Raw Meat (1972)

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square. When a top civil servant becomes the latest to disappear down there Scotland ... See full summary »

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Ceri Jones (screenplay), Gary Sherman (original story)

Stars:

Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Donald Pleasence	...	Inspector Calhoun
Norman Rossington	...	Detective Sergeant Rogers
David Ladd	...	Alex Campbell
Sharon Gurney	...	Patricia Wilson
Hugh Armstrong	...	The 'Man'
June Turner	...	The 'Woman'
Clive Swift	...	Inspector Richardson
James Cossins	...	James Manfred, OBE
Heather Stoney	...	W.P.C. Alice Marshall
Hugh Dickson	...	Dr. Bacon
Jack Woolgar	...	Platform Inspector
Ron Pember	...	Lift Operator
Colin McCormack	...	Police Constable 1
Gary Winkler	...	Police Constable 2
James Culliford	...	Publican

Storyline

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square. When a top civil servant becomes the latest to disappear down there Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously. Helping them are a young couple who get nearer to the horrors underground than they would wish.

---

Plot Keywords:

tragic villain | american tourist | buried alive | family of cannibals | london underground | 

---

Taglines:

Beneath Modern London Lives a Tribe of Once Humans. Neither Men Nor Women...They Are the Raw Meat Of The Human Race!

---

Genres:

Horror

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Raw Meat

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Harbor Ventures, K-L Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

87 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie unites three Bond actors. Pleasance from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and Christopher Lee and James Cissins were in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN.

---

Goofs

When Alex is shouting down into the locked tube station it is clearly Holborn yet his voice echoes around the deserted platforms with Russell Square signage.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
The 'Man': Mind the doors!

---

Connections

References The French Connection (1971)

User Reviews

Cult shocker boasts unique premise

DEATH LINE

(USA: Raw Meat)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

Trapped by falling masonry during construction of the London Underground, a group of Victorian workers survive in the bowels of the earth for more than a century, breeding amongst themselves and cannibalizing the dead. A hundred years after their ordeal began, the last remaining descendant (Hugh Armstrong) finds his way back to the surface and begins to abduct people from station platforms in a desperate bid for food and companionship...

With its unique premise and uncompromising attention to grisly detail, Gary Sherman's directorial feature debut has gained something of a cult reputation over the years, and not without good reason. Dominated by Donald Pleasence's central performance as a cynical copper who treats everyone - innocent and guilty alike - with equal contempt, the film strikes a precarious balance between eccentricity and horror, reaching its emotional highpoint during scenes depicting Armstrong's ghoulish underground 'home', strewn with rotting corpses. Art direction (by Denis Gordon-Orr) and cinematography (by veteran Alex Thomson) are uniformly excellent, generating a vivid illusion of ancient decay, and the production benefits from atmospheric location work in abandoned train stations dating back to the Victorian era.

Juvenile leads David Ladd and Sharon Gurney are a dreary pair, and they're completely overshadowed by Pleasence's crowd-pleasing theatrics, but the film survives by virtue of its distinctive plot line and extraordinary setting, and there's at least ONE good scare that will lift viewers right out of their seats! Casual observers may find the opening scenes a little heavy-going, but Ceri Jones' admirable screenplay describes a fascinating narrative arc, and horror fans will be gripped throughout. Christopher Lee exchanges fruity insults with Pleasence during a brief cameo appearance, shot in a couple of hours and intended solely for marquee value.