The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Ken Russell (screenplay)
Bram Stoker (novel)

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Plot:

Scottish archaelogist Angus Flint discovers an odd skull amid the ruins of a convent which he is excavating...

Plot Keywords:

Worm | Lady | Cavern | Temple | Skull

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Amanda Donohoe	...	Lady Sylvia Marsh
Hugh Grant	...	Lord James D'Ampton
Catherine Oxenberg	...	Eve Trent
Peter Capaldi	...	Angus Flint
Sammi Davis	...	Mary Trent
Stratford Johns	...	Peters
Paul Brooke	...	P.C. Erny
Imogen Claire	...	Dorothy Trent
Chris Pitt	...	Kevin
Gina McKee	...	Nurse Gladwell
Christopher Gable	...	Joe Trent
Lloyd Peters	...	Jesus Christ
Miranda Coe	...	Maids / Nuns
Linzi Drew	...	Maids / Nuns
Caron Anne Kelly	...	Maids / Nuns

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Belgium:16 (video rating) | Australia:R | France:-12 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | South Korea:18 | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

White Lair

Trivia:

The mouth of the White Worm (Dionin) seen in the tunnel towards the end of the movie was actually a painted over Volkswagen Beetle hood that bears an uncanny resemblance to the mouth of a snake.

Goofs:

Continuity: As Mary and Angus walk home through the grove after the party, Lady Sylvia's Jaguar passes them. Startled, Mary comments on the car and mentions its headlights being off, though they were clearly on in every shot of the car.

Quotes:

Lady Sylvia Marsh: [as Lady Marsh places the game of Snakes and Ladders into the fireplace] Rosebud!

Movie Connections:

References Dance of the Vampires (1967)

Soundtrack:

The D'Ampton Worm

A truly warped and brilliant comic-horror movie!

This is an excellent film that puts the fun back into Horror Films. Ken Russel uses only the title and basic plot outline of Bram Stoker's underrated novel and goes over the top with everything. The result is the most outrageous, outlandish, funny and just damm wierd horror film in years. Sure it's not in the slightest bit scary, but how can you argue with Hugh Grant hopping round the set like a hyperactive bunny, Amanda Donohoe biting a boy scout where it hurts the most and maidens being sacrificed to a giant worm? Fast paced lunacy and mayhem is the name of the game here in a film that should please everyone able to suspend their logic for 90 minutes. I loved it. My rating - 8 out of 10.