love for the universe I frequently visited as a child. Yet there is little fun to be had with Episodes I-III, and the films now seem more rigid, humourless and just plain boring as they ever did. Revenge of the Sith does offer some slight relief however, and ends the trilogy on a minor high thanks mainly to a darkness Lucas had promised previously but failed to deliver.

The plot is more convoluted than ever, jumping ahead three years from the events of Attack of the Clones and having to explain the events in between. The galaxy is now in a state of civil war, and Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) are on a mission to rescue the kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) from the wheezing Separatist leader General Grievous (voiced by Matthew Wood). With the Chancellor now safe to spread his mischief throughout the Republic while Jedi Masters Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) remain powerless and clueless to his influence, Anakin reunites with his secret wife Padme (Natalie Portman), who reveals herself to be pregnant. Elsewhere in the galaxy, Obi-Wan heads out to confront Grievous, while Yoda travels to a distant planet to prepare for an invasion.

Much of the build-up of the previous two movies focused on Anakin becoming the iconic villain Darth Vader, and the events which drove him down such a dark path. With Jake Lloyd and Hayden Christensen tasked with handling such a complex character arc, combined with the consistently awful scripts, it's been an unconvincing journey to say the least. With so much time spent previously navigating through murky sub-plots and distracting diversions such as the development of a secret clone army, Anakin hasn't really been given the opportunity to do much other than mope around like a typical teenager and get a bit snarky with authority. Near enough the second half of the movie is primarily focused on Palpatine's influence over the brooding Jedi, so it feels a rushed sprint to fit everything in rather than the slow-build the character really needs. Naturally, there must also be an explanation as to why the Emperor is so disfigured and why Anakin has the need to wear a mask, and of course we must see Luke and Leia come into the world.

However, despite how flimsy Anakin's sudden turn to the Dark Side may be, there are some moments during his brief reign of terror that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Hats off to Lucas, as he does allow the youngster to carry out some truly heinous acts that help to understand how he became so feared by his enemies. The visuals are also quite splendid, bursting with colour and imagination, and once again Ewan McGregor tries his very best to make the script work while trying to keep up his Alec Guinness impersonation. Aside from this, Episode III is still plagued with all the problems that came before: tedious conversations, risible dialogue, awkward comedy, bad acting, and so on. Yet it scrapes a pass, as it does with most Star Wars fans, simply for not being completely terrible. It says a lot for a trilogy when a film of this quality is dubbed 'the good one'.


Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee
Country: USA

Rating: ***

Tom Gillespie

Review #1,211: 'Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones' (2002)

After the colossal letdown of 1999's The Phantom Menace - the Star Wars franchise's big return to our screen after a 19 year hiatus - I recall leaving the cinema back in 2002 with a smile on my face and an eagerness to see the entire thing again. After all, it had lightsaber duels, dazzling battle scenes, giant monsters, Yoda fighting, and of course, Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) was reduced to little more than a blink-and-you'll-miss-him cameo. It seemed as though George Lucas had listened to the many complaints made about the previous film and took these on board when developing the next script. I did see it again at the cinema, and a few more times on DVD, and each time I disliked it more and more. It became apparent that I had blinkers on in 2002, and I was simply relieved that it wasn't the stilted mess it had been 3 years earlier. Yet Attack of the Clones is worse than The Phantom Menace, and by a long margin.

Picking up ten years after dealing with the Trade Federation's invasion of Naboo, the Republic now face a deadlier threat in a Separatist movement headed by a mysterious figure. After narrowly surviving an assassination attempt, Senator Padme Amidala (Natalia Portman) is provided with protection in the form of Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, the cocky yet talented Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen). It isn't long before an another attempt is made on the Senator's life and the Jedis chase down the shape-shifting would-be assassin Zam Wesell (Leeanna Walsman), but aren't able to extract any useful information before she is murdered by her bounty hunter employer. At this point, the story splits. Obi-Wan investigates a lead on the whereabouts of the bounty hunter, putting him on the path to remote planet Kamino, while Anakin is assigned to be Padme's personal bodyguard. We already know these two will birth children, so romance is afoot.

