The Lair Of The White Worm

 

While Dracula might be his best known work, it is not the only thing Bram Stoker wrote. And it's not even the only thing to get a movie adaptation. Ken Russell is known for making horny,deviant movies, so of course his 1988 loose adaptation of The Lair of the White Worm is both. Featuring a rape scene of a convent full of nuns against a psychedelic backdrop, a snake woman who dresses in vinyl dominatrix boots and slinky lingerie, a human sacrifice where the ritual involves a giant strap on dildo (even Russell apparently got cold feet occasionally, as no attempt was made to employ said dildo), and a weird throwaway pedophilia joke. A couple of future stars are in there (both Peter Capaldi and Hugh Grant have ties to Dr. Who, as well as having worked together again in Paddington 2). And there are some on the cheap 80's special effects that look pretty good all things considered.

The movie begins with archeology student Angus doing an impromptu dig at a bed and breakfast run by Mary and Eve, who we discover in a rather nonchalant way were left alone a year earlier when their parents mysteriously disappeared. The land is owned by local aristocrat James D'Ampton, whose ancestor is renowned for killing a giant serpent. Another of the local landed gentry has recently returned, Lady Sylvia Marsh. Perhaps she was brought back by the discovery by Angus of a big snake skull, although it's never clarified if this is the case or she reappeared by coincidence, though it is stated that she usually does not come back this early in the year.

Lady Marsh steals the skull and it soon becomes apparent that she leads a serpent cult, and that this cult has something to do with the disappearance of the parents of Eve and Mary. But more than a cult, the members have almost vampiric characteristics, and become slaves to Lady Marsh with no apparent will of their own. There are weird psychedelic flashbacks, a little bare flesh, and a pretty cool song that tells the legend of the serpent so that everyone can be up to speed. This is one of Russell's more mainstream efforts, although it's still plenty horny. It holds up pretty well as a movie, and is still a fun watch lo these many years later. It may not provide as much monkey spanking fodder as some of his other movies, but actually delivers a little more in the way of story and characters.

I especially enjoy Hugh Grant as Lord James. You expect him to be the stuffy, standoffish dick that his character would be in most versions of the story. But he is not only charming, but is actually the first to start to piece together what is happening and has to convince the others. Amanda Donohoe as Lady Marsh is quite sexy, and looks very good in the costumes (little of them as there are in some scenes) that she wears, at least in the scenes where she is wearing costumes. As I said before, the special effects are practical (this was the 80s after all) and it's obvious that there wasn't a lot of money, but this shows more in the restraint in what is shown on screen as they look pretty good. It doesn't hold any great shocks, twists or surprises (except maybe Lady Marsh showing up in her monsters strap-on) but is a fun ride. If you can't tell, I'm trying to balance a line, because it's a good movie, but not a great one. You should watch it, but  not with the expectation of having your mind blown.