The Skull
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Movie Reviews of The Skull
Movie Review: The Skull
Summary: 5 Stars
Love this movie! Classic Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee. I saw this film years ago when AMC played the older horror films during their Halloween movie marathon, and became hooked on the Hammer and Amicus films. Of course the special effects are a bit cheesy by today's standards, but what really drives these films are the performances.Movie Review: Very good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Very good movie, with very good actors. I like this kind of films, with no effects like the modern ones, giving our mind time to act having a natural reaction infront the scary.Movie Review: Interesting idea built around the Marquis de Sade legend
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Skull" brings to life (no pun intended!) a most interesting horror tale built around the evil doings written down in history concerning the notorious Marquis de Sade. He was supposedly not insane but simply the personification of pure evil with his handsome looks and anti social/sadistic behaviour towards all he encountered. His life here serves as an ideal and indeed original basis for a horror tale about the bizzare and frightening powers he still possesses after his death in the form of his skull which is unleashed on some unsuspecting individuals in a later century.
This 1965 Amicus production stars the always terrific combination of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and explores this rather frightening premise of life, or power, after death. Adapted from a short story by the very talented horror writer Robert Bloch who was responsible for such horror classics as "Psycho" and "The House That Dripped Blood" it tells of the exhumation of the skull of the Marquis de Sade which passes from one curio collector to another and through its strange and deadly powers manages to continue the terror from beyond the grave and bring misfortune and death to all who possess it.
Peter Cushing plays Christopher Maitland an avid collector of antiques and curiosities such as a book that once belonged to the famed Marquis, the cover of which is made of human skin! Despite warnings from his fellow collector Sir Matthew Phillips (Christopher Lee) about the skulls evil powers Cushing through fair means and foul comes into possession of the skull and once it is placed among his collection it starts to take a frightening control over his mind turning him into a killer resulting in a tragic conclusion to the story.
Ably directed by veteran Hammer director Freddie Francis this film has a very spooky premise which delivers a good but not great story. The film does tend to drag at times, in particular in Cushing's dream sequence where he is abducted and taken to a mysterious court where he is almost forced to commit suicide. However "The Skull" has some very memorably scary moments.Particulary effective is the way the skull seems to take on a life of its own. Some of the action is shot from within the skull which is excellent in engendering an eerie sense that we are seeing what it is actually thinking. It's movements around rooms and its appearing in different locations is also well handled. The film also boasts one of the finest graveyard sets of any Hammer/Amicus production in the flash back sequence at the beginning when the Marquis's skull is dug up. Full of creepy old headstones, wrought iron fencing and an eerie whistling wind it is unsurpassed in creating just the right sense of doom and horror in this story. Indeed as in all these types of productions the attention to detail is excellent. Cushing and Lee work well together as always and it is good to see Peter Cushing, a highly underrated actor performing in a role that has a bit of menace thrown in for good measure.
"The Skull" is definately interesting viewing and has a theme which is original and a move away from the usual Vampire/Wolfman/Frankenstein features that predominated at this time. While not a great horror classic it is still a good film that has its share of spine chilling situations guaranteed to keep your interest.
Movie Review: The Skull.
Summary: 4 Stars
It's good to see that this long lost film from Amicus productions finally gets a decent dvd release. This classic British horror film from the 60's had its moments but was slightly inferior to the other great Amicus horror films that came out later during the years that followed. Whats great about this film though is it's fantastic storyline which was written by Robert Bloch and it's great cast with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee at their best and a memorable role by Patrick Wymark as a sadistic and evil Judge in a dream sequence (watch the scene as he forces Peter Cushing's character to play Russian Roulette). The film was directed by Freddie Frances and he has such a visual flair adding a gothic look to the proceedings. Christopher Maitland (Peter Cushing excellent as usual) who is offered a skull and a fleshbound book originally belonging to none other than the Marquis de Sade for a mere £500, at first he is skeptical of its provenance but finally agrees to buy it from Marco a shifty character (brilliantly played by Patrick Wymark) who previously stole the skull and book from Matthew Phillips (Christopher Lee) who had fallen under it's sinister spell in the past and was glad the skull and book had been stolen. Matthew tries to convince Christopher of its evil power and advises him to get rid of it as soon as possible, but Christopher being abit stubborn keeps the skull and begins to come unstuck, he also starts hallucinating and having bizarre dreams. All the performances were first rate but this is Peter Cushing's film, he is literally in every scene and gives a convincing performance of a man falling pray to evil.
I can't help thinking that this could have been a true classic if it had had a bigger budget, even though the premise of a possessed skull seemed kind of silly it still worked and was very entertaining. The new dvd doesn't have any special features, however it was shown in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and it looks great for its age. Colors are bright and vibrant while there are barely any signs of aging at all and the sound is in stereo while not particularly that good it still gets the job done, most of the dialogue can be heard cleanly with a few slight problems here and there, but nothing to get upset about. A good story presented here by some true horror legends that anyone should enjoy it's the type of film that doesn't need buckets of blood and gore or a psychotic maniac with a hockey mask walking around to make it entertaining or scary, Highly recommended and two thumbs up!.
Movie Review: Another classic Peter Cushing film...thank you, Legend!
Summary: 4 Stars
A truly creepy film, THE SKULL is one of many great Peter Cushing films that has finally made its way to dvd in a great presentation. The film features one of Cushing's better performances -- not that he ever gave a bad one -- but this is one of his more subdued and thoughtful performances, until the skull of de Sade begins to take hold. Christopher Lee is credited as a "guest star", but he has three or four strong scenes with Cushing and does a stellar job not showing up the star. Patrick Wymark, Nigel Green, Jill Bennett, Michael Gough and Patrick Magee give very strong performances as well, regardless of the size of the roles in the movie.
What is most noticeable about the film is the last 20-30 minutes, in which Cushing (and the rest of the cast) give nearly wordless performances leading up to the thrilling climax. The atmosphere created by Francis and the rest of the crew & actors is some of the darkest and sinister I've seen in a British film from the 60s. The themes of evil lasting beyond the living, and what lies behind evil, are explored rather well too. I would say this is my favorite Amicus film after seeing the film presented widescreen, with a very nice, complementary transfer. Francis had a skilled eye as a cinematographer, and THE SKULL might be one of his better crafted movies.
Having picked up a copy of this already, I can say that Legend Films did a wondeful job with the release. The transfer captures the grain of the 1965 film well, the colors look smashing and the sound is much better than I expected. The dvd also has a trailer for the film. A real deal, as this is a well done creeper -- very highly recommended to fans of Cushing, Lee, Amicus, Hammer and all other Euro-gothic chillers. Thank you, Legend, for releasing this. Now to wait for THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH...