Moving back into the gothic horror for a bit, the 1970's saw the beginning of the end for Hammer, but they manages to produce some pretty darn interesting films in the meantime.
Elizabeth (Gillian Hills) is taking a carriage ride where she dreams about a strapping young woodcutter (Paul Jones) doing more than just cutting wood while at the same time her brother Emil (Shane Briant) mirrors her hand gestures.
She arrives at the family estate, where it just her, Emil, her father Zorn (Robert Hardy) and Zorn's strapping manservant Klaus (Kenneth J. Warren). The reunion is not a happy one, as Zorn has Emil physically restrained from seeing his sister, making it clear their meeting under only his orders and directions and never before.
Zorn feels that both siblings are 'sick' and must be cured. Also, someone is going around the local village and killing the local ladies. Two new arrivals come to the estate. The first is a priest (Michael Hordern) and the next is Doctor Falkenberg (Patrick Magnee). They both seem dubious experts in their fields, but Zorn is willing to pay for their help. Also tagging along is Carl Richter (Jones) who, besides being a woodcutter, is a medical student. Falkenberg and Richter have to walk to the estate, as the Priest decided to test his faith by leaping in front of the carriage.
Zorn explains why he needed the doctor's services. It seems insanity and incest run equal amounts in his family, and he'd like to put a stop to that. He even married a local peasant girl of purest blood, but after she gave him Elizabeth and Emil he refused to sleep with her anymore, so she did the only natural thing to do and killed herself in front of the family.
Richter protests that Falkenberg is a hoax, but Zorn won't listen. When Falkenberg notes that Elizabeth seems to have normal sex drive, but her brother's only goes in one direction (towards her), the dear old doctor suggest they have a gal from the village parade around the estate nude and pretend to be the sibling's dead mother.
Yeah, starting to see Richter's objections now. None of this helps the growing body count in the village, who's residents are starting to get a little annoyed at their womenfolk being murdered and all.
Plenty of blood and a gonzo story. Shame Hammer didn't keep up this level of production, but then again could anyone?
No comments:
Post a Comment