Nachts, wenn das Skelett erwacht

Throw in Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hammer director Freddie Francis, a wonderful story about the found remains of a giant beast, gothic, Victorian sets and costumes, an eerie score, a wonderfully ironic and unexpected ending, and the philosophical question about the nature of evil...and you have The Creeping Flesh, and one HELL of a good film! The cast is superb, and this is probably one Of Cushing's best roles in the 70s as a good-natured, yet-determined anthropologist seeking to rid humanity of evil through the aid of some giant skeletal remains found in New Guinea that fleshes out with water contact. The plot is interesting...and complex...and a bit like Swiss Cheese...yet it is great fun in the hands of Francis(underrated as a director in my humble opinion!) Lee is as ever cold and austere and a joy to behold. The rest of the cast is quite good. The sets are lavish and the costumes very Victorian. The skeleton itself is most impressive! A wonderful way to spend the evening and a wonderful ending for the viewer unawares!

Peter Cushing gives an effective, sympathetic performance as a slightly loony but basically well-intentioned scientist, and he shares some (too few!) amusing screen moments with another horror icon, Christopher Lee. Unfortunately, this beautifully produced and promising horror film is otherwise disappointing, undermined by a severe lack of scares (until the final 5 minutes, the most intense scene is a rape attempt) and a disconnected, rambling script. After reading all the positive reviews, I expected a lot more out of this film. (**)

I want to start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoy most of Freddie Francis' films, especially those he made with Hammer. But...I was expecting so much more from THE CREEPING FLESH. With the recent passing of Christopher Lee (RIP), I wanted to go back and re-watch his films that I loved and also to find some that I hadn't previously viewed. So I stumbled upon THE CREEPING FLESH and immediately sought it out. Maybe my expectations were too high going in, but I was a bit let down. As I said, I really like Freddie Francis. I also love Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. So it was a no-brainer that I would like this film. And I did like it...just not as much as I thought I would going in to it.

The Victorian age set pieces were fantastic. The subject matter of the story (though not scientifically accurate) was interesting. The acting was great. The atmosphere was pretty good. It was the lack of the horror element that I was expecting and it just didn't seem to show up until the final 15 minutes or so of the film. When it did show up it was great. I just wish the movie would have used it sooner.

I also disagree with the many people who feel THE CREEPING FLESH is Freddie Francis' best film. TORTURE GARDEN, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF and maybe even THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and THE SKULL were all better in my opinion. I especially loved LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF...but I am partial to werewolves.

All in all, THE CREEPING FLESH is a good movie worth watching, especially if you are a Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing fan (or a fan of Hammer films even though this is not a Hammer production). It's a good, solid 6 out of 10.

This film's idea of a reviving ancient flesh when in contact with water is truly original, its sordid atmosphere is very well achieved and Peter Cushing and Cristopher Lee's presence give it a sort of category in the genre. In fact, when Cushing arrives back in England with a strange scary huge skeleton from New Guinea and you learn that water could bring it back to life you have the feeling you'll watch a most interesting horror picture focused mainly in that strange fact.

But then other story appears about Cushing's insane wife's death and their daughter's obsession with her mother that turns into a parallel plot. And that's when "The Creeping Flesh" looses quality and sense -in its genre of course- and things start to mix up badly; there is also a mad killer at large (not frightening at all). What I mean is that so many different topics -unrelated between them- is too much for just one film, and the final outcome is not a good product. Besides, the special effects of the Papuan monster came to life are poor, even for 1973.

Perhaps a better product would have come out if the film had stayed with just the archaelogical evil creature, but it seems the writers couldn't find a way to develop the subject and make a full script out of it.

The picture has some good moments, but in my opinion it is just for Cushing and Lee's fans and no more than that.

British horror icons Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee co-star in this fascinating bit of Victorian pseudo-scientific nonsense which will have you entertained until the very last scene. The bad news is that they share very little on screen time, in fact there isn't all that much Lee content at all. But that is my only gripe about this terrific horror thriller. If you want to see the two REALLY co-star go to their many Hammer classics or the brilliant 'Horror Express' from around the same period as this. Cushing plays a familiar role, Hildern, a scientist with good intentions who meddles with something he shouldn't have. He shares a home with his adult daughter, the sweet and innocent Penelope. She believes that her mother died many years before not realizing the truth, that she was a fun loving floozie who flipped out and spent many years in an asylum, run by Cushing's ambitious half-brother James (Lee). Hildern returns from an expedition from New Guinea with a mysterious skeleton of a giant creature which he believes predates man. On his arrival home he is greeted with the news that his insane wife has finally died. He still hides this knowledge from his daughter, fearing for her own mental well being. Hildern and his assistant experiment on the skeleton and he believes that it can unlock the secret of evil, which he theorizes can be innoculated against. When a hysterical Penelope finally stumbles across the truth about her mother, Hildern, with the best of intentions, tries the experimental anti-evil vaccine on her. This proves to have disastrous results, and matters are further complicated when James, who both envies and resents his more respected brother, gets wind of what is going on and plans to steal the skeleton for his own research. If you take all the "science" in this movie with a pinch of salt you'll find it to be one of the most enjoyable horror movies Cushing and Lee were ever involved in. A most underrated movie, highly recommended to all fans of late 60s/early 70s British horror.