Luckily for Anakin, Padme seems to have spent their ten years apart learning how to dress and talk like a real person. Unluckily for us, these scenes of tortured glances and actual rolling through the grass are some of the series' most embarrassing endeavours. Lines such as "I don't like sand, it's course and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere, not like here, here everything is soft and smooth," are spoken with a straight face as if coming from Cyrano de Bergerac, and Hayden Christensen fails to deliver these lines with even a whiff of emotion. Although he's a slight improvement on Jake Lloyd, it's easy to criticise Christensen's awkward performance, but it's difficult to imagine an actor who could convincingly make this dialogue feel remotely natural. The blame lies firmly with George Lucas, a once-great director whose years of tampering with the classic trilogy seems to have blunted his grip on reality. Even seasoned actors like Samuel L. Jackson and Ewan McGregor seem awkward in front of his camera.

The rest doesn't fare much better. During Obi-Wan's mission to Kamino, all we hear about are clones. Understandable, as they are in the title after all, but their importance to the overall story is never really made clear, not to most people outside of Star Wars fandom anyway. Jedi Masters Yoda (Frank Oz) and Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) talk about them too, but they're caught up in their own little sub-plot regarding the Separatists and the shady Count Dooku (Christopher Lee). With all Star Wars films, there's exposition from the very get-go. Attack of the Clones has ten years of history to fill in, and spends a lot of time in council meetings where characters you probably won't recognise discuss politics via some of the most on-the-nose dialogue you're likely to hear. The 15 years since the movie's release, the advancements in CGI has led to its overuse and feelings of numbness whenever a screen is festooned with a computer-generated smack-down, and so the climactic battle in Episode II only adds to the overall sense of boredom and lack of substance. At least The Phantom Menace had Liam Neeson.


Directed by: George Lucas
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, Samuel L. Jackson, Temuera Morrison, Christopher Lee
Country: USA

Rating: **

Tom Gillespie

Review #927: 'The Hound of the Baskervilles' (1959)

After successfully re-stimulating cinema audience's thirst for classic horror with re-tellings of the Dracula and Frankenstein legends, Hammer Films turned their attention to another piece of classic British literature, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes. It seemed logical to adapt Doyle's arguably most popular story, The Hound of the Baskervilles, a tale translated to the screen countless times before and since 1959. This being Hammer however, the gothic atmosphere and supernatural elements took centre stage, and with Terence Fisher in the director's chair and Peter Cushing donning the famous deerstalker, this is not only one of the finest Holmes adaptations but one of Hammer's most memorable works.

Beginning centuries ago, the sadistic aristocrat Sir Hugo Baskerville (David Oxley) is enjoying a night of debauchery when a female prisoner escape and flees into the surrounding moors. Outraged, he pursues her with his pack of hounds, and eventually captures her and stabs her to death. Shortly after, Hugo is killed by an unseen entity that causes him to die with a look of terror on his face. Hundreds of years later, and Sir Charles Baskerville has been found dead under similar circumstances, leaving his only remaining heir Sir Henry (Christopher Lee) to take over Baskerville Hall. Now fearing that Sir Henry may become the next victim of the Baskerville curse, Dr. Richard Mortimer (Francis De Wolff) employs the talents of Sherlock Holmes and his trusted partner Dr. Watson (Andre Morell) to solve the mystery.

The film has its problems, mainly with Holmes going missing for a large chunk of the running time and leaving Dr. Watson in charge of the investigation, but thankfully Morell proves to be suitably refined in the role and capable of carrying the movie for this period. The hound at the final reveal is also anti-climatic and rather silly, although this is understandable given that there are no true supernatural powers at work here. These quibbles are overshadowed by some sumptuous cinematography by Hammer stalwart Jack Asher, whose smoky moors really drum up a genuinely spooky atmosphere at times, especially during the surprisingly violent opening scene and the tense climax. This being Hammer, liberties are taken with the source material, but it's all for the sake of good old-fashioned entertainment. It's a shame that Cushing and Hammer didn't adapt more Holmes stories following this.


Directed by: Terence Fisher
Starring: Peter Cushing, André Morell, Christopher Lee, Marla Landi, Francis De Wolff
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #890: 'The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll' (1960)

Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has provided inspiration for many a film-maker throughout the years, with various degrees of faithfulness shown to the source. Always eager to put their own gothic spin on a popular tale, Hammer Films tackled the story in 1960, not only ensuring that debauchery levels were maximised, but changed a key aspect to the plot that makes the whole experience all the more delightfully wicked. Here, in Terence Fisher's film, Dr. Jekyll is dull and ugly, while Mr. Hyde is handsome and highly charismatic, as well as being an utter bastard.

