Probably the closest Hammer-imitators Tigon ever got to reproducing the English Gothic style of their more famous competitors, The Creeping Flesh is one of those films that you can't but help liking despite yourself.
Opening Cabinet of Dr Caligari -style with Peter Cushing as the narrator with a tale to tell, we soon establish a solid sense of time and place: Late Victorian England; a culture that believes in progress with European civilisation – and the professional middle class male in particular – at its apogee.
Professor Emmanuel Hildern (Cushing) has just returned from a long trip to Papua New Guinea with the discovery that he hopes will make his name and fortune: The skeleton of a missing link that promises to revolutionise theories of man's origin.
As the professor starts to clean the skeleton's hand the water inexplicably makes flesh form. He chisels off the offending finger – so obviously phallic it hardly counts as a subtext – and places the pink, swollen thing into a specimen jar.
Researching, Emmanuel uncovers references in his library to an evil god that would be awoken by the deluge – an event not scheduled for thousands of years, by which point the natives should have attained the same level of civilisation as his enlightened self currently enjoys…
Examining the creature's blood, Professor Hildern then hits upon the idea of developing a serum that could be used to innoculate mankind against evil, ushering in a new age of peace. Who should emerge as an ideal test subject but his young daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron), who has started to display signs of the madness that led her late mother to the asylum – an asylum run, we might note, by Emmanuel's half-brother and rival (mad) scientist James, played by none other than Christopher Lee.
Needless to say the experiment doesn't go according to plan as, rather than becoming immune to evil, Penelope is overwhelmed with it and runs amok – here note the obvious symbolism of her scarlet dress – thereby also bringing Emmanuel's researches to the attention of James, who's also busy hunting down an escaped lunatic (Kenneth J Warren) of his own…
Okay, the evil god that can be revived by the rain idea stretches credulity but the competing explanations of madness and criminality maybe aren't too far off the mark when one thinks of the likes of the 'science' of phrenology emerging around the same time. Plus the Lee-Cushing partnership is always a joy to behold, not least for the way in which they can seemingly effortlessly invest even the most preposterous of material with far more gravitas than it perhaps warranted – from the ridiculous to the sublime, as it were.
Other plaudits go to the ever-reliable Michael Ripper in one of his speciality invest a minor character with more personality than you would expect outings and to Kenneth Warren's tortured soul.
Freddie Francis's direction is effective, but better than might have been expected given he took over from Don Sharp at short notice, while regular Tigon composer Paul Ferris contributes another effective score that owes little to the more bombastic Hammer house style of James Bernard.
All in all, one of the better examples of a style of horror that was soon thereafter to disappear forever in the wake of The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
DD's Region 2 DVD of The Creeping Flesh is another quality product from a company who you can tell actually cares about its product, the contrast between its feature-packed English gothic releases and the often bare bones discs from other companies telling.
One does wonder, however, if a touch colour correction might have been of benefit as far as the visuals are concerned, with many of the night-time scenes presenting a near impenetrable darkness that detracts from one's appreciation of the otherwise solid transfer – an open matte 4:3 by the looks of things – and authentic if understandably unspectacular mono audio.
The centrepiece extra is of the feature length commentary, featuring none other than Christopher Lee himself and proving keen as ever to demonstrate his erudition, which can be either informative or overbearing depending on how one feels. Thankfully regular DD moderator Marcus Hearn (oh, how I envy thee) does a good job at keeping the grand old man in check, asking the right questions and giving the broader background while also not being afraid to correct Lee when he refers to the wrong David Lean adaptation of Dickens.
Hearn also contributes the viewing notes, co-authored with English Gothic author Jonathan Rigby – a nicely put together 24 page booklet copiously illustrated with production stills, posters and the like accompanying a useful essay on the film, its director, production and reception.
The package is rounded off with a photo gallery, original trailer and selection of promos for The Abominable Snowman, Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter and Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell.
Copyright © K H Brown 2002-2005
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