Gothic (1986)

Story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to the horror classic "Frankenstein." Disturbed drug induced games are played and ghost stories are told one rainy night at the mad Lord ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Lord Byron (story), Percy Bysshe Shelley (story),

Stars:

Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriel Byrne	...	Byron
Julian Sands	...	Shelley
Natasha Richardson	...	Mary Shelley
Myriam Cyr	...	Claire Clairmont
Timothy Spall	...	Dr. Polidori
Alec Mango	...	Murray
Andreas Wisniewski	...	Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher	...	Rushton
Pascal King	...	Justine
Tom Hickey	...	Tour Guide
Linda Coggin	...	Turkish Mechanical Woman
Kristine Landon-Smith	...	Mechanical Woman
Chris Chappell	...	Man in Armour (as Chris Chappel)
Mark Pickard	...	Young William
Kiran Shah	...	Fuseli Monster

Storyline

Story of the night that Mary Shelley gave birth to the horror classic "Frankenstein." Disturbed drug induced games are played and ghost stories are told one rainy night at the mad Lord Byron's country estate. Personal horrors are revealed and the madness of the evening runs from sexual fantasy to fiercest nightmare. Mary finds herself drawn into the sick world of her lover Shelley and cousin Claire as Byron leads them all down the dark paths of their souls.

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Plot Keywords:

lord byron | frankenstein | mary shelley | ghost story | drugs | 

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Taglines:

Conjure up your deepest, darkest fear... now call that fear to life.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 April 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gothic - Poetas e Fantasmas

Filming Locations:

Gaddesden Place, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

$916,172 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Virgin Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last film of Alec Mango.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tour Guide: And there, ladies and gentlemen, on the other side of the lake we have the famous Villa Diodati where Lord Byron, greatest living English poet, resides in exile. Romantic, scholar, duelist, best-selling author of Childe Harold, he was forced to leave his native land after many scandals including incest and adultery with Lady Caroline Lamb. "Mad, bad and dangerous to know" she called him.
[the guide squeezes a lady's hand and points]
Tour Guide: Bedroom - top right.

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Connections

Version of Rowing with the Wind (1988)

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Soundtracks

I Wish I Was a Maid Again" (uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged and Performed by Gaynor Sadler and Tony Sadler

User Reviews

One of the best works of Director Ken Russell

Films like Gothic, directed by Ken Russell, will not be to most people's taste. Russell is noted for a skewed view of life with very twisted imagery, such as his invariable trademark snake that slithers around in all his films. In this particular film he has devised a story that touches on reality in an unreal way as he brings the famous night that Percy Shelly, Mary Shelly, he half-sister Claire, Lord Byron and Dr. John Polidori spent together that brought about two of the great horror stories of all time about as a result. Between debauchery and Opium laced nightmares this could have been very much what it was really like as this quintet of famous or rather infamous people got together and brought the birth of a new kind of literature, years before Edgar Allen Poe began his writing. Polidori's "The Vampyre" which for many years was attributed to Byron was the forerunner and inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Of course, Mary Shelly was to go on and write "Frankenstein." This is how it could have happened.

This feature is intense and not for everyone. Definitely not for young people. But a true intellectual's horror tale.