the skull

the skull is a rather strange horror movie about a possessed skull that makes people go mad and then bites them to death. if that isn't enough to spark your interest, it also features peter cushing and christopher lee playing best friends, which has to be a rare occurrence (please leave other examples of this in the comments!).

the skull follows demonologist christopher maitland (peter cushing) and his dealings with dubious antiques dealer, marco (patrick wymark). marco has recently acquired a human skull that he is convinced is the skull of the marquis de sade. it’s also possessed by the same demon that possessed the marquis and marco is understandably keen to pass it on. despite being warned off by his friend and fellow collector sir matthew phillips (christopher lee), maitland decides he needs the skull. not long after he takes it the bodies start to pile up.

the skull is an amicus production, which on the surface means it’s hammer in all but name. kim newman explains the history of amicus in a much better way than i ever could on a special feature on this release, so check that out if you’re interested in finding out more. amicus used the same stars as hammer and many of the same personnel, including director freddie francis who had worked on a number of hammer films as cinematographer. he was also the cinematographer on jack clayton’s the innocents, which is a really beautiful, creepy film. there are a couple of moments in the skull that seem like pure visual indulgence, particularly in the dream sequence, and it’s in these moments that francis really stands out as a filmmaker.

the dream sequence is by far the best moment in the film, partly because it’s unclear for most of it that it’s a dream. maitland is 'arrested' and taken to a large, empty courtroom, where a judge forces him to put a loaded gun to his head and indulge in a light-hearted game of russian roulette. it’s an incredibly tense and wonderfully weird scene that jars against the rest of the film in the best possible way.

the other highlight of the skull is the relationship between maitland and phillips as fellow collectors. while we have seen lee and cushing onscreen together many times, it seems rare to see them in such informal, even friendly circumstances as are shown here. in a key scene, maitland and phillips discuss the skull over a game of snooker, and their friendship in the scene is one of the most genuine moments in the film. i don’t know if cushing and lee were friends in real life, but they do a good job selling it here if not.

the skull is based on a short story by robert bloch (who also wrote psycho) and while the story itself is good, the fact that it’s a short really shows. at times the skull feels like it should be a shorter piece and would have fitted in well as an episode of a portmanteau movie, like dead of night or dr. terror’s house of horrors. as a feature, it sometimes doesn’t feel like there’s enough story to fill the running time. a parallel story showing the fate of the skull’s first owner helps, but even this occasionally feels like filler. as a result, the skull often feels slow-moving, particularly as it’s clear from the outset where the story is going.

the film is also let down by its climax, which is particularly hard to take seriously. it’s not an issue with the effects, just the idea of a floating skull that bites people to death is kind of ridiculous and really dissolves the tension built up by maitland’s struggle with madness.

despite the ridiculous concept, cushing plays every scene as seriously as if it were shakespeare and in very convincing as a much more vulnerable character than we are used to seeing him portray. maitland is a really interesting character, and i could quite easily have watched a film about cushing running around london solving demonology-related incidents, as that’s certainly how it’s set up at one point (possibly wishful thinking on my part). what we actually get is a character who so badly wants to believe in the existence of the supernatural that he will put himself in serious danger to prove it and that's a fascinating concept, far more interesting than the idea of the possessed skull itself.

like it's namesake in the film, the skull is more of a curiosity than a forgotten masterpiece, but there are certainly some interesting elements to enjoy and some unusual moments. it’s also worth watching simply for the dream sequence, which looks stunning on blu-ray.

eureka entertainment release the skull in dual format blu-ray and dvd on 26th october 2015

the man who could cheat death

between all the frankensteins and draculas there are some lesser known and rather more curious hammer productions that depart from the usual format. the man who could cheat death falls into this category.

the film follows dr. georges bonnet (anton diffring) as he pursues the impossible dream of eternal life through increasingly nefarious means. when the surgeon he has secured to finalise his immortality is unable to complete the procedure he has to somehow convince a more conservative doctor, pierre gerrard (christopher lee), to take his place. the solution to his predicament presents itself in the form of janine dubois, a young woman both bonnet and gerrard are in love with.

for the most part, the man who could cheat death concerns itself with one central question – is bonnet’s pursuit of eternal life good for humanity, or simply good for him? fhe film proceeds to answer that question by unraveling bonnet’s character and ultimately his physical form until we are left with the truth in all it’s horrifying glory. there are other elements at play, including a murder mystery subplot as a determined detective closes in on bonnet after a girl who modelled for him (he is also a sculptor) disapperars. on top of that there are hints of dorian gray and the film occasionally wanders into jekyll and hyde territory with bonnet even having to consume a special serum, only his is used to prevent a transformation rather than to trigger it.

describing the twists of the plot and obvious literary influences leads to an assumption that there is a lot happening onscreen, and yet the film mostly takes place in one or two rooms. a glance at the opening credits reveals it was based on a stage play by barre lyndon (who also wrote the 1950s adaptation of war of the worlds, among a great many other things) and in this sense very little appears to have been done to adapt the story for cinema, except for jack asher’s shadow-rich cinematography. as a result the film feels more contemplative, thought-provoking and at times, unfortunately, slower than the more well-known hammer titles. the scenes of horror almost seem out of place against the philosophical discussions that occupy much of the dialogue, and yet they are a welcome distraction when they arrive.

