Lair of the White Worm

After such bombs as Gothic and Salome's Last Dance, avant-garde trash director Ken Russell turns his perverse attention to simpler fare in this retelling of Bram Stoker's horror tale of a giant worm which resides in England's Peak district, and feasts on the bodies of young virgins. The typical Russell excesses--adolescent humor of a generally sexual nature (throughout, Russell wastes no opportunity in reminding audiences that a worm has phallic overtones), and a virulent anti-religious streak (embodied here in a pathetic fantasy sequence which features Roman soldiers raping nuns)--are irritating additions, but unlike other Russell efforts, they do not dominate the story. Peter Capaldi turns in a creditable performance as Angus Flint, a visiting archaeologist who matches wits with Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), the worm's vampiric emissary who has set her snake eyes on the town virgin, Eve. The film's droll humor--especially from Donohoe's character--make this Russell's best since Altered States. Recommended for larger fiction collections. (R. Pitman) [DVD Review--Oct. 7, 2003--Artisan, 93 min., R, $14.98--Not sure I understand the logic here, but Artisan's re-release of Ken Russell's wormfest on DVD has dropped the Pioneer version's commentary track and it's a wee bit shabbier-looking to boot, with a soft image, a fair amount of dirt and scratches, and an overall dark image (anamorphic widescreen, just like the earlier release). On the audio side, the Dolby Digital stereo soundtrack is serviceable, but no better than that. Bottom line: if you have the Pioneer version, you don't need this one; if not, well, this is one of the schlock master's better efforts--but it doesn't look or sound very impressive on the Artisan release, although the price is right.]