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10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
So much potential...yet so very incoherent., 3 August 2004
3/10
Author: Coventry from the Draconian Swamp of Unholy Souls

I'll be a little less harsh than my fellow reviewers here, who all seem to agree that this `Incense for the Damned' is a giant waste of time, effort and film. I can't deny this is a failure in all viewpoints but I'm deeply convinced that the story's potential, along with the talent of the cast, could have resulted in a much better film. Although the screenplay remains faithful to Simon Raven's novel, the film completely lacks feeling and coherence. Small aspects, like the annoying use of voice-over, ruin the horror atmosphere and the occult-aspects are dreadfully overstressed. There's a drug trance/ sexual ecstasy sequence near the beginning of the film and it takes WAY too long! Even Imogen `the Queen of Cleavage' Hassall doesn't manage to keep you fascinated during this tedious scene.

But I still stand by my idea that the messy `Bloodsuckers' (the more appealing a.k.a of the film) contains several neat moments of clarity! Like a brief appearance by Edward Woodward, giving us a little insight on the unusual and slightly perverted sexual fantasies of humans… Or Desmond Dickinson's brilliant camerawork on location in Greece. I might even say that the entire substance of the story is excellent horror matter! Richard, a young and respected Oxford student has disappeared in Greece and a group of friends, including his girl, go on a search for him. Richard seems to be under the influence of a beautiful, sexy vampire who even forces him to perform sado-masochism. Believing they annihilated the ravishing bloodsucker, the return to Britain. Yet, Richard's behavior when back at Oxford remains bizarre and alarming… The plot is promising enough, no? If `Incense for the Damned' would have been directed by Roman Polanski, I might have enjoyed a classic status by now. Erotic morbidity is definitely more his field! Or, who knows, in the hands of Italian mastermind Mario Bava this could have been one of the greatest horror masterpieces ever. Instead Robert Hartford-Davis directed it and the only appreciation he gets is when people hear he took his name off of this project afterwards. Better luck next time.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
"An oddity in the British horror genre.", 13 April 2004
Author: jamesraeburn2003 from Poole, Dorset

Whilst in Greece researching a book on Greek mythology, a young Oxford Don (Mower), falls under the spell of Chriseis (Hassal), a beautiful but sexually perverted vampire who murders her victims for their blood.

An oddity in the history of the British horror genre. Director Robert Hartford Davies disowned the picture due to never fully explained production problems, although it has been suggested that the low budget ran out and that scheduled re-shoots never happened. As a result the film was pasted together quickly and it's disgruntled director was credited under the pseudonym Michael Burrowes. The film got a trade show in 1972 but it wasn't given a London showing until 1976.

The picture does show a few scars of it's troubled production like when a studio rock is quite clearly seen bouncing off an actor's head without doing him any injury, but it's interpretation of vampirism as a sexual perversion is interesting although there quite clearly wasn't enough time to develop it properly. The location shooting in Greece of Desmond Dickenson is first class and the best performances come from Patrick Macnee (who had just finished The Avengers) as Major Longbarrow, Patrick Mower as the ill-fated scholar and Peter Cushing as Dr Goodrich who put the pressure on Mower academically to such a degree that it made him tempted to join the perverted vampire for excitement.

The film has been reissued on DVD under it's alternative title, "Bloodsuckers", featuring a deleted scene which attempted to add drug addiction to the mixture of sex and vampirism.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Messy Brit-horror, 31 July 2004
3/10
Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Incense for the Damned is a huge mess. The director, Robert Hartford-Davis changed the name he would be credited as for this movie, and anyone that sees the film will see why he did that.

The movie tries to be a horror movie and a social satire, but it succeeds at being neither; it just can't get away from the fact that it's a trashy load of rubbish. The plot is meandering, and is loosely strung together by a narration, which seems more like a way for the movie to save money from it's poor budget than anything else. It follows the story of Richard, an upper class Oxford University student that has got lost somewhere in Greece. A group of his friends then set out to find him, only to discover that he has come under the spell of a female vampire, and then, believing they have killed her, the group take Richard back to Oxford, unaware that he is now a vampire also.

This movie bills Peter Cushing as one of it's main stars, but in actual fact he appears in the movie for a combined time of about five minutes. Furthermore, Edward Woodward appears in the film, just before he would go on to make the best British horror movie of all time; The Wicker Man. However, his appearance is little more than a cameo. Patrick Mower, who was in The Devil Rides Out, also appears in the film, and he is an actor that will be best known by British people for his role in the rubbish, yet popular soap opera; Emmerdale. The movie also features performances from Patrick Macnee, who would later appear in The Howling and Alexander Davion, who appeared some years earlier in the British horror; Plague of the Zombies. The cast is very much B-movie, but all are somewhat experienced in the horror genre. The fact that the cast is B-grade is evident through the acting if nothing else; which, with the exception of Cushing and Woodward (both of which also aren't great) leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall, Incense for the Damned is a waste of time that manages to be neither memorable nor interesting. I even recommend that Peter Cushing fans skip this one.

