Shot in 1972, DEATH LINE is the debut feature of Gary Sherman (DEAD AND BURIED, VICE SQUAD, LISA), a young American commercial director living in England at the time who also conceived the original story (with Ceri Jones). This British horror effort has often been critically cited for its originality and importance to the genre, belonging in a class with the innovative 1970s genre films of Pete Walker and Norman J. Warren. Originally distributed theatrically in the U.S. by AIP as RAW MEAT, it never showed up on regular TV (until more recent cable airings) and never even got a home video release here until MGM issued it a barebones DVD in 2003; it now gets the special edition Blu-ray treatment that it so richly deserves via Blue Underground.
The premise of DEATH LINE goes back to the end of the 19th century, when a group of construction workers fell victim to a London Underground cave-in and were trapped and never rescued. Presumed dead, some survived but turned cannibalistic, feeding on the others to sustain life. Now some 80 years later, a diseased mutant known only as "The Man" (Hugh Armstrong, GIRLY) and his female mate (June Turner) are the only survivors of generations of underground dwellers, and while the male preys on unfortunate Tube pedestrians for food, the weak and sickly female slowly terminates.
American college student, Alex Campbell (David Ladd, R.P.M.) and his English girlfriend Patricia Wilson (Sharon Gurney, CRUCIBLE OF HORROR) discover a man passed out on the stairs of the Russell Square Underground station. He is reluctant to do anything about it (proclaiming how common such a site is in New York) but she insists; when they bring back a policeman to investigate, the man has disappeared. Turns out he was James Manfred, an OBE high society type (played by familiar British character actor James Cossins, THE LOST CONTINENT, HORROR OF FRANKENSTEIN) who was just robbed by the prostitute he tried to solicit. His disappearance has opened up a can of worms, as this comes on top of a number of “less important” people who have been reported missing in the same subterranean transit line recently, and both Alex and Patricia are continually interrogated while being inquisitive at the same time. The sharp-tongued Inspector Calhoun (Donald Pleasence, THE MUTATIONS) and Detective Sergeant Rogers (Norman Rossington, A HARD DAY'S NIGHT) are on the case, but soon Patricia becomes the next missing victim of "The Man" when a mishap separates her from Alex, and she’s held captive in his nightmarish hidden labyrinth.
Produced by Paul Maslansky (CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD, THE SHE BEAST),
Gary Sherman's maiden voyage is an intriguing gore film in both sights and sounds,
setting a proper mood of modern England and a realistically decaying view of
the cannibal's habitat which definitely feels detached from the rest of the
world (this is highlighted by Dennis Gordon-Orr’s terrific set design).
The film was made some years before homegrown Americana “cannibal”
treats such as THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and DERANGED, yet there’s a
comparable visceral level that never seems gratuitous within the context of
the film (the fine make-up effects were done by the talented team of Harry Frampton
and his son Peter—who also worked on Amicus’ I, MONSTER, among many
others—along with uncredited special effects man John Horton). Effectively
long tracking shots (well, namely a single spectacular 7-minute one-take) reveal
rotted corpses, the eyes of a suffering victim, half-devoured fresh bodies hung
like cattle, and rats and maggots feeding off human limbs before the camera
makes its way back to the outside world. The character of the nearly-mute cannibalistic
"man" is grotesquely Neanderthal; a sore-infested drooling mess, that
kills viciously out of necessity. Hugh Armstrong gives the pathetic ghoul some
Karloff-esque "Frankenstein" pathos, even in the character’s
thoughtlessly savage moments, and it’s one of the most underrated cinema
monsters. As “The Man” is generations down from the original survivors,
his crude, secluded lifestyle includes being deprived of a vocabulary, aside
from his nearly indistinguishable chantings of “Mind the doors”,
apparently the only English he ever picked up (and a saying that will stick
in viewers heads long after seeing the film).
Forget
1978’s HALLOWEEN, as this is possibly Pleasence’s best performance
in a horror movie, and it’s a real standout. Pleasence injects spirited
life into a character that could have been one dimensional; a working class
officer of the law who is cynical with an edge of sarcasm at the same time (his
telling Alex to get a haircut as he's leaving his office is more of a satirical
social obligation, as he makes a funny face after saying so). His getting annoyed
at having his tea made with a tea bag (which he digs out with a dart), complaining
about low wages or making a late-night scene in a local pub illustrate this
likable/unlikable copper as only Pleasence could play it. Cast in the film is
horror movie legend Christopher Lee, which if anything, added more marquee value.
