And we are back. Well while getting
the bathroom remodeled (Not our
choice at all) I thought I would get back at the week.
Today's film in RETURN OF CULT CLASSICS...we skibble across the pond
from director Ken Russell (The Devils, Tommy, Altered
States, The Lair of the White Worm, Lady Chatterley, Treasure Island,
Tales of Erotica, Dogboys and Trapped Ashes) and brought
loosely based on Bram Stoker telling
of the English legend of the D'Ampton Worm.
Recognizing the cast from several BBC series, ranging from comedies,
dramas and science fiction, it does my heart good to have a small
sense of culture. Heir to the D' Ampton Estate in County Durham,
John D'Ampton was said to have done battle with a giant worm that was
terrorizing the local villages. So we are watching that...with
boobies. This is The Lair of the White Worm.
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| Must be warm in her house. Honest. |
A
young Scottish archeologist name of Angus Flint (Peter
Capaldi of The Secret Agent, Chandler & Co, Neverwhere,
Fortysomething, The Best Man, Waking the Dead, Doctor Who, Torchwood
and Paddington) is
excavating the site of a covenant near at the Derbyshire bed and
breakfast (in spite of it feels more like a tavern)
which is ran by the Trent Sisters, Mary (Sammi Davis of
Mona Lisa, Hope and Glory, Lionheart, Homefront, Four Rooms,
Woundings and The Double Born)
and Eve (Catherine Oxenberg of Dynasty, The Love Boat,
Roman Holiday TV Movie, Acapulco H.E.A.T., Treacherous Beauties,
Watch Over Me and Starship Troopers 3: Marauder).
An bizarre and large skull is unearthed and holds certain snake like
characteristics with the flint and burial mound about it giving it a
rough date of at least a thousand years ago, almost giving credit to
the legends of the D'Ampton legend of the wyrm.
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| Dr. Ian Malcolm will have a field day with this! |
In a
nearby manor, the Temple House, Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda
Donohoe of Castaway, The RainbowDark Obsession, L.A. Law, A Woman's
Guide to Adultery, Liar Liar, One Night Stand, The Calling and
Trafficker) returns to the
region after a prolonged hiatus. At a gathering, Angus encounters
Lord James D' Ampton (Hugh Grant of The Last Place on
Earth, The Dawning, The Lady and the Highwayman, Four Weddings and a
Funeral, Sense and Sensibility, Extreme Measures, About a Boy, Love
Actually, The Rewrite and The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
direct descendant of John D'Ampton who recently inherited the manor
and the lands not far from Temple House. The two begin to strike up
a friendship as well as their own theories on whether there is truth
to the legends. The folk song of the D'Ampton Wyrm was catchy and
enjoyable.
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| Fear the superimposed flames of damnation!!! |
Shortly
after this, people in the nearby villages are missing. A few at a
time, raising all sorts of questions and concerns. The skull has
been taken from Angus's room, The Trent sisters have their father's
fob watch that was missing for more than a year with their parents
discovered at Stonerich Cavern miles from the farmhouse/bed and
breakfast and folks are skittish as hell. James and Angus postulate
that an ancient cult was formed around the time of that land being
Mercia, the Roman creation for England against the Saxons and that
they may have been Wyrm Worshippers treating this ancient monster as
a god fulfilling it with blood sacrifices. All this ties around the
arrival of Lady Syliva...hmm I wonder if there is a connection.
Will
the Wyrm turn again? Will the cult revive? Does Angus have a beef
with James?
Quick
bit of observation was seeing one of London's hardest working
character actors, Paul Brooke. Who? Well my first introduction to
him was the Rancor Keeper in Return of the Jedi. A talented chap to
be certain but not really wanting to see him without his shirt again.
PC Erny (Paul Brooke of Return of the Jedi, Reilly: Ace
of Spies, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, The Kit
Curran Radio Show, Mystery!: Campion, The Fool, The Young Indiana
Jones Chronicles and Agatha Christie's Marple)
Well there is a fair degree of nudity so the menfolk should be
happy...unless depictions of Romans raping nuns might freak them out.
There's an issue with a stick. I have heard of a devining rod or
dowsing rod if you will for finding natural water springs or even oil
but um...this one detects virgin women. Yeesh. Aside from that,
you do have a suspenseful ghost story/legend, the practical effects
are fair minus the giant snake puppet and I felt our antagonist was
revealed a touch too early. Might want the kiddies to skip this one
too.
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| Blimey, another Four Weddings and a Funeral fan. |
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