Believing the human mind to consist of two personalities from opposite sides of the spectrum - good and evil - outcast Dr. Jekyll (Paul Massie) sets out to separate the two in order to help mankind embrace the good. Living almost in solitude, he neglects his wife Kitty (Dawn Addams), a promiscuous, spoilt woman currently embarking on an affair with her husband's best friend, Paul Allen (Christopher Lee). Jekyll drinks his newly created potion and Hyde emerges, introducing himself at a social gathering with swagger and charm (and getting into a fight with a young Oliver Reed). There he meets Paul and Kitty, who don't recognise him, and begins to toy with the two of them, all the while indulging on the many seductive pleasures of London.

Although it's difficult to believe that Jekyll's wife and best friend wouldn't recognise him without his ludicrous fake beard and mono-brow, The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a enjoyable romp from start to finish. Massie is clearly having a ball in the dual role, and convinces as Hyde grows bored with money, gambling and women, and soon turns to darker alternatives, notably murder and manipulation. It doesn't pull it's punches either, portraying Hyde's journey into the further extremities of debauchery as intoxicating as Hyde clearly finds it, featuring the odd swear word and a scene of heavily implied rape. Special mention must also go to the recently departed Lee, who somehow finds a shred of sympathy for his cocky and pathetic rich boy character. One of Hammer's most effortlessly gratifying gems.


Directed by: Terence Fisher
Starring: Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee, David Kossoff
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #812: 'The Curse of Frankenstein' (1957)

26 years after Universal Studios and James Whale hit gold with both critics and audiences alike with their interpretation of Mary Shelley's classic novel Frankenstein, another production studio was about to reinvigorate the horror genre with a vastly different take on the same book. Hammer Studios seemed to know something no-one else did - that audiences had a thirst for blood. The critics may not have appreciated it at the time (though they certainly do now), but the paying audiences lapped up The Curse of Frankenstein's amped-up levels of gore and gothic atmosphere.

The film begins with Victor Frankenstein (Peter Cushing) in a jail cell awaiting his execution for an unknown crime. He calls for a priest who he tells his story to. Victor was only a child where he became a baron and inherited his family's estate, and employed his teacher, Paul Krempe (Robert Urquhart), to teach him everything there is to know about the science of anatomy. Years later, Victor and Paul manage to bring a puppy back to life, much to their delight. While Paul is thrilled with their achievement, Victor is unsatisfied and longs to create a human life of his own.

Anyone hoping for a faithful re-telling of Mary Shelley's novel will be sorely disappointed. Director Terence Fisher and writer Jimmy Sangster (director of Hammer's Fear in the Night (1972)) makes the film more about Frankenstein than his creation. While the novel focused more on the tragic nature of the Creature's creation and treatment, the film portrays Victor not only as a flawed and arguably misguided visionary, but a stone-cold murderer, pushing a scientific genius to his death in order to have his superior brain for his creation. The brain is damaged in an alteration between Victor and Paul, so the creature is of low intelligence anyway.

For all the 're-imaginings' of Frankenstein, this is certainly the best I've seen. The diversions from the source material make it a different experience entirely, and one simply to be enjoyed rather than to ponder it's deeper meanings. Cushing's performance is incredible, adding a gravitas to his character even when the movie dips into camp. Christopher Lee, playing the Creature and in his first of many appearances for Hammer, puts in an impressive physical performance and manages to invite sympathy with no dialogue at all. Hazel Court also appears as Victor's cousin Elizabeth, in what is little more than the obligatory female role. A fantastic kick-start to what would be one of the greatest movements in horror.


Directed by: Terence Fisher
Starring: Peter Cushing, Robert Urquhart, Hazel Court, Christopher Lee
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #376: 'Dracula A.D. 1972' (1972)

Whether this Hammer studios production was meant to bring in the teenage "youth" market that the commercial  film world had only just realised existed, or whether it was created to completely insult the then "hippie" youth is difficult to tell. In the opening sequence of the 20th century (the film opens with Van Helsing's defeat of Dracula in 1872), we are introduced to a group of young males and females, as they have seemingly crashed a party in a large house. The original guests, aristocratically establishment in their appearance, stand around the edges of the room in horror. A hippie rock band plays, but the gate crashers are there because of the band? Wrong; the band was already there (?). Really? Why on earth would a group of establishment folk, a generation naturally reviled by youth culture, hire a "funky" youth music group to play at their soiree? It's just a bit confusing.

