Reviews of movies with Christopher Lee.
Monday, October 29th 2007
Grade: A-
Synopsis: A Scottish police officer arrives at an island village to investigate a young girl’s disappearance.
The Wicker Man is a sharp, intelligent, thriller.
The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer is a thing of beauty. It sets you on edge from practically the first line of dialog and gets progressively more and more disturbing as it builds to its memorable and powerful climax.
The genius is in how Shaffer manages the tension. This isn’t a gory movie; in fact, there’s not a drop of blood to be found. Yet, even without a knife wielding maniac or supernatural killer, Shaffer manages to build a sense of claustrophobia and outright dread the equal of any thriller. He does this by playing on our own insecurities by using innuendo and outright erotica to instill a sense of unease that proves just as effective as any blood soaked corpse. MORE »
Posted at 8:44 PM in Movie Reviews and Christopher Lee.
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Monday, September 24th 2007
Grade: B+
Synopsis: At the behest of her professor (Christopher Lee), a graduate student travels to a small New England town to research witchcraft.
The City of the Dead (Horror Hotel in the USA), is an effective thriller that makes the most of its modest budget. This is due, in large part, to some great casting. Christopher Lee has a limited, but very effective, role that helps to get the ball rolling (listen closely during his first scene for the “Superstition, fear, and jealousy.” sample lifted for Rob Zombie’s song “Dragula.”), as does Valentine Dyall whose especially powerful performance still seems creepy today. MORE »
Posted at 4:14 PM in Movie Reviews and Christopher Lee.
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Friday, September 21st 2007
Grade: B+
Synopsis: Sherlock Holmes (Peter Cushing) investigates the family curse surrounding a nobleman (Christopher Lee).
The Hound of the Baskervilles was Hammer’s take on Sherlock Holmes. Taking the same director and stars from their previous successes Dracula and The Curse of Frankenstein, the film was intended as the first in a series of Sherlock Holmes pictures, and while the series never materialized, The Hound of the Baskervilles is still quite good.
Peter Cushing and André Morell are great as Holmes and Watson. While purists could argue that Cushing was too short for the role, his sharp, piercing performance more than makes up for it. Christopher Lee complements him nicely and does a great job of keeping things moving when Cushing is off-screen. MORE »
Posted at 6:34 PM in Movie Reviews, Christopher Lee, Hammer Film, Peter Cushing and Terence Fisher.
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Sunday, July 29th 2007
Grade: B-
Synopsis: Two men (Christopher Lee and Leon Greene) discover their young friend has fallen in with a group of Satanists.
The Devil Rides Out is one of Hammer Film studios better efforts. The script by Richard Matheson starts out great. Christopher Lee chews up the scenery opposite an equally strong Charles Gray and the plot moves like gangbusters. Then, inexplicably, Lee disappears off on some errand and the movie begins to drag. Fortunately, Lee returns and the movie picks back up, only to drag again when he vanishes again before the finale. The net result is still a gain though, as when the movie’s on, it’s on. MORE »
Posted at 10:03 PM in Movie Reviews, Christopher Lee, Hammer Film and Terence Fisher.
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