LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1988 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Ken Russell reminds us how much fun and
how must art went into 1960s horror films. LAIR OF THE WHITE
WORM is a horror film with more style than fake blood. While
less ambitious than most of Russell's output, it may well be
his best-realized film. Rating: +2. (But not for all
tastes.)
Some of the most stylish and interesting horror are those directed by Terence Fisher. Fisher's films include HORROR OF DRACULA, KISS OF THE VAMPIRE, ISLAND OF TERROR, and THE DEVIL'S BRIDE (a.k.a. THE DEVIL RIDES OUT). Some have said that Fisher is to horror films what Hitchcock is to suspense. Any year is a banner year for horror fans when two Terence Fisher films come out. 1988 is such a year--well, sort of. Lamentably, Fisher died several years ago, but if the term Hitchcockian can be applied to films done in his style, you should be able to do the same thing with Fisher. For Fisher, making horror films was an art. Making films about razor gloves or hockey-masked killers and mass-producing those is at best a craft and barely that. But 1988 can boast two films in the best traditions of Fisher, both made by filmmakers with much better reputations. THE DECEIVERS was directed by James Ivory and LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM was directed by Ken Russell.
Russell like to spice his films with sequences of near-hallucinatory images. Sometimes that works, as it did in ALTERED STATES or THE DEVILS. Sometimes it is a complete non sequitur, as in CRIMES OF PASSION. He let weirdness totally take hold of his last film, GOTHIC, but with LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM he is back telling a story reasonably linearly. And while it is not his most ambitious project, making a 1960s-style horror film--and doing it well--is better than trying to do a biography of Tchaikovsky and trashing it as badly as Russell did with THE MUSIC LOVERS. In this case, Russell's source was the Bram Stoker novel of the same title. Stoker also wrote JEWEL OF THE SEVEN STARS, which was adapted into THE MUMMY'S SHROUD and THE AWAKENING. And, oh yes, he wrote a book called DRACULA which, if I remember, has been the basis of a few films.
Since before the Garden of Eden the god of the Bible has been at war with the primal snake god Dionin. Through the ages various snake cults have flourished and, where necessary, opposed Christianity (as well as Conan!). A disciple of Dionin--thousands of years old, thanks to clean living and the power of the snake god--has set up shop on the English countryside where legend has it a great "worm" was slain by a Lord D'Ampton after it had feasted on people and cows. Since then there had been disappearances in the region, but not enough to cause too much fuss until the discovery of the skull of some inexplicable animal is found by a Scottish visitor. Then things start to happen.
Surprisingly for a film by Russell, LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is, if anything, a bit lightweight. But it is a well-crafted horror film. He finds surprising places to hint at snake shapes in the film, from a water hose to the insignia on a policeman's collar. Amanda Donohoe makes a superbly sensuous villainess and is always marvelous to watch, but never more so than when she is seducing an unlucky but eager Boy Scout for the greater glory of Dionin. LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM will probably be my favorite Ken Russell film. I sat through it twice and had a great time both viewings. Rate it a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
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