The film pretty much continues with this strange depiction of the young, as a group lead by Johhny Alucard (for those intelligent eyes will notice that his surname is an anagram of Dracula - so ridiculous), who proposes a plan to celebrate a black mass, and in the process resurrect the infamous Count. Coincidentally, one of Johnny's friends in the group is Jessica (Stephanie Beacham), who is granddaughter to Professor Van Helsing (Peter Cushing), who is conveniently studying the occult, which has been studied in his family for generations. With the newly resurrected Dracula (Christopher Lee) searching for both the Van Helsing's, the film is overwhelmingly predictable.

If this was an attempt to pull in the teen market, it must have failed miserably. Not only does it insult any ones intelligence, it also throws all the hippie cliches at you in some of the worst dialogue ever. "Groovy", "Happening", "Far out", and "Man" are excessively used, and it's as if someone from the outside of the counter-culture had simply got his information from an anti-youth public service film. Of course these out of control young, with their ideas, are going to all eventually get involved in black magic and witchcraft. It was clearly expected in 1972. Hammer, for shame.


Directed by: Alan Gibson
Starring: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Stephanie Beacham, Christopher Neame
Country: UK

Rating: *

Marc Ivamy

Review #340: 'Hugo' (2011)

There must be something unifying in our globes collective consciousness, as 2011 saw two films that looked back at the cinematic past. Strangely, it took a French film maker, Michel Hazanavicius, to release a movie that pays homage to early, silent American cinema (The Artist). Conversely, Martin Scorsese, a well-known cinephile, delights with his love of early European silent cinema, in his often beautiful 'children's' film, Hugo.

Set in 1930's Paris, the main focus of this cinematic love is the work of the first movie magician, Georges Melies. We are introduced to Hugo (Asa Butterfield), a young man whose father left him a automaton after his death. It was a project that they worked on together, but never finished it. Hugo's main mission is to get the object working. As an orphan, Hugo hides in the rafters of a train station, maintaining the clocks that his drunken uncle used to do. After befriending a young girl, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz), he finally gets the automaton working, and it opens up a mystery that leads to the forgotten cinema of Melies (Ben Kingsley), now working on a store in the station.

The film shows love for silent cinema, and particularly the magic of Melies. Sacha Baron Cohen's station inspector is occasionally funny, and his character seems to be filtered through both Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, and Jacques Tati's Monsieur Hulot, but he just doesn't seem to really progress at all, and feels almost like a filler character. Scorsese, like Robert Zemekis and Bob Gale before, reference that iconic Harold Lloyd moment in Safety Last! (1923), as Hugo hangs from a clock face.

Like so many others who speculate about the choices of Oscar nominations, Hugo, I feel, is not a contender for the best picture Oscar. There were some far better films produced in 2011. That said, the film is beautiful, accomplished , and often fun. Also, the resurgence of interest in a forgotten father of cinema, is completely touching, and leaves a warm feeling in the heart. Unfortunately, I did not see this in 3D; as far as I am aware, Scorsese uses it to brilliant degrees, so perhaps this would have made the experience perfect (despite the fact that I care not for the dimensions of 3.


Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Asa Butterfield, Chloë Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Ray Winstone, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Helen McCrory
Country: USA

Rating: ****

Marc Ivamy

Review #324: 'Raw Meat' (1973)

When an important government agent goes missing at Russell Square Tube Station in London, Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence) and Detective Rogers (Norman Rossington) are assigned to the case. They discover previous disappearances in the same area, and also bring in American student Alex (David Ladd), who along with his girlfriend Patricia (Sharon Gurney), were the last people to see him alive. Lurking in a caved-in and disused tunnel near to the Tube Station is a plague-ravaged cannibal who has remained there since the cave-in years before.

Known as Death Line in the UK, this film had completely eluded me until it turned up in the Grindhouse Project. It is shocking that this is so little-known, as it is an astoundingly accomplished and wittily scripted little British horror film, complete with a genuinely unsettling atmosphere, gruesome violence, and that quintessential Britishness. The first time I realised I was watching a gem is when I witnessed the technically impressive tracking shot that occurs around twenty minutes in. It is a magnificent introduction to the monster, as we move around half-decomposed bodies, dripping taps, and rats. The set design department should be proud, as everything looks real; the dampness, the stench and the squalor.

The horror is not the only factor that makes this a very good film; the script, by Ceri Jones, is full of wit and great subtle touches. The two policemen are constantly taking the piss out of each other and have great chemistry, and it all plays out so naturally. Pleasence looks like he's having a ball, whether it be the scene in which he steals whisky from a dead man's house, or when he's getting pissed in the pub and refusing to leave. And Rossington makes for a great straight-man. Even Christopher Lee pops up in an inspired cameo as MI5 agent Stratton-Villiers. A true underrated gem, then, and here's to a mass re-discovery and a cult following.


