Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes
Death Line (aka Raw Meat)
People have been going missing in the London tunnels. But it isn’t until Alex (David Ladd) and Patricia (Sharon Gurney) comes across a man in trouble who turns out to be a government official that the situation is taken seriously. They tell the authorities that a man is lying on the steps, maybe dying, but when the police return he is gone.
Inspector Calhourn (Donald Pleasance) is in charge of the case, although he spends more time questioning Alex, as though he’s guilty of something, than searching for anyone. However, he gets more than a little defensive when MI5 tries to step in, after the disappearance of James Manfred OBE (James Cossins), in the form of Stratton-Villiers (Christopher Lee0. There is something odd in the tunnels, and it’s looking for trouble.
This film dates back to 1972. It has an unusual and interesting premise, but I didn’t realize what it was
until I read the synopsis. That premise, though, does seem a little farfetched, although I’m not going to give it away. And although Christopher Lee is given top billing with Donald Pleasance, he only appears in one scene, so it’s actually more of a cameo. Still, watching Donald Pleasance act is always a treat. And if you like bodies and gore, then this is the film for you. Did I find it scary? Not really. I’ll give this film 2.5 Stars, mostly because of Pleasance and Lee.
All About Evil
As a little girl, Debbie Tennis (Mikayla Rosario) was close to her father Walter (Robin Calvert). He encouraged her acting and showcased her at his theater, The Victorian. But life does not always work out the way one wants. Years later, Deborah (Natasha Lyonne) works during the day as a librarian at the local library and by night at the failing theater, along with her projectionist Mr. Twigs (Jack Donner). Steven Thompson (Thomas Dekker) is a high school student who is fascinated with horror and is a devoted fan of the theater and of Deborah. He would love to work there someday, although his mother Linda (Cassandra Peterson) isn’t exactly thrilled with that idea.
Deborah grieves the recent loss of her father. One night, her mother Tammy (Julie Caitlin Brown), who
she is not close to, tries to coerce her into signing the papers that will sell the theater, which they are co-owners of. Deborah refuses, but her mother presses the issue until Deborah snaps and kills her. Unfortunately, the theater’s cameras caught the whole thing. Even worse, while Mr. Twigs is running an errand, he’s late to return and Deborah, who just killed her mother, has to start the film. She doesn’t know what she is doing, and accidentally screens the footage of her killing her mother. The audience loves it. And so does Mr. Twigs, who catches it upon his return.
And now they have an idea of how to bring the theater back to life, as well as Deborah’s dying film career – snuff films! But no one realizes they are really killing the people in the film!
I actually found this a fun and interesting little film I never heard of before. I know I’ve seen Natasha Lyonne before, but she does play crazy well in this as she gets more and more involved with the killing of people for art’s sake, along with some rather willing accomplices. She ends up making some short classics, such as The Maiming of the Shrew and The Scarlet Leper. Among the cast, look for Cassandra Peterson as Steven’s mother. In case you don’t know her, she is Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, but in this film, she looks nothing like that (Do look at the poster in Stephen’s room, though, it’s an actual poster of Elvira). I had fun watching this and I would watch it again. I’ll give this film 3.75 Stars. You can catch both of these films on Shudder, as of the date of this post.
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