Le Repaire du ver blanc

Directed & written by Ken Russell and loosely based on Bram Stoker's novel, "The Lair of the White Worm" (1988) chronicles events in England when a young archeologist (Peter Capaldi) uncovers a skull of some unknown beast near a bed & breakfast run by two sisters (Sammi Davis & Catherine Oxenberg). These three and Eve's beau (Hugh Grant) soon stumble upon an ancient snake cult led by the eccentric Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), who dwells at a lavish estate nearby.

The movie is a creative and entertaining creature feature reminiscent in tone & theme of "Squirm" (1976), but with Russell's well-known offbeat excesses. The "creatures" are vampire-like snake people plus a gigantic serpent at the close, both of which recall the snake worshipers & giant serpents from "Conan the Barbarian" (1982).

There are some iconic cinematic images, like Donohoe as the vampiric snake lady, not to mention a few well done horror scenes, like a snake woman who's cut in half, but still wiggles with furious intent.

The snake cult is diabolical in an anti-Christ way and I can see why some viewers might find the movie shocking and offensive, like the weird nun-raping flashback. Yet everything's so exaggerated and sometimes cheesy with a bit o' humor thrown in that the film can't be taken very seriously, which negates it from being shocking or disturbing. Fun in a horrific way? Yes. Disturbing? No. Also, keep in mind that horror villains/monsters are SUPPOSED to drip with ee-vil and be shocking. The question is, do they win or do the noble protagonists win?

On the female front, the chief snake lady thinks she's hotter than she really is as Donohoe amusingly hams it up. Meanwhile Catherine Oxenberg as Eve is a semi-highlight, particularly in the last act.

The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes and was shot entirely in England (Hertfordshire; Manifold Valley, Staffordshire; Peak District National Park; and Derbyshire). Thor's Cave in Manifold Valley is magnificent.

GRADE: B-

This is silly and not particularly well made, presumably due to budgetary restraints, but it is good fun. Bit slower to get going than I remember on video but some more explicit imagery also than I remember. Everyone seems to have had fun in the making and if the dialogue is a bit hit and miss there is some really nice stuff. I don't think this really fits, as some have suggested, into the , so bad it's good category, but I guess it's headed in that direction. Amanda Donohoe is splendid and Hugh Grant acceptable as ever. Special effects, like the dialogue are not always 'special' but there are great moments and it's always good looking, particularly Amanda Donohoe!

Before Hugh Grant hit the big-time playing floppy-haired fops in rom-coms, he mostly played floppy haired-fops in costume period dramas; an exception to this was Ken Russell's The Lair of The White Worm (1988), in which Hugh went against type by playing modern-day floppy-haired fop Lord James D'Ampton, who teams up with archaeologist Angus Flint (played by the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi) and B&B owner Mary Trent (Sammi Davis) to defeat a pagan snake-woman (Amanda Donohoe) who worships a giant, ancient, subterranean wyrm (another name for dragon).

This being a Russell movie, there is plenty of surreal weirdness on offer, with psychedelic dream sequences, Christian-baiting blasphemous imagery, phallic symbolism, and cheap titillation courtesy of Donohoe, who spends a lot of her time naked, and Catherine Oxenberg, who is stripped to her undies as a sacrifice for the creature. However, what could have been extremely controversial actually proves to be rather amusing thanks to the director's tongue-in-cheek B-movie approach (some might call it 'camp') and the tacky special effects; ultimately, this is silly, harmless fun for the cult movie crowd.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for the Concorde dream sequence, which is downright trippy.

'Dr. Who' actor Peter Capaldi plays Angus Flint, an archaeology student who unearths a strange skull from the grounds of a bed & breakfast, where a convent had existed once upon a time. Meanwhile, the seductively sexy young Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) returns to her neighboring home, and more weird things are soon happening. It turns out, there is a local legend in the area, of a nobleman who'd vanquished a hideous reptilian beast - not literally a "worm" - centuries ago. Also mixed up in the plot are that noblemans' descendant, James D'Ampton (Hugh Grant), and lovely sisters Mary (Sammi Davis) and Eve (Catherine Oxenberg).

The director is Ken Russell of such classics as "The Devils", and he also produced and adapted the novel by "Dracula" creator Bram Stoker. So we know going in to expect a fair amount of outrageousness. Fortunately, this film never does get out of control, but it combines some sober drama with some very campy and sometimes hilarious horror. Clearly, it's not meant to be taken all that seriously, especially when we consider the crudely done fantasy sequences envisioned by the characters and the audience. (People who are easily offended will undoubtedly be put off by some of this imagery.) The makeup is amusing, but what's really a hoot is the beast itself, Dionin. Excellent location shooting adds atmosphere.

The actors, commendably, maintain serious expressions. Although he's reputed to refuse to talk about this film, Grant does a good, droll job. Capaldi is a decent hero who, at one point, attempts to attract a reptilian presence by putting on a kilt and playing the bagpipes. Oxenberg and Davis look appropriately scared, Stratford Johns is a solid presence as the butler Peters, and Donohoe, often dressed in very sexy outfits, does appear to be having some real fun as the villainess.

A truly frightening film this is not, but it's quite entertaining just the same.

Eight out of 10.

Leave it to director Ken Russell to find an obscure Bram Stoker novel and take its most exploitive elements and turn it into a bloodfest of snakes, vampires, virgin sacrifices, phallic symbols, Christian symbolism and more. He throws in some comic book slashings along with some sly humor to create a tacky Gothic horror called THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM. It kept me awake until the last shot where the dimwit hero HUGH GRANT is about to find out he's made another mistake before the screen fades to black. This must have been the film that first made Grant known to American audiences.

He plays an aristocrat who is attracted to a new neighbor whom he later learns is a woman (AMANDA DONOHOE) who is keeper of a giant worm waiting to devour people whole if she decides to feed victims to it. She's played with delicious relish by Donohoe, who picks up a scout trudging along a deserted country road and must quickly dispose of him in a bath when Grant knocks on her door.

It's weird stuff from start to finish, but try to look away! It's typical Ken Russell overkill--or should I say overbite--since much of the action involves vampirism and some friendly suburbanites who suddenly grow fangs. Handsomely photographed in color with attractive settings indoor and out, it provides a steady mix of laughter and fright while managing to be entertaining despite the overly weird material.

CATHERINE OXENBERG plays the virginal heroine who falls under the spell of the demonic woman, at her best when forced to assume a vacant expression. PETER CAPALDI is excellent as Hugh's friend who comes to her aid before the white worm can do its work and claim another victim.

Silly stuff, but if you like the work of Ken Russell, you should find it extremely interesting to watch.