Late 60s experimentalism hit the British horror movie in the big way with this insane, entertaining, thought provoking work. It's got all sorts of plot strands going and takes ages to make sense - a jogger wakes up with his leg amputated; a handsome man runs around seducing women and killing them vampire style; police investigate a serial killer; an unnamed European dictatorship tortures backpackers; Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing and Vincent Price all star in the one film but neither have a particularly big role; there's a heroic British pathologist and policewoman on the case plus a colourful sergeant.
It's consistently different and interesting - you never really know what's going to happen or why. Alfred Marks is set up as this lively police officer who's in charge of the murder investigation - then with half an hour to go he's shockingly killed by an assassin. Christopher Matthews, as the pathologist, at first seems to be a baddie but turns out to be a regulation hero and gets more screen time than any of the movie's three stars. Michael Gothard is this charming vampire killer who is the subject of a 15 minute chase sequence that involves him being captured, chopping off his own hand and jumping in a vat of acid. Peter Cushing turns up as this top level totalitarian regime officer for one scene.... but is killed a the end of it by Marshall Jones. Christopher Lee is head of British intelligence. Severed limbs keep turning up.
Gordon Hessler directs with energy, and Christopher Wicking's script is consistently entertaining and inventive, if not always logical. It kind of makes sense in the last ten minutes - Price is a mad doctor who chops people's limbs off to create super people. I'm telling you that so you can basically get what's going on.
It's not perfect. But it's different, interesting and smart. It ranks among the best British horror flicks of the early 70s and has a lot more energy and verve than what Hammer was turning out.
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