Dave S
Strangely enough, there are people out there who actually like Ken Russell movies. Despite such wretched efforts as Tommy and Lisztomania, fanboys have, and probably always will, fawn over his work. This would explain the apparent love that some have for The Lair of the White Worm, a messy attempt at horror that is more laughable than anything else. It’s the story of the D’Ampton Worm, a supposedly mythical monster that lives in a cave system and wreaks havoc when released from its lair and seems to inspire mayhem for those who worship it. Although a bit restrained compared to some of his other efforts, the movie has all of the trademark excesses of a Russell movie. Check out the overblown hallucinations. Check out the ridiculous final twenty minutes. Check out the sloppy production values. Check out the ridiculous plot. All in all, it’s probably better than most of Russell’s movies, but the bar was pretty low to start with.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
10/24/24
Full Review
Matthew D
Absolute insanity and huge laughs from Ken Russell’s outrageous mind.
English director Ken Russell’s Gothic supernatural horror-comedy mystery The Lair of the White Worm (1988) is truly deranged and delighted. It’s like one of those amazing 80’s dark fantasy films I adore. The real sets, haunting synth music, dream sequences, odd cuts, brutal practical gore effects, dazzling acting, sexy aesthetic, horrifying imagery, shocking religious iconography desecrated, and the giant worm puppet are awesome. Ken Russell proves he’s one of the most visually creative and amusing directors who ever lived with his wonderful cult classic film The Lair of the White Worm.
Russell’s direction is sultry, artful, erotic, dreamy, nightmarish, stylized, and hysterical. I’m glad Ken Russell produced it and got such a wild film released. I hope people get to see The Lair of the White Worm now that it’s widely available. It’s a thoroughly underrated film. There’s nothing quite like it. It’s like a bizarre crossover of Death Becomes Her and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Writer Ken Russell delivers endless snake puns and worm references adapting Dracula author Bram Stoker’s novel The Lair of the White Worm. He combines English mythology with Russell’s usual lustful eroticism. It’s an amusing critique of religion and overt expression of sexuality. I wish everyone could see this totally entertaining movie. Casting director Gail Stevens cast the most spectacularly funny ensemble of English and Scottish actors and actresses.
English actress Amanda Donohoe is sexy, amusing, dazzling as the lustful snake god Dionin worshiper villainess Lady Sylvia Marsh. She chews the scenery and eats up all her delicious dialogue with a distinctly sultry line delivery. She is as flirty as she is blasphemous in The Lair of the White Worm. She makes every glance look seductive in her brilliant performance as a master manipulator and sacrilegious sorceress. Amanda Donohoe delivers one of the most spellbinding horror movie villainess performances ever! She reminds me of Jean Marsh in Return to Oz and Willow.
English actor Hugh Grant is handsome, hilarious, and blunt as the dashing hero Lord James D'Ampton, who thinks he must destroy the white worm that’s really like a snake. He feels clever and constantly entertaining. Grant using a giant claymore is cool. American actress Catherine Oxenberg is excellent as the frightened girl Eve Trent, who is ensnared by Lady Sylvia after seeing horrifying pagan orgy imagery. English actor Stratford Johns is funny as Grant’s amiable butler Peters.
Scottish actor Peter Capaldi is charming, smart, and intuitive archeologist Angus Flint. He’s a great hero opposite Grant for the guys. English actress Sammi Davis is adorable and captivating as the sympathetic Scottish heroine Mary Trent. At least she certainly sounds Scottish with her charming villager accent. I found her very moving as the dramatic heart of the film among all the large comedy performances. Paul Brooke is fun as the portly policeman P.C. Ernie. Imogen Claire is freaky as the snake-like mother of Eve named Dorothy Trent.
