Good idea lost in the noise

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Horror superstars Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing play half brothers in this Victorian era shocker. Cushing is an eminent scientist, Emmanuel Hildern, who has put forth the idea that insanity is a disease that *can* possibly be cured. His discovery of a most unusual pile of bones in Papua New Guinea would seem to lend credence to his theories of evolution. Lorna Heilbron is Emmanuels' troubled daughter Penelope, who's distraught over not knowing very much about her late mother. And Lee is James Hildern, operator of a lunatic asylum who also has a daffy idea that he aims to prove.All the ingredients are here for what turns out to be a pretty solid, if imperfect, feature. Cushing and Lee are simply wonderful, especially in their scenes together. And they're directed by renowned cinematographer / filmmaker Freddie Francis, who also guided the two of them in "The Skull" from 1965. The amusing, interesting screenplay is by Peter Spenceley and Jonathan Rumbold, who create a few subplots and mix them together with decent results. One of the through lines is Emmanuels' accidental discovery that his newly acquired skeleton can be restored to life!A company named Tigon made this one, and it's good enough to compare favorably with a lot of the period horrors cranked out by the more famous Hammer Studios and Amicus productions. The period detail is respectable, the lighting by Norman Warwick is just right, and the music by Paul Ferris is excellent. Makeup artist Roy Ashton does typically fine work. The film is also somewhat gory, but it won't be too hard to take for more squeamish viewers.Gorgeous Heilbron delivers a transfixing performance as the daughter. The exemplary supporting cast also includes George Benson, Kenneth J. Warren, Duncan Lamont, Harry Locke, Michael Ripper (whose role is much too brief), Catherine Finn, and Jenny Runacre.It's all worth it just for the delicious twist ending, which does help to smooth over any holes there might be in the story.Seven out of 10.

I want to start off by saying that I thoroughly enjoy most of Freddie Francis' films, especially those he made with Hammer. But...I was expecting so much more from THE CREEPING FLESH. With the recent passing of Christopher Lee (RIP), I wanted to go back and re-watch his films that I loved and also to find some that I hadn't previously viewed. So I stumbled upon THE CREEPING FLESH and immediately sought it out. Maybe my expectations were too high going in, but I was a bit let down. As I said, I really like Freddie Francis. I also love Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. So it was a no-brainer that I would like this film. And I did like it...just not as much as I thought I would going in to it.The Victorian age set pieces were fantastic. The subject matter of the story (though not scientifically accurate) was interesting. The acting was great. The atmosphere was pretty good. It was the lack of the horror element that I was expecting and it just didn't seem to show up until the final 15 minutes or so of the film. When it did show up it was great. I just wish the movie would have used it sooner.I also disagree with the many people who feel THE CREEPING FLESH is Freddie Francis' best film. TORTURE GARDEN, TALES FROM THE CRYPT, LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF and maybe even THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS and THE SKULL were all better in my opinion. I especially loved LEGEND OF THE WEREWOLF...but I am partial to werewolves.All in all, THE CREEPING FLESH is a good movie worth watching, especially if you are a Christopher Lee or Peter Cushing fan (or a fan of Hammer films even though this is not a Hammer production). It's a good, solid 6 out of 10.

In the late 19th century, scientist Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) returns home to London with a prehistoric skeleton that he acquired in Papua New Guinea. While cleaning the skeleton, he learns that water triggers a horrific reaction - reanimation. He slices off the finger, now covered in flesh, and preserves it for later experiments. While having breakfast with his daughter, Penelope (the breathtaking Lorna Heilbron), Emmanuel reads a letter informing him of his wife's death. Unbeknowst to Penelope, her mother has been in an insane asylum since she was a little girl. Fearful that his wife's mental illness may be hereditary, Emmanuel has sheltered his daughter at their estate with only the servants to keep her company. She's not allowed outside, except for short walks within the gated premises. Emmanuel travels to the institution where his wife died. He meets up with his half-brother, James (Christopher Lee), who happens to be the insane asylum's director and a competing scientist. Emmanuel was always the favorite of the two siblings, the one destined to achieve greatness, so it's with great pleasure that James tells him that he is in the running for the prestigious Richter Award. In addition, he will no longer fund Emmanuel's transcontinental trips. I'm not familiar with most horror predating 1980. I rate this somewhere between 60%-70% (about a 6.5/10). I've never watched a movie, horror or other genre, with so much anticipation and dread for what may come. The climax is truly a frightening one. The suspense is nail-biting! Lee and Cushing are great but it's the beautiful Heilbron who steals the show. I want to watch more films she stars in. I recommend this to horror fans who want to explore the classics. No gore, torture, or loud music cues to instill a false sense of fear. I liked it!

Scientist and widower, Emmanuel Hildern returns t Victorian England, from a long expedition to Papua New Guinea, where he has found the skeletal remains of what he believes to be a "Missing link" that will dispel Darwins's theory of evolution and perhaps prove his theory that pure evil is a disease that can be cured. Emmanuel receives a letter form his half brother, James, who runs the local sanitarium, its states that his mentally deranged wife had passed away there, his daughter Penelope believes her mother was dead a long time but Emmanuel has been hiding the truth to protect her, his ever growing fears are that the madness of her mother might me hereditary. His experiments on his skeleton sees him accidentally stumble on a way to reanimate the creature by adding water, he takes some blood cells from the creature, a mythical force of evil, and proceeds to find a cure for evil, he injects his daughter with it to protect her from madness, he however finds out his conclusions were a little premature with devastating results for him and Penelope. What can I say, I'm a sucker for Victorian era horror, if it has Cushing and Lee all the better, this one does. Tigon's The Creeping Flesh follows some faux science, but then that era had many such implausible idealists so I always forgive such misgivings. If the film has a fault, its that is follows too many of these ideas and ideals and that the rather unique creature only turns up very late on, still though its one of Francis's better pictures, Cushing is as always in his element as the befuddled mad scientist who fails to see the errors of his ways, Lee is cool too, as the obnoxious and calculating James Hildern who has his sights set on stealing the Richter Prize away from his brother by any means possible, there's also a nice twist that will have you guessing whether or not all you have seen actually happened at all.