Growing up in the 80’s gave way to the VHS boom of horror films. Certainly there were some high points and low points; cheesy flicks laced with over-the-top FX, saturized with excessive gore making it so much fun to go to the movies. At HMS we have decided to erect this new feature to unearth some long forgotten films, considered classics to some and turkeys to others. I am proud to introduce our newest feature, so welcome to From the Grave.
To get us off to a bloody good start, HMS staff contributor Mark Slade dug up one of my favorite Ken Russell films, The Lair of the White Worm. This one was considered a satirical romp, possibly his most slap-you-in-the-face attempt to offend your senses. It certainly titillated mine, upon seeing this in the theatre and now it deserves a look back. Get ready and be prepared to enter the Lair…
Kenneth Gallant, Editor HMS
“John D'Ampton went a-fishing once, a-fishing in the weir, He caught a fish upon his hook, he thought looked mighty queer. Now what the kind of fish it was, John D'Ampton couldn't tell, but he didn't like the look of it, so he threw it down a well.”
- The lyrics to the D’ampton song as performed by Emilio Perez Machada, from extremely funny and at times frightening Lair of White worm.
A lot of people thought Ken Russell was insane. They were probably right. What’s the old saying? Genius is closer to insanity? In Russell’s case it was closer to genius. A very creative filmmaker who used not only the camera as a weapon of sorts to assault your senses, but used sound to entice you, and I believe he was doing that before Lucas or Scorsese. He brought to the screen some of the finest films, if not the most controversial, such as Women in love, Tommy, The Music lovers, and of course, his masterpiece, The Devils.
That’s not the film that is going to be discussed in this article. Instead we’re going to pull one from Russell’s later period of films - The fiendishly hilarious and masterly directed monster flick, The Lair of the White Worm (1988).
This movie wasn’t as controversial as other films by Russell, maybe because it didn’t get as wide an audience when it was released at the theatres. It looks as if in an alternate universe, Hammer Film Company survived into the 1980’s and in their ultimate wisdom hired Russell to make a horror film for them. Instead Vestron did this, as part of a four picture deal with them because the previous film Gothic had done so well on VHS.
The plot revolves around Angus Flint (played by Peter Cappaldi, who is the new face of Doctor Who and starred in IN THE LOOP) a Scottish archeologist excavating a farm turned bed and breakfast run by the Trent sisters, Mary and Eve (Sammi Davis and Catherine Oxenberg). Flint discovers the skull of what he thinks is a pre-historic snake, until a little later he also finds two Roman coins and a Roman mosaic depicting a snake wrapped around a cross. As it so happens, the Trent siblings’ mother and father went missing the year before and the police are still looking for them. With money troubles, the current owner of the Trent farm is rich fellow James D’ampton (played by Hugh Grant in one of his first roles and believe it or not, one of his most solid acting performances). D’ampton is an ancestor of local legend D’ampton who had smite the enormous white worm with a special sword. When word gets out Flint had discovered the skull of the large snake, Lady Sylvia Marsh (acted with extraordinary evil expertise by Amanda Donohoe) comes back to town, and all hell breaks loose. She chooses Eve, a virgin, to sacrifice to the snake God Dionin. Whenever Lady Sylvia bites anyone, the venom is so potent; it paralyzes the nervous system, making the victims a vegetable of sorts. The ending is a great twist and I’m sure some smart ass would claim they saw it coming.
There is so much satire on the horror genre in this film, it almost looks like a comedy. What’s different is Russell doesn’t allow his actors to play it silly. Everyone is devoted to playing their roles straight. That’s what keeps the film from dipping into high camp, which would have ruined it. Such wonderfully funny scenes are when Lady Sylvia picks up a teen hitchhiker and takes him home with her. Everything his little lustful mind had hoped would happen looked as if it was an ace in the hole for him; knowing who Lady Sylvia is, when she tells the young man to relax, “I won’t bite,” after a game of snakes and ladders was pure Ken Russell. As is the scenes of Angus Flint playing the bagpipes to hypnotize the snake-bitten victims turned monsters, had me in stitches or D’ampton blaring charm music from his stereo speakers on his lawn to Lady Sylvia and she begins her little dance, was perfect for the tone of this film.
The special effects on this film is a little dated, but it lends to the charm, pre-CGI. The scenes where the Trent sisters hallucinate, Roman soldiers invade a convent and rape nuns while a huge snake crawls over Christ on a cross and fire raging behind them, definitely has its flaws. The scene where Lady Sylvia’s lackey (played by character actor Paul Brooke) is killed by Angus when he pushes the lackey down and a tool lying on the ground enters the back of the head and out the eye ball could be viewed as bad special effects. I think it was intentional on Russell’s part.
The script was written by Russell and loosely adapted from the unfinished book by Bram Stoker, and influenced by Oscar Wilde, which is probably why the film has a high velocity of satire. Originally Russell wanted Tilda Swinton to play Lady Sylvia. Her androgynous looks would have been a mistake, since Donohoe exudes sensuality, a certain evil perversion in her role that it would be hard to believe anyone else could play that part but her. According to Producer Dan Ireland, Swinton was so insulted by the part; she wouldn’t return Russell’s phone calls. The film was shot at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire, also at Gaddesden Place near the Gade Valley, Knebworth House and in the Peak District National Park. Derbyshire (The cave in the film) is Thor's Cave in the Manifold Valley, Staffordshire.
Ken Russell may not have ruffled a lot feathers with this film, although he tried very hard, especially the overt religious back biting. Russell himself was a Catholic convert, and sometimes puzzling with those satirical overtones. What was he trying to say about personal faith? Not a damn thing. Russell was a rebellious spirit by nature, and if he can get your dander up by having nuns roll around on a statue of Christ, or overtly insinuating a famous composer was gay, or have Anne-Margret wallow in a river of pork and beans, then he was happy to be in the dog fight.
Regardless of Ken Russell’s motives, he deserves a retrospect, The Devils deserves a director’s cut, and Lair of the white worm should be high on any Cinefile’s cult list.
Mark Slade, HMS