The Gorgon

The Gorgon

What a bummer. The Gorgon is an entertaining enough movie, but with the talent involved it could have been great. One more script rewrite to iron out some plot holes and to clean up the ending, and maybe a slightly bigger budget to help with the special effects, and this movie would have launched from Interesting to Awesome. With the re-teaming of director Terence Fisher and actors Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing (the three who collaborated on Horror of Dracula), I was really hoping for a classic.

The plot is actually almost identical to the Hammer film I just reviewed, The Reptile. There is a mysterious murder in a small town. Relatives of the victim (in this film, the victim's father and brother) come to the town to investigate. The townspeople are suspicious douchebags and attempt to scare the investigators away. There is a creepy doctor (a superb Peter Cushing here) who may know more than he is letting on. And then we have the monster appear in the climax - and just like in The Reptile, the makeup is not that good.

The fact that the plot is familiar isn't necessarily a bad thing. When the formula is done well, who cares if it isn't original? There are large chunks of the movie that are really good. The first half is particularly strong as Professor Heitz (Michael Goodliffe) and his son Paul (Richard Pasco) investigate the murders. The initial Gorgon attacks are all well directed and spooky, with the monster only barely glimpsed in the shadows and through reflections. This is all very effective. The acting is also pretty good along the board. Hammer actresses are not known for their acting ability, but Barbara Shelley turns in a great performance as Carla, the creepy doctor's assistant. Shelley (Dracula: Prince of Darkness) shows once again that she isn't just another pretty face. She is quite good at showing conflicting emotions and is superb at showcasing suppressed dread. The fear is in her eyes, and that's not easy to do.

Unfortunately, once the set-up is established and the movie needs to move forward, things just start to fall apart. Events occur and then nothing comes of it. A medical assistant tries to kill Paul, and that's never brought up again. Characters' motivations become a little too cluttered and contradictory. The climactic fist fight in the haunted castle, while pretty exciting in of itself, doesn't make a lot of sense since both characters are there for the same reason. I'm just glad Christopher Lee shows up in the last reel. His grumpy clear-headedness makes up for everyone else's peculiar behavior.

Overall, this isn't a bad film. Just a missed opportunity. I'm not alone in thinking this. Christopher Lee himself said it was okay, but should have been awesome. And I don't think the comparisons to The Reptile are an accident. John Gilling, who directed The Reptile was one of the scriptwriters on The Gorgon. I have a feeling he went back, fixed a lot of the problems with the storyline, and took a second stab at the tale. And The Reptile is certainly a more consistent movie through and through. But it lacks the star power that The Gorgon has, which is what is frustrating. With Lee and Cushing, this coulda been a classic!!!

MVP: As much as I like Christopher Lee in this movie, he's just not in it enough. He probably has all of ten minutes of screen time. Peter Cushing takes the rest of the film and places it squarely on his shoulders. I know I've given him 3 MVPs already, but I promise they are all deserved! Here, he plays Dr. Namarov, who may or may not be the main villain of the movie. Namarov keeps his private thoughts close to the vest, but he is clearly conflicted between what his heart tells him and what he knows is the right thing to do. If Namarov's final actions in the film don't seem very motivated, it's not Cushing's fault. He sells it completely. Only later, when I think about it, do I go, "hey, wait a second..." Namarov is for the most part a good, strong, meaty character, and Cushing brings everything he has to the role. Well done, sir!

TRIVIA: Though it was suggested to use a wig with real snakes, the producer said no because of time and budget constraints. So instead we get the weird wig with the plastic snakes in the movie. Boo. After watching the movie, the producer realized he had made a big mistake. And Christopher Lee is quoted as saying, "The only problem with The Gorgon is the Gorgon."

BEST LINE: Professor Meister: "Don't use big words, Inspector. They don't suit you."