what’s interesting is who we the audience are supposed to side with. the film takes its time before fully revealing what bonnet is attempting to do, although we find out early on that he has some serious anger management issues. bonnet’s secret is of course clear from the title to a point, but it’s only as the details of his condition are revealed that we understand the true extent of what he has had to become. the film presents bonnet as the protagonist and anton diffring is a charismatic lead so it’s hard not to be on his side as his ambition turns murderous.

this is partly helped by the fact that the romantic lead and the closest thing the film has to a hero is played by christopher lee. obviously, lee is amazing and i’ve enjoyed seeing him play against type both here and in the hound of the baskervilles. at the same time, there is something slightly off about lee in roles like this and it’s hard to fully sympathise with him. instead, he comes to represent the conservative establishment, unwilling to support bonnet’s controversial approach to progress and thus making it easier to sympathise with the mad doctor. i wonder if this was the intention, although i think it would have been more successful with peter cushing in the bonnet role, as was originally intended. diffring certainly does a great job, but it’s not the most sympathetic portrayal of a scientist gone mad with ambition, and i can’t help feeling cushing would have added some much needed humanity to the role.

while it doesn’t succeed on every level, the man who could cheat death certainly delivers in the climax, which i won’t give away here but there is an awesome combination of fire and amazing make-up effects that really make the ending work. overall, this is an interesting story and fits neatly into the hammer canon whilst also providing a nice contrast to their usual output in its theatrical setting and contemplative dialogue.

eureka entertainment release the man who could cheat dead on blu-ray on 21st september 2015

the hound of the baskervilles (1959)

the 1959 hammer production of the hound of the baskervilles is notable for being the first sherlock holmes adaptation since the basil rathbone/nigel bruce series, and the first to be filmed in colour. it stars hammer regulars peter cushing, andre morell and christopher lee playing against type as a romantic lead. it also takes a few liberties with the story to give it more of a gothic horror vibe, and as a result stands out as a really unique adaptation of one of the more famous holmes mysteries.

so the story follows a nobleman, sir henry baskerville, who returns home when his father dies. sherlock holmes is alerted to the case by a friend of sir henry who tasks him with unravelling the mystery of the baskerville curse and protecting the last surviving member of the family.

i'll be honest, i'm not the biggest holmes fan in the world, although i do have a soft spot for the basil rathbone movies. i also prefer jonny lee miller to benedict cumberbatch and i've never made it to the end of one of the jeremy brett episodes. that said, i am a huge hammer fan and ultimately that's why i loved this adaptation.

putting holmes aside, from the blood-thirsty opening scene in which an insidious aristocrat chases down and kills an innocent woman only to be killed himself, it's clear that this is hammer at the top of their game. the setting is appropriately gothic, three of hammer's biggest stars are playing off each other on screen and director terence fisher makes sure every scene drips with gothic atmosphere. the story moves along at a good pace and it gives each of the three main players a good chunk of that story to themselves so it never feels like you're just waiting for holmes to figure it all out. there's also an amazing set-piece at the end of the film and a great twist. 

peter cushing does an amazing job playing holmes. cushing was apparently a huge fan of the character himself and threw in a few improvised lines and details that really make the character work. there's a great moment where he arranges a meeting with another character and as the scene continues cushing takes a pen and notes the time of the meeting down on his shirt cuff. it's a tiny detail, but cushing does something like this a number of times in every scene and it gives the impression of someone whose mind is always racing in search of the next solution.

andre morell, star of my personal favourite hammer title, plague of the zombies, is also on fine form here as dr. watson. morell is on record as saying that his portrayal of watson was intended as a direct response to the bumbling comic-relief interpretation created by nigel bruce in the rathbone movies. morell's watson is quite clearly an ex-military man (like morell himself) with a sharp mind and a determined curiosity that almost rivals that of his companion. that said, when the two of them are together it's clear they make a great team. my favourite moment of the two of them is in a scene where holmes is bedridden and is asks watson to check whether the drawers in his room have been tampered with. cushing and morell play this like a bickering married couple and it speaks volumes about the relationship between the two characters.

added to this is christopher lee as sir henry baskerville, who in this film is given a romantic subplot that seems to have been created specifically for this adaptation. it's remarkable to see lee playing so much against type, but at the same time you can never quite shake the idea that there's something darker going on behind his eyes and that actually works really well for the character.

as well as the film looking great, the blu-ray also comes with a number of fantastic extras, including a new 30-minute documentary featuring mark gatiss and kim newman as well as members of the original crew. there's also an interesting documentary about andre morell presented by his son and a 1986 documentary about the different portrayals of holmes over the years.

the hound of the baskervilles is a true classic of british cinema and if you haven't seen it then the blu-ray release is the perfect opportunity to check it out. if you're a hammer fan then this is an essential part of your collection.

the hound of the baskervilles will be released on blu-ray on 1st june by arrow films