Death Line

One every so often you come across a real, unclassifiable gem - one of those low-budget cult movies you see, late at night on TV, then spend years thereafter raving about to your puzzled, disbelieving friends. "See, there's this disused Tube tunnel, with a tribe of degenerate Victorian plague cannibals down there, and they pull people off the platform and eat them, only sometimes they try to mate with them... and Donald Pleasance gives possibly the most monumentally weird performance of his LIFE... and there's this really cheesy proto-electronic score... and... and... and..." As folks wander away from you, shaking their heads sadly, you do not mind. You smile. For you have seen Death Line.

A cannibal (Hugh Armstrong) is roaming the London subway system in 1973. Police inspector Donald Pleasence (having a LOT of fun with his role) wants to catch him--a young Britsh couple (Sharon Gunrey, David Ladd) try to help until she gets kidnapped by the cannibal...

Very low budget, rarely shown horror film. The low budget hurts, but the script is good, the idea original and there are some truly creepy scenes (such as the looooonngg tracking shot from the cannibals' lair). The movie is also quite gruesome at times--there's very little violence, but there are long shots of decaying or half-eaten bodies (and body parts). Look for the sequence where a supposedly dead body can be seen blinking his eyes quite a bit! Also there's a very disturbing near rape scene.

The most amazing thing about the film is that the cannibal comes across as a sympathetic character! He only kills for survival--not for evil purposes.

As for the acting--Pleasance is just great here--he attacks the role full force and is having a grand old time doing it--he really brings the film to life. Gurney is very good as the English girl but Ladd is truly horrible as her boyfriend. And those 70s hair and clothes! Armstrong is (as I said) very sympathetic and also vicious as the cannibal. Also Christopher Lee has an amusing short sequence in this.

So, it's gruesome but worth catching, but it's shown very rarely on cable so good luck!

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square.

When a top civil servant becomes the latest to disappear down there Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously.

Helping them are a young couple who get nearer to the horrors underground than they would wish.

Very 70s, but not all that great. The problem is this is sort of a quasimodo frankenstein-ish movie and it takes itself seriously, but it's just not all that compelling.

Lots of long segments with the "monster" (for lack of a better term) wallowing in the dark wet space of the London tubes. But it wears thin when nothing happened for so long.

One of the most affecting films I have ever seen, Death Line is one of the most intelligent and bold horror films ever made. The opening scenes of a wealthy and dour civil servant stalking clip joints in Soho sets the tone for a grim and seedy, but very accurate portrayal of life in 70s London. No-one talks to each other, on or off the underground, everyone is miserable, even the young student lovers have a fairly rocky relationship, the man being totally lacking in compassion. The use of the genuine ghost stations of the London Underground is an excellent idea, and even if the storyline is ludicrous, it is handled with far more depth trhan your average slasher movie. The killer is a tragic figure, and the scene where his beloved finally dies is shocking and heartbreaking. The special effects are nothing short of repulsive, with particular attention being paid to the sound. It revels in gore and depravity, unflinching but not exploitative. It runs like a modern day legend, working on so many levels. The only thing which spoils the film is Donald Pleaseace hamming it up shamelessly in a badly characterised role which tries to offer comic relief but is simply irritating and unpleaseant. Look out for a remarkable tracking shot in the creature's lair early on, and a lovely touch with the students enquiring about a book on Poltergeists, more a mood device than anything to do with the plot. Seeing this is a cinema would certainly put you off your popcorn!

The premise for this film is brilliant. The underground setting is brilliantly used, with striking photography and visual story-telling. The film's last line is something like, "Did they really live like this?", seeing the squalor of the underground lair. Sequences are fantastically gruesome, in documentary style. Not only is the film well shot, it has some points to make about oppression. See this film if you get the chance, it deserves a much higher IMDb rating.