The Creeping Flesh

BaronBl00d (baronbl00d@aol.com) wrote on IMDB:

Throw in Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Hammer director Freddie Francis, a wonderful story about the found remains of a giant beast, gothic, Victorian sets and costumes, an eerie score, a wonderfully ironic and unexpected ending, and the philosophical question about the nature of evil...and you have The Creeping Flesh, and one HELL of a good film! The cast is superb, and this is probably one Of Cushing's best roles in the 70s as a good-natured, yet-determined anthropologist seeking to rid humanity of evil through the aid of some giant skeletal remains found in New Guinea that fleshes out with water contact. The plot is interesting...and complex...and a bit like Swiss Cheese...yet it is great fun in the hands of Francis(underrated as a director in my humble opinion!) Lee is as ever cold and austere and a joy to behold. The rest of the cast is quite good. The sets are lavish and the costumes very Victorian. The skeleton itself is most impressive! A wonderful way to spend the evening and a wonderful ending for the viewer unawares!

Coventry wrote on IMDB:

How can this image possibly be bad? Peter Cushing (star and protagonist of an endless list of horror classics) as a dedicated scientist on the verge of unraveling an entirely new evolution theory in which the existence of evil plays a crucial role. And Christopher Lee (once again, star and protagonist of an endless list of horror classics) as the over-ambitious president of an asylum, trying to steel Cushing's ideas to add them to his book about ‘the origin of insanity'. These actors, along with their character's vicious professions pretty much guarantee a dazzling horror premise already. If you then add a tight gothic atmosphere, overall decent special effects and loads of emotional intrigues, you've got yourself an authentic British horror highlight! And The Creeping Flesh isn't even a Hammer production! Responsible for this film is Tigon Productions, who also brought us overlooked milestones such as `The Witchfinder General' and `Blood on Satan's Claw'. Cushing's character (Dr. Hildern) is the discoverer of an ancient skeleton that might carry the secret of evil! When exposed to water, flesh immediately grows on the creature. Hildern develops an anti-evil vaccine, but has to use this same antidote on his lovely daughter Penelope when she finds out her beloved mother spend years in an asylum when she thought she was actually deceased already. Asylum keeper Lee – who's also Dr. Hildern's half brother – takes notice of the bizarre events going on in the Dr.'s mansion and hires somebody to steal the skeleton to increase his own success as an authority in the field of mental illnesses.   [ show more ]

The only negative comment you could give on this film is that it actually contains TOO much ideas and horrific aspects. Regretfully, this sometimes results in underdeveloped plot-twists and a lack of continuity. There are enough horror-elements in The Creeping Flesh to fill 3 movies, really! But, despite these little flaws, this is one of the purest and most entertaining Cushing/Lee collaborations, brilliantly directed by the talented Freddie Francis (`Torture Garden', `Tales from the Crypt…) The main actors, as well as the stunning Lorna Heilbron, are a joy to observe and the film is pretty darn suspenseful, too. All in one, a must see for the true horror fans. [ show less ]

HEFILM wrote on IMDB:

Tigon was one of the top English Horror film producers of it's era. This, I believe was their last horror film release. It is well produced, acted, directed,scored and pretty much top drawer in all departments especially at a time when the horror boom had peaked and production qualities were slipping. The plot is Lovecraft like in terms of it revolving around previous race being discovered and evil being considered as a scientific problem not a religious one. One of the best things about the script is that the back stories of the characters all figure into the monster story as it evolves in clever and even kind of meaningful ways. Lee and Cushing are both in good form here as is the uneven director Freddie Francis who shows enough horror to make it work without showing too much to give away the limits of his budget. He knows when to move the camera, when to cut, etc. The monster is memorable as is the music score. Lots of fun, this film, but not in a stupid way. The recent DVD release is no frills but features a good looking and sounding version of the film. If you like British period horror films and HP LOVECRAFT definitely find and enjoy this well made and very well written film.