Though it introduced collectively Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, and Barbara Steele, shortly earlier than Karloff’s loss of life and on the cusp of Steele’s profession wane, Curse of the Crimson Altar can hardly reside as much as the expectations such a confluence of horror film icons creates.
Smug antiquarian Robert Manning (Mark Eden) travels to the agricultural English city of Greymarsh the place his household has roots, looking for his brother Peter (Denys Peek). The privileged viewer already is aware of what’s turn out to be of Peter, as a result of a prologue has proven him promoting his soul to Devil at a ritual sacrifice overseen by blue-skinned witch Lavinia (Steele), sealing his deal by plunging a knife into the center of a sufferer. Lavinia was put to loss of life by burning 300 or so years earlier, however nonetheless appears to be haunting the goals of anybody who stays at Craxted Lodge, a rustic manse owned by descendant Morley (Lee).
The early scenes of Crimson Altar promise prime late-’60s disreputability, and followers of prime camp can get themselves right into a critical lather on the opening ritual, which contains a hooded, nipple-ornamented dominatrix (Nita Lorraine) mercilessly whipping some trussed blonde, and a stag-helmeted, G-string clad muscle man (Nicholas Head) beating scorching metal and branding Peter as member of the Satanic membership. Steele watches and directs, clad in ram’s-horn headdress and feathers, physique painted blue with vivid purple lips,
a perfervid fetish totem climbed straight off a DC comedian web page, or Vladimir Tretchikoff’s Chinese language Lady turned feral priestess.
Robert’s subsequent arrival in Greymarsh instantly presents extra earthbound however equally sensationalist thrills. Robert leaps to the rescue of a half-naked girl being chased down by goons in vehicles bent on pack-rape, just for this to show solely a nasty social gathering sport, as a result of the Lodge is internet hosting a decadent upper-crust bohemian rave the place perversion and licentiousness are the forex of the evening. The thought behind this scene, that the usually staid inhabitants of Greymarsh indulge an evening of hedonistic delights earlier than celebrating the loss of life of their scapegoat, is intriguing. However as an alternative of portending a descent into beautiful depravity, all this saucy stuff as an alternative proves mere modish ornamentation on a slack narrative that quickly slows to a dawdle, with subplots left dangling and hope of even probably the most primary thrills dashed.
The plot, probably filched from a H.P. Lovecraft story and shut sufficient to a number of different then-recent likenesses together with John Moxey’s Metropolis of the Lifeless (1960), Roger Corman’s The Haunted Palace (1963), and Michael Reeves’ The She-Beast (1965), meanders because it duly units up purple herrings, notably Karloff’s aged, wheelchair-bound Professor Marsh, brandy fanatic and scholar of occultism and medieval torture, and his tall, mute chauffeur (Michael Warren), who could or could not have tried to blow Robert’s head off while pheasant capturing.
Lee performs a bunch so avuncular he have to be hiding one thing. In the meantime Robert romances Morley’s niece Eve (Virginia Wetherell) with all of the allure of a ferret in a tar puddle. Invited to stick with the Morleys in Craxted, Robert is beset by goals the place he sees Lavinia and her cadre of demonic helpmates, who try to drive him to signal his identify within the satan’s ledger. Quickly it emerges that the Mannings’ forefather was the choose who had Lavinia killed, and her shade appears to be working by way of some flesh-and-blood avatar to finish her revenge by claiming their descendents’ souls. Michael Gough is thrown into the combination as a frightened, batty servant who tries to warn Robert.
The course by veteran filmmaker Vernon Sewell is strong but additionally fairly mercenary, going for gold early on with all that kinkiness however undermining the script’s half-hearted makes an attempt to create some narrative ambiguity.
Because the movie rolls into its third act, screenwriters Mervyn Haisman and Henry Lincoln appear to be leaning in the direction of demystifying their plot, as Robert discovers a hidden chamber that’s been fastidiously dressed to look disused, and photographs later provide the villain working his diabolism with satanic helpmates who’re truly simply costumes on frames, suggesting all of the black magic is simply the by-product of a sick thoughts. However the movie’s shoddy structuring, together with the declarative opening and really finale, foils this. Sewell’s profession stretched again to the Thirties, and he had made a number of mild horror and eerie movies, most of which have been variations on the identical primary story, during which a younger couple buys a haunted property, together with the strong and modest Ghost Ship (1952). As horror turned extra well-liked within the ‘60s and midway competent style smiths have been wanted, Sewell branched out and made The Blood Beast Terror (1967), this, and 1971’s Burke and Hare earlier than his profession ended.
The movie’s chief pleasure is the pictures by John Coquillon, who would quickly turn out to be Sam Peckinpah’s most popular cinematographer: his palettes mix and steadiness autumnal mustiness with the saturated velvety interiors across the location (truly W.S. Gilbert’s home, the splendidly named Grim’s Dyke). The evening photographs are expertly lit and atmospheric in shades of tallowy mild and chiaroscuro darkish, notably when the revellers recreate Lavinia’s burning in a morbidly ecstatic parade by way of the darkish timber on Morley’s property, and later when Robert snoops by way of a graveyard looking for a clue. In such moments, Crimson Altar a minimum of appears like an awesome British horror movie. As Sewell tries to make his movie hip with psychedelic prospers, Coquillon obliges with dream and torture sequences drenched in violently vivid colors, and kaleidoscope results superimposed in for trippy textures or carving photographs into delirious fragments.
Crimson Altar was made by Tigon, an upstart low-budget firm that attempted to wriggle into the British horror market like Milton Subotsky’s Amicus, and it gave a begin to one main if doomed directing expertise, Michael Reeves: notably, Karloff and Coqullion had labored on Reeves’ The Sorcerers the 12 months earlier than. Steele, in her first function since making her final main Italian movie, the daftly arty An Angel for Devil (1966), is given completely nothing to do right here besides sit round and look weirdly lovely.
If considered a type of photographic unfold fairly than film, with Steele referred to as upon to incarnate the perfect of erotic stygian femininity, Crimson Altar presents Steele on the peak of her iconic energy in horror cinema. Sadly, at no level does she get to work together with Lee or Karloff. The movie’s ultimate twist reveals that Lavinia had taken possession of Morley, and the witch’s shade cackles down at her tormentors because the Lodge burns down round her. The intimations of gender subversion and sexual confusion mendacity behind Lee’s seemingly schismatic, weak-willed efforts to be evil, as soon as once more may have offered a extra adventurous director with huge realms of exploitable weirdness.
At the very least the climax presents the sight of Karloff managing to rise from his chair lengthy sufficient to carry out a little bit heroism, and despite his fragile well being the actor nonetheless shows a gleeful theatrical skill to enliven proceedings, whereas Lee appears totally with out recourse. Crimson Altar is transient and competent sufficient to be a painless and even modestly worthwhile viewing for horror followers, particularly if seen as a move of fragmented however individually considerable components. However what a disappointment it’s as a healthful
