The Leech Woman

Speedily put into production in order to offer exhibitors a second-feature lure with bookings of The Brides of Dracula, this little movie suffers from a tedious First Act. The initial scenes were obviously designed merely to fill in time, so that latecomers would not feel at any disadvantage. We're told absolutely nothing that doesn't develop later on in the plot. A bit of judicious trimming here would do wonders. And in any event, Coleen Gray doesn't seem nearly old enough in these early scenes to make her motives credible. Fortunately, she is marvelously made-up later on—and in these sequences she also gives by far the best performance of her career.

Despite Dein's flat-footed direction and the obvious constraints and inhibitions imposed by a tight "B" budget, interest is kept at a high level in the last half of the movie not only by Gray's forceful portrayal (and the skillful way she is lit and make-up) but by some neat yet unexpected plot twists

Alas, the film cheats on special effects, the transformations being accomplished without camera trickery in a most tame and disappointing manner.

Nonetheless, although horror devotees will find the going pretty dull until the halfway mark, the movie does eventually hit its stride. In fact, I'd describe it as a key item for any keen fan's personal collection.

I sat down to watch this movie expecting to see a woman with a big rubber leech head chasing people around but it turns out Leech Woman offers something slightly more sophisticated. The story is that a scientist and his estranged wife head off to Africa to search for the fabled elixir of hokum which turns women young again. Obviously these days it would be a waste of time because every second advert I see for toothpaste or shampoo offers time renewal, time protection and suchlike whatever that means.

One thing I liked about this movie was the way that every single character is awful in some way. There's a good story though it is a bit slow to start with. Some viewers have moaned about the rather obvious stock footage but anyone who is a fan of movies of this era will recognise it as just par for the course on a quick cheapie like this.

Give it a try, despite the tacky name it's quite a good story and worth a watch.

Unlike a lot of movies given a good workover by the fine folks on Mystery Science Theater 3000, "The Leech Woman" is fairly watchable. The idea is that an aging woman who wants to restore her beauty finds a magic that will allow her to become young again- but only for a day at a time. The spell, unfortunately, also requires her to kill men.

Of course, she doesn't particularly care about the lives of men, which is where the main plot starts. I won't spoil it for you, because this is a film I think you might actually enjoy.

The movie suffers, unfortunately, from some drab performances by members of the cast. The main stars, however, play their roles pretty well, and the elderly priestess featured in the beginning of the film is particularly creepy.

Also, the plot, though good in theory, seems to get bogged down at times. The movie crawls along and can get very boring. But there are some excellent sequences in there that really bring the movie back from the gutter.

In any case, I recommend at least trying to find the MST3k version of the film...during the more boring sequences you'll appreciate the boys' humor, and even the good parts certainly aren't hurt by a little good-natured jesting.

The low rating and numerous negative reviews around here as well as on external websites warned me to approach "The Leech Woman" with caution and an absolute minimum of expectations, but I honestly didn't think it was such a bad movie. Admittedly the script is incoherent and extremely predictable, but the rudimentary story lines are original and engaging and - unlike so many other contemporary cheap Sci-Fi movies - this one at least doesn't feature any overlong boring speeches and dull padding footage. The screenplay of "The Leech Woman" is already pretty stuffed as it is, with the tone of the film shifting no less than three times, so there really isn't any room for boredom. It may perhaps offer just a few surprises and even less shocks, but at least you won't constantly be staring at the timer, wondering when it'll be over. The film opens with a wondrous sequence of a married couple viciously bickering. He's a heartless and obnoxious scientist continuously preoccupied with his work (the secret to rejuvenation) and she's a depressed and alcohol addicted wreck due to his cruelty. When Dr. Talbot meets the 152 year old Malla, he realizes her native tribe holds the secret of eternal youth and follows his patient to the heart of the African jungle. There they witness a ritual that turns the old and wrinkled Malla into a stunning beauty with just a few drops of juice coming from a dying man's pineal gland. The slick Dr. Talbot wants the formula and attempts to win his wife back in order to use her as a guinea pig, but the joke turns against him when the rejuvenating woman needs to select a man to sacrifice and, obviously, June picks her beloved husband. She returns to the States as a young and stunningly beautiful young woman, but she needs to kill random men and milk their pineal glands in order to stay desirable.

"The Leech Woman" definitely has a pretty cool and eventful script; you just need to overlook a copious number of plot holes, improbabilities and continuity errors. There's no real suspense to enjoy, but nonetheless plenty of action and a handful of impressive make-up effects (especially the make-up that makes old women look even older). However, the movie's greatest achievement is presumably an unintentional one: pure and genuine irony! Although a story that constantly revolves on beauty and popularity, the cast of characters only includes shallow, substantially ugly and insupportable individuals. At least Dr. Talbot is a bastard right from the start, but all the others gradually turn into intolerable people. The pitiable and humiliated wife becomes a relentless killer, the fragile old lady becomes a stone-cold tribe leader, the helpful guide transforms into a shallow runaway lover, the devoted attorney becomes an adulterous jerk and the cherubic fiancée changes into a jealous fury. Honestly, I've rarely seen such an unpleasant and even downright misanthropic collection of people playing together in one film … and that's sort of fascinating!

Enjoyable low-budget horror schlock from Universal-International has Colleen Gray giving a juicy performance as the hard-drinking wife of doctor Phillip Terry, an endocrinologist who is turned on to a youth potion by an ancient African woman that utilizes orchid pollen and the secretions of the male pineal gland. Unfortunately, the male has to be killed to get the chemical from the gland--plus, the youthful effect is only temporary. First-half of the movie--wherein Gray, Terry and John van Dreelen travel through the jungles of Africa, learning the secret of the potion before being told they will be killed in the morning--looks and sounds like a reel from a Tarzan adventure. Second portion with Gray using the youth serum on herself and pretending to be her own niece is far more entertaining (it's rather like a straight-faced precursor to "Death Becomes Her"). Pulled together quickly by the studio, "The Leech Woman" is better than it has any right to be, with a good cast and fine make-up effects helping to bolster its shaky structure. ** from ****