Review of The Lair of the White Worm
By: Moviegoer Grim

Hey boys and girls, and welcome to this month's movie review, holy crap! Here I am! I cannot believe I am back after that massive movie review for last month's Halloween issue. But, you know, counseling works wonders for those traumatized by their job.

So, here I am, kids, and with Thanksgiving two days away, I want to say that I am still in lock-down in a State that has banned this holiday. So, if you are one of the few who can spend time with your loved ones, that is something to be thankful about truly.

Well, since we are still in lock-down and the movie theaters are not open, I am stuck watching what is either offered in random streaming services or online, which is precisely where I found this one.

So, what is this bad boy about?

While I was being a cheap ass and not wanting to drop twenty bucks on a rental, I found this 1988 Ken Russell film that is based on a novel by Dracula's creator, Bram Stoker. With the name of The Lair of the White Worm, you would assume that this flick would be your stereotypical 'B' Movie, well, if you like to judge films by their covers. See what I did there? Heh!

Anyhoo, if you made that judgment and chalked it up to be a 'B' flick, you are absolutely incorrect. While I understand that most of our younger readers will not know who the following actors are, just trust me, they were big names back in my day, and, boy, you missed out on some great acting!

Man, I digress. So, it has stars like Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg, and Amanda 'freaking' Donohoe as Lady Sylvia. You may ask, "Why did you say her name like that?"

My answer would be, "Because. I had no clue who she was and just made a stink about the wonderful actors in this film. While I will stand by that comment as I felt Donohoe made a believable Lady Sylvia."

Now we get down and dirty in Jolly Old England. The action revolves around a great worm or Werym. What? Haven't you read the book? Shame on you. It's actually like a giant snake-like creature more than a worm, but I'm not the one in charge of the story. Getting right back on track, the beast was killed one hundred years ago by Grant's ancestor.

All is gravy until an archaeologist digs up an enormous snake skull in the location, which dates back to the days of the Roman Empire, and, as you probably guessed, some weird stuff begins to go down.

Moving right along with the program, the convent was originally a pagan temple where a giant snake was worshiped...might I add, that the majority of the convent were woman and naked. Interesting enough is that even after a century, the descendants of that cult were still around.

Moving forward with the show, a snake lady learns of the discovery and snatches it with hopes of reviving the cult. But you can’t have a revival of the Cult of the White Worm without a good old-fashioned human sacrifice—enter Catherine Oxenberg's Eve Trent.

Reaper Rick introduced me to Ken Russell movies, and they seem to appear to have a running theme of symbolism for naughty things. This is a very adult movie, and children should be nowhere near the screen while you indulge in the flick.

In all seriousness, this movie does not disappoint in any form; at the very least, for those of you who are eighteen to thirty-year-old’s (an possibly our dear editor) reading this, you will find it a campy cult film. But for myself, I found it an interesting examination of snake cults and humans who transform into snakes themselves.

So, for Lair of the White Worm it is an old school cult horror flick with a kick and I award it three and a half fun-filled stars , and if you are interested in watching it for yourself, it is found on Tubi for free! All right, gang, that is it for me this month. With the winter holidays coming at up next issue, I may attempt to watch a Christmas film. God help us all!

Until Next time!
I remain…
Moviegoer Grim

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