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3 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Confusing AND boring, even the worst Hammer movie I've seen is ten times better than this!, 22 January 2004
Author: Infofreak from Perth, Australia

"Oh, this looks good" I thought scanning the DVD slick of 'Bloodsuckers'. Horror legend Peter Cushing, 'The Avengers' Patrick Macnee, Edward Woodward just before 'The Wicker Man', plus Patrick Mower, who was in 'The Devil Rides Out' and Alex Davion from 'The Plague Of The Zombies', two of the best and most underrated Hammer movies. Well nothing could prepare me for how poor it turned out to be! Even the worst Hammer movie I've seen is ten times better than this. It's confusing AND boring, with way too much narration and production values that make it look like an episode of 'The Champions' or some other half forgotten 60s/70s TV show. Cushing is hardly in it, Woodward even less (one scene), and the highlight is a donkey chase! I'm not kidding! The disc I watched included a 6 minutes deleted scene of a psychedelic drug orgy which wasn't used in the final cut. Too bad because it's better than anything that was used. Director Robert Hartford-Davies ('The Yellow Teddybears') apparently disowned this movie and I don't blame him one bit!

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4 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Awful British horror film, disowned by its own director., 22 February 2006
2/10
Author: Jonathon Dabell (barnaby.rudge@hotmail.co.uk) from Wakefield, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Incense For The Damned is a poor, hastily-made and incredibly muddled British horror film that has acquired a small cult following. I am certainly not among this group of foolhardy fans - indeed, if I had things my way, this awful little film would be quietly disposed of in some dusty vault, and brought out only for die-hard fans of the stars so that they may tick it off their list. Even the film's director - Robert Hartford-Davis - was so disappointed with the movie that he refused to put his name on the credits, using instead the pseudonym Michael Burrowes. When the man who MADE it can't bear to be associated with the film, you know that it must be pretty bad!

Oxford student Richard Fountain (Patrick Mower) is on a working holiday in Greece when he mysteriously disappears. Richard's friends back in Oxford are concerned for him, so they set out to Greece to find him. Tony (Alexander Davion), Bob (Johnny Sekka) and Richard's girlfriend Penelope (Madeleine Hinde), soon discover that their lost pal seems to have headed off to the tiny, isolated island of Hydra in the Aegean Sea. Upon arriving at Hydra, they stumble across some kind of vampire sect led by the beautiful but deadly Chriseis (Imogen Hasall). It seems that Chriseis and her minions are murderers who drink the blood of their innocent victims, and that Richard may have been drugged or brainwashed into joining their pagan acts. The friends pursue Chriseis to her death and rescue the bewildered Richard, returning him to Oxford. But all is not well back in the UK, as Richard does not seem to have recovered from his ordeal - in fact, it is obvious to us (though not, it seems, the other characters) that Richard himself is now a vampire.

What drew me to the film was the fact that it "stars" Peter Cushing, Patrick Macnee and Edward Woodward. I consider these three actors to be among the finest talents Britain has produced (they certainly have each made telling contributions within the horror genre, if nothing else). It is with huge disappointment, therefore, that I must report they all have absurdly brief cameo roles that could easily have been cut from the film without making a hoot of difference. to the overall story. Talk about false advertising!! But that's not all that is wrong with Incense For The Damned. It suffers even further as a result of silly psychedelic sex-and-drug-abuse sequences, a confused script, ultra-low production values, and choppy editing. At least the Greek scenes highlight some pleasant locations - competently shot by Desmond Dickinson - but on virtually every other level Incense For The Damned is a damned mess! The film was completed in 1970, shelved until 1976, and all but forgotten soon after its belated release. Things like that happen to movies for a reason - and if you watch Incense For The Damned it won't take you long to figure out why it has faded into obscurity.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
No classic for sure, but I liked it, 9 August 2008
7/10
Author: t-birkhead from United Kingdom

This film pretty much gets pounded by most of the reviews on this page, which I read before viewing. Last night I had to choose between it or an old school kung fu picture and the prospect of some British movie regulars, nudity and good cinematography won out. Sure, the film has problems but its decent late Friday night viewing. Sitting in a comfortable armchair at 2.00 in the morning, it really took me back to the days when the BBC would put these kind of films on frequently on Friday nights, allowing me to lap up a fairly thorough selection of Hammer classics and various other outings, often involving Peter Cushing or Christopher Lee. Incense for the Damned was a famously troubled production, never actually finished after the budget ran out, preventing reshoots. The studio edited it together as best they could and the director disowned it. Accordingly, his name does not even appear in the opening credits. The film does give the impression of being somewhat incomplete, as themes and ideas seem to flit in and out and not be explored to their full extent. Even so, this is a neat take on vampirism, with a sexual twist that would seem fanciful were it not for the fact that its not so far off from certain recorded genuine deviant practices. The script thus is pretty interesting, with a nice explanatory guest turn from Edward Woodward. Peter Cushing plays a small but significant role, but the main folks are Patrick Mower, suitably dazed and trance like, attractive Imogen Hassal, the ever reliable Patrick Macnee and the fair if slightly bland Alex Davion. They provide constant interest in the Greece set story, where Patrick Mower has fallen in with some strange and ghastly rites. The cinematography is beautiful and the direction throws up some decent imagery in a trippy and atmospheric style as well as a few nicely tense and exciting scenes. There is no real gore, just a spot of mild but satisfying in the context bloodshed, but there is a deliriously entertaining psychedelic drug fuelled orgy sequence quite early on, so the film is certainly not a timid affair. At only about 80 minutes long Incense for the Damned never outstays its welcome and is never boring. With its possibly accidental tight pace, the thoroughly entertaining final ten minutes or so have all the more inspired impact. Happily, the BBC shows the fullest length version outside of the French release which apparently has extra orgy footage with different actors inserted. DVD versions seem to only have the orgy as a deleted scene which is daft because its an important moment. I really dug this movie, I'd say it manages to transcend its flaws and become something of a minor gem. Of course, I seem to be in the minority on this one, but if you're interested enough to have read this far you might like it too.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Sub-Hammer shocker - only shocking in that it was released at all, 6 September 2005
2/10
Author: chrisjtyler from United Kingdom

