Superstars of Horror: Christopher Lee

Umbrella Entertainment

3 DVD Set

Umbrella Entertainment has so far released two Superstars of Horror Collections, Peter Cushing and Boris Karloff. Both have been well received and offer a nice selection of key films by each actor. The third set is Christopher Lee and includes two of his more outrageous performances in The Castle of Fu Manchu and The Bloody Judge as well as a lesser known film in “The House that Dripped Blood”.

Both the Castle of Fu Manchu and The Bloody Judge were directed by Jess Franco, the celebrated Euro cult filmmaker who has produced a vast range of work from the sublime Vampyros Lesbos through to the “women in jail exploitation classic” 99 women. He continues to direct today and it is estimated he has made some 200 films so far.

The Castle of Fu Manchu is a classic politically incorrect exploitation film; it was the fifth and final Fu Manchu with Christopher Lee playing the maniacal Fu Manchu. As with all the Fu Manchu series, the film is set in the 1920s. Fu Manchu has a new plan to take over the world using a device which freezes the world’s oceans!

With his evil but alluring daughter, Lin Tang, his army of ninjas and some help from local criminals (who are disposable, as they learn to their peril), Fu Manchu takes control of the governor's castle in Istanbul which has a massive Opium reserve as well as the largest opium port in Anatolia. It seems he can derive some sort of chemical from the opium which he uses to power his ocean freezing machine (okay, the plot is rather weird).

Prof. Heracles, the scientist who designed the ice weapon has been kidnapped to get the formula to process the opium into fuel. However, there is a catch, Heracles is dying from a defective heart and the stress of his kidnapping hasn’t helped him too much either. Fu Manchu forces the professors doctor Dr. Kessler and his nurse Ingrid to perform a heart transplant on Heracles to get the needed formula. If they fail, it means their lives. Along the way he works at his plan to poison ten of the world’s leaders using a sexy but deadly female assassins.

Of course while this going on Fu Manchu’s arch enemy, Nayland-Smith has tracked him to Istanbul, where Omar Pasha, a local criminal betrayed by Fu Manchu and Scotland Yard team up to again foil Fu Manchu’s plan for world domination.

This is a classic and outrageous Franco film, filled with stereotypes, sexy women and exploitation. Reviled as one of the all-time worst movies ever screened on Mystery Science Theater 3000, it stands the test of time as a film “so bad, its good!”.

It is hard to think what could follow The Castle of Fu Manchu, but then we have The Bloody Judge and it is a true cult classic. Christopher Lee is in his cruellest role ever as the notorious 17th-century British "Witchfinder" Judge George Jeffreys, who used his position to torture and kill real or suspected enemies of the crown as well as those accused of witchcraft. He also used his position to gain sex, wealth and anything else that took his fancy.

It is 1685 and England is a divided country. King James II sits on the throne, whilst conspirators constantly plot against him. Chief Justice Judge Jeffreys supports his King unhesitatingly sending his enemies (real or imagined) to face the executioner, if he can’t get them as traitors, he will get them as witches. He is brutal, violent and cruel and unhesitantly uses torture as the whim takes him.

When Alicia Grey is brought before Jeffreys on suspicion of witchcraft and inevitably sent to be tortured, her sister Mary pleads with Jeffreys for mercy. He is willing to show clemency, but only if she will submit to his sexual advances. Horrified she refuses and flees and Alicia is burned at the stake as a witch…

The Bloody Judge is one of the most unusual films directed by Jess Franco in that it is a highly successful historical drama while at the same time being packed with sex, torture and all manner of exploitation. It is quite an audacious piece of cinema.

The final film in this package, The House that Dripped Blood is not really in the same class as the first two. It was the third horror anthology produced by Amicus Productions, a British horror film house which was the only real rival to Hammer Films during the 1960s and early 1970s. It uses an old house that supposedly reflects the minds of the occupants back on them as a means to spin a number of horror and suspense tales.

The Method For Murder is an interesting twist on psychosis and madness and is really a psychological murder thriller, but is effective and tension filled. It plays with our expectations about author and his hallucinations and then offers a final unexpected revelation that his wife is behind it all. But what happens if her accomplice is also unstable and confuses his role with reality ? An ironic ending to an interesting tale.

Waxworks is a nice strange tale and Peter Cushing is outstanding in his role, the imagery of the waxworks is nicely displayed and the counter balance between the nice isolated country town and the macabre nature of the waxworks is very effective.

Sweets to the Sweet is the most impressive of the lot and has Christopher Lee playinv an outstanding role as a cruel and domineering father, but is the twist in the story works well and Chloe Franks as the Witch child is truly eerie.

The final tale, the cloak, is classic horror comedy episode which is fun and packed with slapstick and humour, it is amusing but is probably the weakest of the set.

These three film together make a nice package and certainly show Christopher Lee as a versatile actor in very different roles – from an Asian criminal mastermind to a Witchfinder and then a domineering father frightened of his witch child ! Each film is nicely mastered and packed on individual DVDs in a three DVD set.

There are also some nice extras including Interviews with director Jess Franco and Christopher Lee, Deleted and Alternate Scenes, TV Spot, Theatrical Trailers, Poster and Still Galleries, Talent Bios, Feature Length Commentary By Director Peter Duffell, Featurette with Director Peter Duffell and cast members Ingrid Pitt, Chloe Franks and Geoffrey Bayldon and Amicus Collection Trailers.