As Maslansky was friends with the actor since back when they made CASTLE OF
THE LIVING DEAD in 1963, Lee was hired for one morning’s work (around
the time he was making THE CREEPING FLESH), and he appears as M.I.5’s
Stratton-Villiers, a high-ranking official who intercepts Calhoun’s investigation.
“Guest star” Lee only appears in the film for a matter of minutes,
but his opposing, class-clashing exchanges with Pleasence (it was smart to at
least have them in the same scene together) are indelible. "Keeping Up
Appearances" star Clive Swift (FRENZY) plays the inspector who comes up
with the theory of the descendants of the original disaster becoming cannibalistic
in order to survive. The music by Wil Malone and Jeremy Rose appropriately starts
off with raunchy striptease harmonies, but then moves onto other levels, including
some haunting violin strings which accent the horror and themes of deterioration
significantly. In America, the film played on a 1973 double bill with Ivan Reitman’s
CANNIBAL GIRLS, and years later with Ruggero Deodato’s JUNGLE HOLOCAUST
(which was retitled CARNIVOROUS).
An
audio commentary is included with co-writer/director Sherman, producer Maslansky,
and assistant director Lewis More O'Ferrall (joining the others from London
via skype), moderated by David Gregory. Sherman (who more than once here confirms
what a gentleman Pleasence was) starts things telling how he originally gave
the script to Jonathan Demme (who was producing a commercial he was directing
at the time) who in turn gave it Maslansky who did of course accept to produce.
He also tells that the film was originally sold to Paramount for U.S. distribution,
but it ended up being sold to AIP, something he wasn’t too happy about.
This is a very thorough and entertaining commentary, loaded with anecdotes and
production info, including that Cossins was getting stopped for autographs during
the shoot, descriptions of shooting the scenes in the tube and the underground
wreckage locations (the entire film was shot on location), a lot of spot-checking
the supporting players on screen (and they point out some surprise cameos by
the crew, including Sherman and Maslansky), and much more. O’Ferrall even
tells a great story about running into Christopher Lee years later in Los Angeles
at a David Bowie concert!
“Tales From The Tube” (18:51) is a featurette with Sherman and executive
producers Jay Kanter and Alan Ladd Jr. sitting down for a friendly chat. Sherman
confirms that the original intention was to have Jonathan Demme produce (but
he went off to work with Roger Corman), Kanter—who envisioned Marlon Brando
to star as “The Man”—recalls the difficulties with getting
financing from American companies at the time with the Rank Organization putting
up a large part of the budget (the scene with Christopher Lee was shot in his
living room) and Ladd—who was originally against the 7-minute tracking
shot—offered a part to his brother David who was living with him at the
time (Maslansky comes into greet all three gentlemen at the very end). “From
The Depths” (12:41) features a dual interview with star David Ladd and
producer Maslansky. Maslansky talks about the film’s short schedule and
low budget, while Ladd describes how well-layered he thought the script was
and his pleasurable experience working with Pleasence. You easily got the impression
here that everyone got along great on the set, as well as the admiration of
Sherman’s leadership. Maslansky remained friends with Lee up until the
time of his death, and recalls that the film came up in their final telephone
conversation. “Mind The Doors” (15:36) is an interview with star
Hugh Armstrong, who sadly passed away in 2016. He begins by recounting his entrance
into army after school (he wanted to travel) and eventually leaving, knowing
he wanted to be an actor and ended up attending drama school. After that, he
got a lot of theater and TV work, eventually getting the part in DEATH LINE.
He talks about "The Man" character and how he decided to portray him,
and also touches upon the underground locations, how well he got on with the
crew and his cast mates (though he never met Lee or Rossington), being in the
make-up chair for about four hours every day and the film’s stunts (some
of which he did himself). Rounding out the extras is a British DEATH LINE trailer,
the American RAW MEAT trailer, three RAW MEAT TV spots, two RAW MEAT radio spots
(both with reimagined dialogue by very American-sounding voice artists, and
the second one is actually for its pairing with CANNIBAL GIRLS) and a poster
and still gallery. A booklet is included with background information on the
film written by Michael Gingold, as well as bio info on Pleasence written by
Chris Gullo, author of the essential book, The Films of Donald Pleasence.
(George
R. Reis)