Got to say I agree with much of Wayne's comments on this film and the note that the director refused to be associated with the screened version doesn't surprise me. This film was shown on TV in the UK in 2004 and I have to say it has to be the worst quality film I have seen on the box. It seems to be made up of the film shot by the director covering the story, inter-cut with stock travelogue shots of Greece. The lighting is such that the black character's facial features are lost in a lot of scenes. The acting from the supporting cast is wooden and even the stars are on the verge of rabbit-in-headlights unease. Not a pleasant evening's viewing!

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
A Good Piece of Advice, 9 March 2002
2/10
Author: BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) from NC

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Two other reviewers have already made clear that this film is bad. I am not going to discourage that line of thought in any way. It is a muddled, worthless, boring film about some British scholar going off to Greece, because he is impotent and then turning into some type of vampire. The link is that vampirism is some kind of sexual deviation that relieves impotentcy. Hmmmm. The plot makes little sense. The editing, as mentioned previously, is a hatchet job. It looks like the presbiopic six(or seven?)got hold of it and put it together. Patrick Macnee supposedly is the star. He dies half-way through the film. The rest of the cast aimlessly wander through the film with little motivation and even less ability. Peter Cushing has so small a role as to have little bearing on the film's plot or feel. He is adequate but really has nothing to do with his role. The one lone bright performing spotlight comes from Edward Woodward in a five minute cameo as a scholar of mankind that knows something about vampirism. Woodward injects the only humour and wit the film has. More than half of the film takes place in Greece and the settings are not splendid or breathtaking but rather very tiring and weedy. Watching Macnee chase a beautiful Grecian woman(played with beauty if nothing else by Imogen Hassall)while astride a jack-ass was more Grecian scenery than I personally needed. Really and truly...an awful film!

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Waste of time, 6 February 2000
Author: avalard (avalard@talk21.com) from Belfast, N.Ireland

One of the worst pieces of film I think any of the stars must have been in. Edward Woodward, and Patrick Macnee should really dissasociate themselves from it completely. Peter Cushing makes a cameo appearance, strong and wonderful as always. The film is a complete pile of nonsense. The script is half-baked and confused, and some of the worst editing ever has gone on as well. I was truly disappointed. Having expected a fine piece of British horror, all I saw was a mess of a film and lots of wobbly bits of flesh in a completely bizarre and unneccesary sex scene. My advice is to avoid it, even if it means your Peter Cushing collection isn't complete without it. On the other hand, if you love it, then try No Secrets from 1982. It makes about as much sense.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Average horror film with secondaries roles for Cushing,Woodward and Mcnee, 29 March 2006
5/10
Author: ma-cortes

The picture concerns about a bunch of friends(Patric Mcnee,Johnny Sekka..),they are looking for a young English student(Patrick Mower)who is seduced into an old cult represented by beautiful vampire(Imogen)and is disappeared while he was researching in a Greek island .There happen various unsolved killings and the police blame him as perpetrator of the creepy murders but the friends and the fiancée whose dad is the University Director(Peter Cushing) no believing in his culpability but is spelled by a blood-sucking.

It's a mediocre British terror film with suspense,action and vampires but a little bit bored.However has some spectacular and glimmer Greeks outdoors,besides set on Oxford University.Patric Mcnee(Avengers) interprets smartly as always. The great Peter Cushing plays correctly the starring's daddy but his acting is secondary,also Edward Woodward(The wicker man)acts in a minimum role.Patrick Mower(Devil rides out)as spellbound young is good and Johnny Sekka(Naked prey) in secondary role is well. The movie is regularly directed by Robert Hatford Davies ,author of some Horror film as ¨Corruption¨(with Peter Cushing),¨The Fiend¨(with Patrick Mcgee) and Blaxplotiation movies as ¨Black Gunn¨(Jim Brown)and ¨The Take¨(Billy Dee Williams).This director due to disagreements with producers signed the film as Michael Burrows and the motion picture was shelved during years until its cinema exhibition.

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