O Metrô da Morte

One every so often you come across a real, unclassifiable gem - one of those low-budget cult movies you see, late at night on TV, then spend years thereafter raving about to your puzzled, disbelieving friends. "See, there's this disused Tube tunnel, with a tribe of degenerate Victorian plague cannibals down there, and they pull people off the platform and eat them, only sometimes they try to mate with them... and Donald Pleasance gives possibly the most monumentally weird performance of his LIFE... and there's this really cheesy proto-electronic score... and... and... and..." As folks wander away from you, shaking their heads sadly, you do not mind. You smile. For you have seen Death Line.

One of the most affecting films I have ever seen, Death Line is one of the most intelligent and bold horror films ever made. The opening scenes of a wealthy and dour civil servant stalking clip joints in Soho sets the tone for a grim and seedy, but very accurate portrayal of life in 70s London. No-one talks to each other, on or off the underground, everyone is miserable, even the young student lovers have a fairly rocky relationship, the man being totally lacking in compassion. The use of the genuine ghost stations of the London Underground is an excellent idea, and even if the storyline is ludicrous, it is handled with far more depth trhan your average slasher movie. The killer is a tragic figure, and the scene where his beloved finally dies is shocking and heartbreaking. The special effects are nothing short of repulsive, with particular attention being paid to the sound. It revels in gore and depravity, unflinching but not exploitative. It runs like a modern day legend, working on so many levels. The only thing which spoils the film is Donald Pleaseace hamming it up shamelessly in a badly characterised role which tries to offer comic relief but is simply irritating and unpleaseant. Look out for a remarkable tracking shot in the creature's lair early on, and a lovely touch with the students enquiring about a book on Poltergeists, more a mood device than anything to do with the plot. Seeing this is a cinema would certainly put you off your popcorn!

This movie's story: in the bowels of the Earth below the streets of London, there exists an area that had been buried in the late 19th century by a cave-in. One might not think it possible, but the people who were sealed off managed to survive. Now, 80 years later, their last living descendant (Hugh Armstrong) is about to make his existence known to the outside world. People start disappearing, but the ball only really gets rolling when a prominent public servant (top character actor James Cossins) vanishes. The chief police inspector on the case, Calhoun (Donald Pleasence), realizes that he has his hands full, but vows to stick it out, despite the matter now being more in the domain of MI5.

This marked the debut fictional theatrical feature for the young American director Gary Sherman, who also came up with the story; he went on to direct such nifty 1980s pictures as "Dead & Buried" and "Vice Squad". He and his crew make excellent use of some *extremely* atmospheric locations. They're dark, they're filthy, and they're dripping with water. "Death Line" (a.k.a. "Raw Meat") can take credit for bringing horror to the London tubes almost a decade before "An American Werewolf in London". The makeup effects and gore are very well done, and this is additionally blessed with a highly offbeat music score composed by Wil Malone and Jeremy Rose. The camera-work is utterly fantastic - wait for the approximately 10 minute sequence from about 23 minutes in to 33 minutes in for a memorable tracking shot showcasing the monsters' lair.

It's well worth noting that our hideous killer is far from being malicious. He's really more pitiable than anything else, especially as he goes into mourning at one point, and tries to make a connection with lovely young Patricia Wilson (Sharon Gurney), uttering the only English words that he's ever managed to learn. You really feel his despair and sadness when it comes to his companion, the Woman (June Turner).

Donald Pleasence is an absolute delight in our lead role, playing the material with a heavy dose of humour. His Inspector Calhoun is hilariously surly, and witty. David Ladd (one of Alan Ladds' sons) does okay as American student Alex Campbell, but the character is pretty insensitive and hostile for a while, only earning our sympathy towards the end. Gurney is highly appealing as his girlfriend. Top notch supporting players include Norman Rossington, Clive Swift, Heather Stoney, Hugh Dickson, and Ron Pember. Sir Christopher Lee is great fun to watch, albeit kind of wasted in a cameo role as MI5 agent Stratton-Villiers.

Horror fans need to add this one to their watch list, if they haven't seen it already. It's too good to pass up.

Eight out of 10.

A cannibal (Hugh Armstrong) is roaming the London subway system in 1973. Police inspector Donald Pleasence (having a LOT of fun with his role) wants to catch him--a young Britsh couple (Sharon Gunrey, David Ladd) try to help until she gets kidnapped by the cannibal...

Very low budget, rarely shown horror film. The low budget hurts, but the script is good, the idea original and there are some truly creepy scenes (such as the looooonngg tracking shot from the cannibals' lair). The movie is also quite gruesome at times--there's very little violence, but there are long shots of decaying or half-eaten bodies (and body parts). Look for the sequence where a supposedly dead body can be seen blinking his eyes quite a bit! Also there's a very disturbing near rape scene.

The most amazing thing about the film is that the cannibal comes across as a sympathetic character! He only kills for survival--not for evil purposes.

As for the acting--Pleasance is just great here--he attacks the role full force and is having a grand old time doing it--he really brings the film to life. Gurney is very good as the English girl but Ladd is truly horrible as her boyfriend. And those 70s hair and clothes! Armstrong is (as I said) very sympathetic and also vicious as the cannibal. Also Christopher Lee has an amusing short sequence in this.

So, it's gruesome but worth catching, but it's shown very rarely on cable so good luck!