Underworld (1985)

When high class hooker Nicole is kidnapped from her brothel, Rich businessman Hugo Motherskille hires her ex love Roy Bain to find her. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds ... See full summary »

Director:

George Pavlou

Writers:

Clive Barker (screenplay), James Caplin (screenplay),

Stars:

Denholm Elliott, Steven Berkoff, Larry Lamb

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denholm Elliott	...	Dr. Savary
Steven Berkoff	...	Hugo Motherskille
Larry Lamb	...	Roy Bain
Nicola Cowper	...	Nicole
Irina Brook	...	Bianca
Art Malik	...	Fluke
Brian Croucher	...	Darling
Ingrid Pitt	...	Pepperdine
Trevor Thomas	...	Ricardo
Clive Panto	...	Abbott
Sean Chapman	...	Buchanan
Candy Davis	...	Barmaid
Karen Gould	...	Dancer
Jeanette Landry	...	Dancer
Mark West	...	Dancer

Storyline

When high class hooker Nicole is kidnapped from her brothel, Rich businessman Hugo Motherskille hires her ex love Roy Bain to find her. Investigating the disappearance, he eventually finds traces that lead to Dr. Savary, who has produced a strange white powder that's coveted by a race of deformed human beings who live in the underworld in the sewers below the city.

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Plot Keywords:

brothel | gang | rescue | crime boss | physical deformity | 

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Taglines:

A horrible experiment. A criminal empire. One thing in common...

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Genres:

Action | Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Transmutations

Company Credits

Production Co:

Limehouse Productions, Green Man Productions, Alpine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Svengoolie: Transmutations (2001)

User Reviews

Well, that was weird...and bad!

Mostly boring, distant and very weird…That's the painful conclusion I have to make after watching "Transmutations". This sure isn't Clive Barker like we know him from "Hellraiser" and even "Rawhead Rex" (the other lousy collaboration between Barker and director Pavlou) was ten times better than this. The story isn't very original and – more importantly – it never seems to properly take off. Pivot element seems to be a very addictive new drug, developed by Dr. Savary, but the side effects cause people to mutate so that they're forced to live in a secret underground community. The mutants kidnap the fancy prostitute Nicole because she appears to be immune for the horrible side effects. Amateur hero Roy Bain attempts to rescue her…yawn! The acting of the entire is truly miserable and the Pavlou's directing is really, really weak. Luckily his repertoire only exists out of two films! There's no tension at all and the few action sequences are tame and unexciting. You wouldn't know if it was a Clive Barker script if it wasn't for the use of kinky outfits and bizarre sexual undertones. Really, what is the deal with Barker and his obsession for black leather? The overuse of bad music is really annoying and don't set your hopes on seeing gross-out gore, neither. The only slightly imaginative aspect is the make-up on some of the mutants and even then you get the feeling that they easily could have done more with it. I surely expected a lot more from this film (especially considering the fact it was so hard to track down) but I hope to convince people not to watch it! Transmutations (a.k.a Underworld) definitely is one of the worst 80's horror movies…and that says a lot!