Editor Peter Davies’ slick cuts kept shocking me with the sudden nightmare sequences. Cinematographer Dick Bush’s stunning wide shots and close-up shots lingering on bodies and snakes alike. The angular perspective of the camera makes the mountain look extra vast and the caves extra deep. Lighting from Steve Blake uses dark shadows and eerie lights for the mood. Production designer Anne Tilby’s lavish sets range from snake god temples to English manor estates. Art director John Ralph crafts scary snakes and demented pagan worshipers. The Gothic aesthetic is neat. Set decoration from Chris Townsend and Anne Tilby provide antique furniture among all the neat snake god relic props.
Special effects artists William Petty, Roy Puddefoot, Dave Keen, Alan Hedgcock, Steven Painter, Mary Roberts, Warwick Sayce, Alistair McPherson, Karen Winnery, Paul Jones, and Gary Ryan do outlandish green screen layers for the horrifying dream sequences. I like the visual chaos they craft. Imogen Claire’s choreography is neat and creative for the snake movements and pulsing sex orgies.
Composer Stanisław Syrewicz’ eerie 80’s synth score is amazing. I was hypnotized by his dark music. Sound from Richard Wells, Bill Rowe, Jim Roddan, Daniel Vallancien, Nigel Galt, and Ray Beckett capture slithering snake noises and ladies’ screams beautifully. The music charming the snakes is a great idea. Costume designer Michael Jeffery crafts the sexiest gowns, dresses, blouses, and thigh high leather boots for Amanda Donohoe to strut around sexually. Makeup artists Geoffrey Portass, Pam Meager, and Elizabeth Moss transform ladies into snake figures with dazzling makeup. The body gore makeup is fabulous. Hairstylist Karen Edwards gives Amanda Donohoe slicked back hair, Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi tousled hair, and Sammi Davis a cute blonde pixie cut.
In the end, The Lair of the White Worm is a fabulous horror-comedy. It’s a dazzling 93 minutes.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/09/24
Full Review
Max B
Lair of the white worm is a cult classic! Ken always has campy and provocative or controversial themes in his films! Amanda Donohoe is just incredible! Sammi Davis and Hugh Grant also shine as well as the rest of the cast! It’s a visually stunning and sometimes funny and very disturbing!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
10/08/24
Full Review
John C
For a horror fan it's hard to believe that I've only just seen this film in 2023. It's one film that I actually find hard to describe. I guess it's definitely a horror movie, but is it scary? Not really. So is it a farce, or a comedy? No, definitely not. It's somewhere in the middle, never completely going full 'self aware,' but at the same time definitely not as serious as other classic tales from the genre.
It's about a pair of archaeologists who discover evidence in the British countryside of a giant worm that's the basis from some local folklore. The two men are played by Hugh Grant (who hasn't really changed much!) and Peter Capaldi (who it took me a while to actually recognise as he's one of those actors who somehow you find it hard to picture as ever being 'young!').
Their discovery leads them to get to know a particularly curious member of the gentry, one Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe). Naturally, it turns out that she knows more than a little about the fable of the 'white worm.'
It may sound like a fairly generic horror movie, but I can assure you that the way it's shot and the vivid and unsettling imagery will stick in your head long after the credits have rolled. There are parts that are trippy and just plain weird and sometimes you won't know whether to be scared, disgusted or simply laugh out loud.
It's sort of like an old British Hammer horror film, but with a higher budget and filmed while high on certain substances. Grant and Capaldi are good in the leading roles, but it's the scenery-chewing Donohoe that steals every moment she's on screen.
If you're a fan in general of quirky horror films then you really should see it the way it was meant to be before some Hollywood producer decides to remake it and it becomes a shadow of its former self.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
09/19/24
Full Review
Künstler N
Whoever says this is a fun&sexy campy gem of a movie LIED TO YOU
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/20/24
Full Review
Alec B
True to form, Russell handles the craziest material the best (those terrifying dreams/flashbacks are something else) but that only occupies a small portion of the running time. The rest of the movie is a dull attempt at horror.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
01/03/24
Full Review
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