The Lair of the White Worm

"Some legends really bite."

1988 1h 33m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 331

HorrorComedy

Synopsis

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When an archaeologist uncovers a strange skull in a foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further inexplicable occurrences.

“Some legends really bite.”

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Cast

Amanda Donohoe
Lady Sylvia Marsh
Hugh Grant
Lord James D'Ampton
Catherine Oxenberg
Eve Trent
Peter Capaldi
Angus Flint
Sammi Davis
Mary Trent
Stratford Johns
Peters
Paul Brooke
P.C. Erny
Imogen Claire
Dorothy Trent

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ken Russell
Writers: Ken Russell
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ken Russell, shot by Dick Bush. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stanisław Syrewicz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Davies shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Amanda Donohoe and Hugh Grant and Catherine Oxenberg carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Some legends really bite.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ken Russell directs. Dick Bush behind the camera. Stanisław Syrewicz scores. Peter Davies cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $2.5M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Earned back only 48% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Ken Russell, shot by Dick Bush. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Stanisław Syrewicz. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Peter Davies shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Amanda Donohoe and Hugh Grant and Catherine Oxenberg carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Some legends really bite.".
9IMDB entry: tt0095488 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 12 themes, including "virgin", "based on novel or book", "vampire", "snake charmer".

The technical file

Cinematography: Dick Bush
Original score: Stanisław Syrewicz
Editing: Peter Davies
Production design: Anne Tilby
Makeup / hair: Geoffrey Portass
Stunt coordinator: Stuart St. Paul
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $2,500,000
Box office: $1,189,315
Return: 48% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

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Ken Russell

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-12-22
★ 6/10
Quirky, amusing, sometimes surreal horror about a snake cult in England Directed & written by Ken Russell and loosely based on Bram Stoker’s novel, “The Lair of the White Worm” (1988) chronicles events in England when a young archeologist (Peter Capaldi) uncovers a skull of some unknown beast near a bed & breakfast run by two sisters (Sammi Davis & Catherine Oxenberg). These three and Eve’s beau (Hugh Grant) soon stumble upon an ancient snake cult led by the eccentric Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), who dwells at a lavish estate nearby. The movie is a creative and entertaining creature feature reminiscent in tone & theme of “Squirm” (1976), but with Russell’s well-known offbeat excesses. The “creatures” are vampire-like snake people plus a gigantic serpent at the close, both of which recall the snake worshipers & giant serpents from “Conan the Barbarian” (1982). There are some iconic cinematic images, like Donohoe as the vampiric snake lady, not to mention a few well done horror scenes, like a snake woman who’s cut in half, but still wiggles with furious intent. The snake cult is diabolical in an anti-Christ way and I can see why some viewers might find the movie shocking and offensive, like the weird nun-raping flashback. Yet everything's so exaggerated and sometimes cheesy with a bit o' humor thrown in that the film can't be taken very seriously, which negates it from being shocking or disturbing. Fun in a horrific way? Yes. Disturbing? No. Also, keep in mind that horror villains/monsters are SUPPOSED to drip with ee-vil and be shocking. The question is, do they win or do the noble protagonists win? On the female front, the chief snake lady thinks she’s hotter than she really is as Donohoe amusingly hams it up. Meanwhile Catherine Oxenberg as Eve is a semi-highlight, particularly in the last act. The film runs 1 hour, 33 minutes and was shot entirely in England (Hertfordshire; Manifold Valley, Staffordshire; Peak District National Park; and Derbyshire). Thor's Cave in Manifold Valley is magnificent. GRADE: B-

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