A Maldição da Caveira

This was among the first vintage horror films I recall watching, but it took me this long to re-acquaint myself with it (after I had foolishly abandoned the prospect of a second viewing as part of a late-night Italian TV program hosted by two amiable ghouls – the same thing would also happen with Hammer's FRANKENSTEIN AND THE MONSTER FROM HELL [1974], which I then had to wait some 13 years to catch up with!).

Anyay, though the film's premise, in itself, is rather daft – that of a host of antiquarians being 'possessed' by the skull of the Marquis De Sade – the result is very stylish and altogether one of Hammer rival Amicus' most satisfying outings. Apart from director Francis, the men behind Amicus – Max J. Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky (the latter also scripted, from a story by Robert Bloch of PSYCHO [1960] fame) – again recruited Hammer's two most popular stars, Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, for this production. As ever, they play extremely well off each other – even if Lee, ostensibly, is only a "Guest Star" – delivering typically committed performances: Cushing has fun acting crazy – under the influence of the skull – towards the end (and also during a surreal nightmare sequence in which he's forcefully taken before a judge who promptly hands him a gun to play at Russian Roulette!), whereas Lee gives surprising poignancy to his role. Supporting them is a splendid cast indeed – led by Patrick Wymark, who actually matches the stars with his seedy supplier of generally weird artifacts, and the brief (albeit equally welcome) presence of the likes of George Coulouris, Michael Gough, Nigel Green and Patrick Magee!

While Francis creates wonderful atmosphere via the cinematography (particularly when shooting through the skull's eyehole) and the set design (the film starts off as a period piece but then reverts to a modern-day setting for the central plot line), I do feel that the possibilities presented by the nonetheless intriguing theme are regrettably constrained by censorship and budgetary restrictions – so that the Marquis De Sade's legacy seems somehow to have been mixed up with that of Jack The Ripper! In any case, THE SKULL is generally considered nowadays as Francis' best directorial effort – though I personally feel NIGHTMARE (1964), THE PSYCHOPATH (1966) and THE CREEPING FLESH (1973) to be superior to it

Plays on the imagination of the viewer with some psychological suspense and terror. Peter Cushing is good in the role of Dr. Maitland. Its too bad that Christopher Lee does not have a much more substantial role in The Skull(1965). The Skull(1965) is a chilling feature that is based on the Robert Bloch short story, THE SKULL OF THE MARQUIS DE SADE. The direction by Freddie Francis is one of his most skillful in a non Hammer motion picture. Nigel Green and Patrick Magee do a fine job in their supporting roles.

The Skull is probably the best film Amicus produced,based on a chilling short story by Robert Bloch and directed with visual flair by Freddie Francis it tells the story of a writer on Demonology ; Christopher Maitland(Peter Cushing excellent as usual) who is offered a skull and a fleshbound book originally belonging to none other than the Marquis de Sade for a mere £500,at first he is skeptical of its provenance but finally agrees to buy it from Marco a shifty character(memorably played by Patrick Wymark)who previously stole the skull and book from Sir Matthew Phillips(Christopher Lee)who had fallen under it's sinister spell in the past and was glad the skull and book had been stolen,Matthew tries to convince Christopher of its evil power and advises him to get rid of it as soon as possible,but to no avail,Christopher keeps the skull and begins to come unstuck, he starts hallucinating and having bizarre dreams. All the performances are first rate,but this is Peter Cushings film,he is literally in every scene and gives a convincing performance of a man falling pray to evil. I can't help thinking this could have been a true classic if it had had a bigger budget. The whole cast and crew have worked wonders with what little money and resources they must have had,it also remains(in my opinion) Freddie Francis best film as a director....a must for a cold winters night.

Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee working together again here, though for Amicus this time, not Hammer. Despite the good cast, "The Skull" looks like a low budget studio production, quickly shot - and with the "monster" being a skull flying on visible wires, this easily could have gone awry. But the movie works surprisingly well, first of all due to an excellent script based on a story by Robert Bloch ("Psycho"): Maitland (Cushing) shares an interest in the occult with Phillips (Lee) who warns him to get rid of a skull possessed by a demonic spirit. Of course Maitland doesn't listen and gets into trouble. Because the skull hasn't got any claws to catch victims, the terror has to be mostly psychological, and this is done brilliantly for example in the surreal dream sequence when Maitland believes a judge asks him for a Russian roulette. The extremely colorful photography of John Wilcox ("Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires") makes "The Skull" look really good - knowing that, they let the caretaker fall through coloured glass, not simply on the floor. In opposite to other horror films of the 1960s, "The Skull" still seems quite original, not a story you saw a dozen times before. Well worth watching.

Peter Cushing plays a demonologist who collects any items pertaining to the occult, witchcraft, devil worship, etc... This desire for the bizarre leads to his encounter with the skull of none other than the Marquis de Sade himself. This film produced by Amicus has a lot going for it. It has a good story by Robert Bloch as the basis for the script, some fine acting from Peter Cushing in the lead and Patrick Wymark as a disreputable salesman, good character roles by George Coulouris, Patrick Magee, Nigel Green, Michael Gough, and particularly Christopher Lee, some imaginative direction from Freddie Francis, and some very stylish set pieces and costumes. Francis has limited special effects at his disposal, and this is a minor distraction as in one scene you can clearly see wires carrying the skull and a book in the air. Francis also gives in too long I think to some dream sequences and other "are they real or not real" happenings with his camera predominating over long periods of silence. It works well at first, but it does grow stale with repeated use. The story and acting, however, greatly enhance the film and make me give it an easy recommendation.