Directed by: Gary Sherman
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Christopher Lee
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #264: 'Dracula' (1958)

We all know the story of Count Dracula by now - as well as Mary Shelley's original novel, he has been immortalised in countless film adaptations that both stay close to the source material, and put fresh spins on the story and legend. Hammer's 1958 adaptation makes several changes to the story, but if this was due to budget limitations or simple artistic expression I do not know. Jonathan Harker (John Van Eyssen) arrives at Dracula's (Christopher Lee) castle as a newly employed librarian. He soon meets Dracula's captive who begs Harker to set her free and help her. Rather than Harker being a real estate agent sent to Transylvania to broker a deal with the Count, here Harker is a vampire hunter sent to bring Dracula to his doom.

The rest I'm sure you know, but in this version Harker becomes a vampire briefly only to be staked by his friend Van Helsing (Peter Cushing). Christopher Lee was still relatively early in his career when he took up this role, although he had previously starred at Frankenstein's monster in Hammer's The Curse of Frankenstein (1957). He had starred in many films before this, albeit in smaller and uncredited roles, yet here he looks likes he's been doing it for years. Apart from his comically camp trot down the stairs in his dramatic entrance scene, Lee makes a massive impact in what is a relatively limited role. He has very few lines, and very few scenes. But he leaves a lasting impression that compliments the sheer colossal power of his presence.

This is by no means a great film. But Hammer never strived for greatness. Their films were mainly about money-making on a small budget. Dracula ends at around the 80 minute mark, yet it feels about 10 minutes long. It moves at lightning pace, jumping from scene to scene with breathless pace that seems suck out all atmosphere and genuine chills. But what it lacks in atmosphere, it makes up for in sheer enjoyment. This never comes close to the gothic brilliance of Tod Browning's 1931 adaptation, or the lavish beauty of Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 effort, but this has a British thespian quality and that Hammer touch that no other production company seem to be able to replicate. Far from the definitive version, but certainly the most fun.


Directed by: Terence Fisher
Starring: Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie

Review #1: 'Rasputin the Mad Monk' (1966)

For a keen horror fan, I have seen precious little of the Hammer horror universe. You can imagine my delight when I was gifted the Hammer DVD Collection for Christmas which consists of 21 films from the vault of the great British institution. I felt spoiled for choice. When opening the box I was greeted by the mad eyes of Christopher Lee, gazing out from amongst a gigantic beard and El Topo (1970)-esque haircut. I felt obliged to choose this as my introduction to what will no doubt become a fixation with Hammer, and the film I will remember years into the future when I'm no doubt walking the Earth, trying to find all the tiny forgotten films Hammer produced before they became famous.

For those of you who don't know, Grigori Rasputin was a real-life Russian mystic/hypnotist/con-artist who had a heavy influence on the Tsarist government of Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra, after apparently healing their son Alexei as he lay dying from haemophilia. The film is less concerned with the politics of the time, and instead focuses on Rasputin's love for drinking, women, and generally being a bit of a bastard, as he hypnotises and heals his way through society and into the bed of lady-in-waiting Sonia (Barbara Shelley).

The film wastes no time introducing Rasputin's maverick attitudes to monkhood, as he heals a saloon owner's wife on her death bed so he can get served a drink, and proceeds to sing and drink the night way before hacking a man's hand off in a fight. Fleeing to Moscow after being hauled in front of the bishop for his unorthodox ways, he gains influence over a disgraced doctor and begins to plan his rise to power.

The film's main strength is undoubtedly Lee's performance as the mad Russian, as he dominates every scene with his intense, piercing eyes and booming voice, with his towering frame overshadowing everyone that comes across his path. The scene in which he does a celebratory dance after beating a challenger in a drinking contest only to mistake some onlookers for laughing at him is both weird and intimidating as he demands an apology. It is a great mix of thespian presence and gothic camp that makes the Hammer films, and more notably Christopher Lee's performances for the studio, that extra bit special.

Rasputin The Mad Monk is a thoroughly enjoyable film, anchored by Lee's performance and Hammer's usual beautiful Technicolour cinematography, and is made all the better by leaving out the politics and concentrating on creating a memorable film character.


Directed by: Don Sharp
Starring: Christopher Lee, Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco
Country: UK

Rating: ****

Tom Gillespie