Rarely have I been as frustrated as I was watching this film. It is as if the producers did everything possible to ruin every last aspect of this cinematic mess. I was utterly astounded by the high praise the film received in the dozen or so IMDb reviews I read before my stomach turned and I was compelled to rebut the praise. It appears that the movie industry has so completely lowered our levels of expectation that this garbage can be praised by so many people...and not only praised, but actually referred to by one reviewer as his favorite 60's horror film?! A most depressing concept to ponder.
This movie is a fraud on all accounts. Let's start with the top of the credits. Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Price has approximately three scenes in the movie (the bulk of which does not occur until the last 15 minutes), Lee has two full scenes and an appearance at the end of the movie, and Cushing has ONE measly scene in the beginning of the film and is then murdered!! To lead the public to believe that they are getting three titans of horror and then pull the rug out from underneath us is absolute fraud. Not frustrating...infuriating!
Fraud number two is trying to pretend that this is a horror film. There is very little horrific about this film, other than the level of quality. The stuff that is meant to be gruesome, or shocking, is completely undermined by bad directing, bad editing, and the most inappropriate soundtrack ever! The 60's Mod music is fine for the ridiculously over-long scenes in the club (which was pathetic pandering to "fool" young people they were watching a "hip and with-it" horror movie...all it does is come across as desperation by the film makers), but to have the upbeat, swingin' music running throughout the entire film eliminates ALL of the creepy atmosphere this film is so sorely lacking.
Fraud number three is that this is an exciting film, full of action. Nope. The small bits of action neither thrill, nor horrify. There is a painfully long and boring car chase scene in the middle of the film that looks childish, even by 1970 standards...especially since this movie was released well after the gut-wrenching thrill ride in 1968's BULLITT. The other "action" scene is the fight at the end between Price and the main bad guy, which was so completely fake in every regard that it was impossible to take seriously. Even the lame attempt to titillate the audience by showing the nude breasts of a female corpse and a female "creature" came across as cheap attempts to distract from all that was lacking. And the absurd use of the Shoulder Pinch as the means used by the bad guy to kill people was pathetic, and only served to remind the viewers how it had already been done better by Leonard Nimoy...SEVERAL years earlier.
The script is atrocious, the directing idiotic, the pacing erratic, the plot absurdly convoluted for no reason, the structure annoying, and most of the acting dreadful. Lee is okay in his minuscule part, even though he has the most ambiguous, nonsensical line to end the film, which I can only imagine was meant to set up a sequel if this mess had been a success. Price, who is normally one of my favorites, is not at his best here at all. And poor Peter Cushing, who is as brilliant as they come, was the only one in the "Mystery Country" who was speaking with a British accent when the others were speaking with German accents, yet calling each other "Comrade" (?!).
The ONLY bright spot in the film is Alfred Marks, who steals the entire movie (which is quite some feat when you have Price, Lee, and Cushing in the same film!) His portrayal was superb, and the wonderful touches of humor he added to the film were a great relief from the tedium.
I was going to give this film a 1, but have decided to give it a 2 strictly for Marks' performance. There is absolutely nothing else worth recommending about this confused, childish, boring, fraudulent film.
This movie is a fraud on all accounts. Let's start with the top of the credits. Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing. Price has approximately three scenes in the movie (the bulk of which does not occur until the last 15 minutes), Lee has two full scenes and an appearance at the end of the movie, and Cushing has ONE measly scene in the beginning of the film and is then murdered!! To lead the public to believe that they are getting three titans of horror and then pull the rug out from underneath us is absolute fraud. Not frustrating...infuriating!
Fraud number two is trying to pretend that this is a horror film. There is very little horrific about this film, other than the level of quality. The stuff that is meant to be gruesome, or shocking, is completely undermined by bad directing, bad editing, and the most inappropriate soundtrack ever! The 60's Mod music is fine for the ridiculously over-long scenes in the club (which was pathetic pandering to "fool" young people they were watching a "hip and with-it" horror movie...all it does is come across as desperation by the film makers), but to have the upbeat, swingin' music running throughout the entire film eliminates ALL of the creepy atmosphere this film is so sorely lacking.
Fraud number three is that this is an exciting film, full of action. Nope. The small bits of action neither thrill, nor horrify. There is a painfully long and boring car chase scene in the middle of the film that looks childish, even by 1970 standards...especially since this movie was released well after the gut-wrenching thrill ride in 1968's BULLITT. The other "action" scene is the fight at the end between Price and the main bad guy, which was so completely fake in every regard that it was impossible to take seriously. Even the lame attempt to titillate the audience by showing the nude breasts of a female corpse and a female "creature" came across as cheap attempts to distract from all that was lacking. And the absurd use of the Shoulder Pinch as the means used by the bad guy to kill people was pathetic, and only served to remind the viewers how it had already been done better by Leonard Nimoy...SEVERAL years earlier.
The script is atrocious, the directing idiotic, the pacing erratic, the plot absurdly convoluted for no reason, the structure annoying, and most of the acting dreadful. Lee is okay in his minuscule part, even though he has the most ambiguous, nonsensical line to end the film, which I can only imagine was meant to set up a sequel if this mess had been a success. Price, who is normally one of my favorites, is not at his best here at all. And poor Peter Cushing, who is as brilliant as they come, was the only one in the "Mystery Country" who was speaking with a British accent when the others were speaking with German accents, yet calling each other "Comrade" (?!).
The ONLY bright spot in the film is Alfred Marks, who steals the entire movie (which is quite some feat when you have Price, Lee, and Cushing in the same film!) His portrayal was superb, and the wonderful touches of humor he added to the film were a great relief from the tedium.
I was going to give this film a 1, but have decided to give it a 2 strictly for Marks' performance. There is absolutely nothing else worth recommending about this confused, childish, boring, fraudulent film.