I'm one of those who loves old horror films especially the one's from England which have their own unique style but let's face it, not all of them were top notch efforts and I think this clearly is one of those despite it's sincerity. Story is set in Victorian England where bodies have been piling up completely drained of blood and Police Inspector Quennell (Peter Cushing) has taken over the case. He also notices that the bodies have strange wounds about the face and this leads him to believe that some sort of flying beast is what's causing their deaths.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
What Inspector Quennell doesn't know is that his acquaintance Dr. Karl Mallinger (Robert Flemyng) who's an entomologist has somehow transformed his daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham) into a half human/half moth creature that feeds on blood. Clare has the ability to turn into this beast anytime she feels but she wants a male mate and her father has been very busy trying to bring to life another vampiric Deathshead moth but when he feels that Quennell's investigation has brought him too close they pack up and leave. Inspector Quennell tracks down Clare and Dr. Mallinger to another town but hasn't figured out exactly where they are living until his daughter Meg starts acting strange and when another body pops up this points him in the right direction to end everything!
This less than spectacular effort was directed by veteran Vernon Sewell who was no spring chicken in 1968 and would end up directing only one more film after this but one has to wonder if his age or the reception this film had that prompted that. Hammer Studios was so successful during the 1960's that it led to other studios being created such as Tigon Productions which made this film but it never had any huge hits and went kaput in the early 1970's. One of the big reasons (if not the entire reason) that this film fails to be suspenseful is because of the poor special effects which has Ventham in her moth form appearing in an outfit no different than the one that Susan Cabot wore in "The Wasp Woman" and I never could understand how these creatures could morph into another life form and have their clothes disappear! Wouldn't they be monsters wearing the same clothes like Lon Chaney Jr. did in "The Wolf Man"? I also noticed a few other things that may or may not interest anyone (but...who cares?) like the scene where the morgue attendant (played by creepy Roy Hudd) is having dinner on a slab with a body and if you look closely you'll see the cadavers foot move more than once. I also never did fully understand the reason Dr. Mallinger's scarred servant was so mean to the birds that were kept and for what purpose his death meant but I'm guessing it was to just keep him quiet...for good! It's also safe to say that Billy the bug catcher isn't going to be getting laid anytime soon because it appeared that the bleary eyed Meg was actually interested in him but all he wanted to do was kill bugs. He's about "THAT CLOSE" from being Renfield! The ending also hurts this film and it's hard to believe that some giant moth-creature would just fly into some fire and be killed after being intelligent enough to lure victims to secluded areas. If your a fan of English horror films (like myself) than you'll find this watchable and a good reason for that is the casting of Cushing who's mere presence raises this from junk to passable entertainment. I am recommending this because true horror film fans will find enough here to keep them interested and I have to admit that I'm one of those who's a sucker for these types of films even if it's not from Hammer.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
What Inspector Quennell doesn't know is that his acquaintance Dr. Karl Mallinger (Robert Flemyng) who's an entomologist has somehow transformed his daughter Clare (Wanda Ventham) into a half human/half moth creature that feeds on blood. Clare has the ability to turn into this beast anytime she feels but she wants a male mate and her father has been very busy trying to bring to life another vampiric Deathshead moth but when he feels that Quennell's investigation has brought him too close they pack up and leave. Inspector Quennell tracks down Clare and Dr. Mallinger to another town but hasn't figured out exactly where they are living until his daughter Meg starts acting strange and when another body pops up this points him in the right direction to end everything!
This less than spectacular effort was directed by veteran Vernon Sewell who was no spring chicken in 1968 and would end up directing only one more film after this but one has to wonder if his age or the reception this film had that prompted that. Hammer Studios was so successful during the 1960's that it led to other studios being created such as Tigon Productions which made this film but it never had any huge hits and went kaput in the early 1970's. One of the big reasons (if not the entire reason) that this film fails to be suspenseful is because of the poor special effects which has Ventham in her moth form appearing in an outfit no different than the one that Susan Cabot wore in "The Wasp Woman" and I never could understand how these creatures could morph into another life form and have their clothes disappear! Wouldn't they be monsters wearing the same clothes like Lon Chaney Jr. did in "The Wolf Man"? I also noticed a few other things that may or may not interest anyone (but...who cares?) like the scene where the morgue attendant (played by creepy Roy Hudd) is having dinner on a slab with a body and if you look closely you'll see the cadavers foot move more than once. I also never did fully understand the reason Dr. Mallinger's scarred servant was so mean to the birds that were kept and for what purpose his death meant but I'm guessing it was to just keep him quiet...for good! It's also safe to say that Billy the bug catcher isn't going to be getting laid anytime soon because it appeared that the bleary eyed Meg was actually interested in him but all he wanted to do was kill bugs. He's about "THAT CLOSE" from being Renfield! The ending also hurts this film and it's hard to believe that some giant moth-creature would just fly into some fire and be killed after being intelligent enough to lure victims to secluded areas. If your a fan of English horror films (like myself) than you'll find this watchable and a good reason for that is the casting of Cushing who's mere presence raises this from junk to passable entertainment. I am recommending this because true horror film fans will find enough here to keep them interested and I have to admit that I'm one of those who's a sucker for these types of films even if it's not from Hammer.