The Flesh and the Fiends

THE FLESH AND THE FIENDS followed in the wake of the success of Hammer Films' early successes. Although not actually a Hammer Film Production, it shares many stylistic points with Hammer. However, the script is a largely accurate version of the history of the body snatchers, Burke and Hare, and their main customer, Dr. Robert Knox.

Although there are memorable performances in this film, it is Peter Cushing's work as Dr. Knox that ultimately stands out. During the 1820's in Edinburgh, Scotland, Dr. Knox illegally bought cadavers from Burke and Hare. In spite of every reason to be suspicious of Burke and Hare, Dr. Know persisted in obtaining cadavers from them for medical lectures. To Dr. Knox, the training of competent doctors took precedent over ethical considerations.

In a remarkable scene in the denouement, a little girl in the street begs alms from Dr. Knox. Cushing tells her that he doesn't have any money with him, but if she will step over to his house he will give her some. The little girl politely declines the offer, saying, "Oh, no, you might be Dr. Knox." Cushing's unspoken response is truly unforgettable. It makes you realize that Peter Cushing was really a fine actor. What a pity his talent was too often wasted in pictures that were beneath him.

I'll leave it up to others to debate whether 'Mania' (a.k.a. 'The Flesh and the Fiends') is technically a horror movie. While dealing with horrific events, and told in a fashion with plenty of creepy moments, I would still say it isn't horror myself. Whatever you classify it as it is a seriously underrated thriller with strong performances from an above average cast. Director John Gilling went on to make the Hammer classic 'The Plague Of Zombies' later in the 1960s, and stars Peter Cushing ('Twins Of Evil') and Donald Pleasence ('Halloween') both made a strong impact on the horror genre, so fans will be interested to see this for those reasons alone. Cushing is excellent as the stubborn and driven Dr. Knox who needs a steady supply of corpses to dissect, and Pleasence plays the slimy William Hare, who along with his equally creepy colleague William Burke (George Rose), gleefully fills that need. The only problem is that Burke and Hare have no qualms about where the corpses come from, or whether they need a little "help" along the way. Burke and Hare were real body snatchers, but I have no idea just how historically accurate the events depicted in this movie are. But it certainly is entertaining and worth watching for the terrific performances by Cushing, Pleasence and Rose, and also for Billie Whitelaw ('The Omen') who has a small but important supporting role as the love interest for one of Dr. Knox's medical students (John Cairney - 'Jason And The Argonauts').

(aka: MANIA)

This is sort of a variation of the Val Lewton film, THE BODY SNATCHER (1945) starring Boris Karloff with the original story written by Robert Louis Stevenson.

This version is quite good (although I still prefer the earlier film) with an effectively creepy atmosphere that has the look of a Hammer flick, even though Hammer Studios didn't participate in this one.

Peter Cushing plays a medical professor who employs grave robbers (Donald Pleasance and George Rose) in order to steal freshly buried corpses for his medical anatomy classes. The robbers get greedy for more money so they start killing people in order to supply more fresh corpses. At first it's done without the doctor's knowledge, but then when some evidence turns up casting doubt upon the whole affair, he turns a blind eye about it and doesn't seem to care.

We all know justice prevails in the end although I thought the last minute of the film where Cushing restores faith in his students, looked a little too down-pat to me. But only the lower classes suffer the consequences while the upper class gets off scot-free, right?

The Image DVD has both the censored UK version and the Continental version that contains scenes of barmaids with their tops slipping down exposing their breasts. You can also tell because the quality of these deleted scenes is grainer that the film as a whole. I guess they needed something racier for the continental audiences to watch, although Billie Whitelaw gets to keep her top on. Bummer.

The widescreen b/w print is in fair condition with some bad splices and flaking in some scenes, but it's a vast improvement over the old Sinister Cinema VHS tape that was floating around a few years back. Other extras include posters and stills.

6 out of 10

Peter Cushing plays the doctor who needs bodies in this fine adaptation of the Burke and Hare grave robbing case.Donald Pleasance and George Rose are both excellent as the infamous grave robbers.The film is truly atmospheric-full of packed bars,foggy streets and deep shadows-and the performance by Peter Cushing is simply amazing-Cushing is probably one of the most recognizable faces in the horror genre.The film has an eerie cinematic style reminiscent more of films from the 1940's than 1959.The first half of Gilling's story moves extremely slow,but the second half has some gruesome murder scenes.A must-see for fans of British horror!

John Gilling's (The Mummy's Shroud) film is listed as a horror film, but it is really an exciting thriller about an anatomy teacher (Peter Cushing) and grave-robbers (Donald Pleasence - Halloween, Dracula, & George Rose).

Billie Whitelaw (Hott Fuzz, The Omen), with two BAFTA wins and four more nominations, plays a prostitute that falls for one of the medical students (John Cairney).

The grave-robbers find that it is easier just to kill someone and sell them, than to dig them up. It wasn't long before Mary (Whitelaw) had a spat with Chris (Cairney) and fell into the clutches of the murderers.

Imagine Chris' surprise when she shows up on the slab in class the next day.

Soon, the grave-robbers were committing murders to cover up their murders.

Excellent performances by Pleasence, who got what he deserved in a weird sense, Cushing, and Dermot Walsh, as Cushing's assistant. A fascinating story that is supposedly based upon a true event.