Enjoyable attempt by Hammer to expand their monster roster; the public did not really take to it, but it holds up well, especially once you realise that it’s not a typical Cushing-Lee vehicle, although both are in it. More of a protagonist is some guy called Richard Pasco, looking into the death of his father who in turn was looking into the suicide of his son. Cushing is a doctor who knows people are turning to stone but keeps quiet about it; Lee is Pasco’s old uni acquaintance who comes to believe there’s a gorgon in the area. The Gorgon is actually Barbara Shelley who turns into a gorgon every full moon – so this is a sort of werewolf film too. Cushing is meant to be keeping things secret because he’s in love with Shelley, but this is undeveloped.
Lee wears fusty old-man makeup; Pasco is a bit of a wet drip… but once you get used to this, you appreciate the fact the story is less predictable than usual. Lots of talking, but they are setting up a new film mythology; the gorgon make up is likely to elicit some giggles but it’s not un-effective, and there are a couple of great scenes with people poking around the gorgon’s house at night.
No comments:
Post a Comment