The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

When an archeologist uncovers a strange skull in foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further unexplainable occurrences.

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Ken Russell (screenplay by), Bram Stoker (adapted from the novel by)

Stars:

Amanda Donohoe, Hugh Grant, Catherine Oxenberg

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Amanda Donohoe	...	Lady Sylvia Marsh
Hugh Grant	...	Lord James D'Ampton
Catherine Oxenberg	...	Eve Trent
Peter Capaldi	...	Angus Flint
Sammi Davis	...	Mary Trent
Stratford Johns	...	Peters
Paul Brooke	...	P.C. Erny
Imogen Claire	...	Dorothy Trent
Chris Pitt	...	Kevin
Gina McKee	...	Nurse Gladwell
Christopher Gable	...	Joe Trent
Lloyd Peters	...	Jesus Christ
Miranda Coe	...	Maid / Nun
Linzi Drew	...	Maid / Nun
Caron Anne Kelly	...	Maid / Nun

Storyline

Scottish archaeologist Angus Flint discovers an odd skull amid the ruins of a convent that he is excavating. Shortly thereafter, Lady Sylvia Marsh returns to Temple House, a nearby mansion, far earlier than expected. At a party in the village, Angus meets Lord James D'Ampton, who has just inherited his family's land right next to Temple House. Angus learns of the D'Ampton Worm, a huge dragon-snake that an earlier D'Ampton killed by cutting it in half. (There's a pretty catchy rock-folk song that tells the D'Ampton Worm legend.) As people begin disappearing and acting strangely over the next few days, the skull is stolen from Angus's room, and the watch of a missing person is found in a cavern that was the legendary home of the D'Ampton worm. Angus and James discover that there was an ancient cult that worshiped the worm as a god, and they theorize that the creature somehow survived its destruction, but it was trapped inside the cavern. The remainder of the movie shows Angus, James, ...

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Plot Keywords:

scantily clad female | female exploitation | cult film | cleavage | topless female nudity | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Maldição da Serpente

Filming Locations:

Thor's Cave, Manifold Valley, Staffordshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$2,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$1,189,315

Company Credits

Production Co:

White Lair

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The cave used for the cave scenes is Thor's Cave (also known as Thor's House Cavern and Thyrsis's Cave), a natural cavern located in the Manifold Valley of the White Peak in the Peak District National Park near Staffordshire, England.

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Goofs

Dissociative identity disorder is erroneously referred to as schizophrenia.

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Quotes

Lord James D'Ampton: But only nutty pot-holers go down there. It's supposed to be dangerous as hell.
Eve Trent: I know that!
Lord James D'Ampton: Do you want me to drive you over?
Eve Trent: [shakes her head] There's no point now. Besides, it's too late, we'll never catch up with them. I'll just have a lie down until they get back.
Lord James D'Ampton: Right. Yeah, I'm a bit tired myself. How could you keep me up all night?
[kisses her neck]
Lord James D'Ampton: Dancing, for God's sake.
[she smiles]

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Connections

Referenced in Comic Relief Does University Challenge (2005)

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Soundtracks

The D'Ampton Worm
Arranged and Performed by Emilio Perez Machado and Stephen Powys
Violinist Louise Newman

User Reviews

One of the best Irish/Celtic Horror Films.

A lavish, and kinky version of Bram Stoker's seldom read story (which I imagine was quite different). The Worm of the title is actually a Wyrm, an old English term for snake or dragon. The followers of this beast are a combination of snakes and vampires. They spit venom and can paralyze or transform their victims with a bite.

The film makes interesting use of Pagan and Christian mythology, which could have been quite controversial if it hadn't come from Ken Russell whose blasphemies seem to be taken in good humor.

Amanda Donohue is icy and sardonic as the head of the snake cult and the film is worth seeing for her alone (A friend told me that she looked like how he always pictured the White Queen from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe).