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Some films need a strong performance to lift them above the mediocrity of their concept and execution. And this films saving grace is in its lead, Mr Lockheart, who gives a great swaggering and charismatic performance pitched at just the right operatic intensity to match the essential absurdity of the premises.

Very much a product of its time and place, when traditional horrors were attempting to recast themselves in more modern clothes with elements of then modern culture, car chase scenes, hi-tech and a dash of blaxploitation.

Definitely a late night fun movie to enjoy purely on its own merits.

Marred mostly by terrible 'Day for Night' effects (a curse of British productions throughout that period) and the cheapest, saddest werewolf ever put on film (it looks like a cuddly family pet) it's otherwise a fun and well acted romp of Hammy Hammer proportions.

Just to clear up what seems a plot absurdity; how does Tom know one of his guests is a werewolf?

Simply, this film takes place in a world where they exist (the characters seem to accept the basic premise with neither protest nor disbelief) so Tom simply uses both his intelligence and hunters instinct (something repeated and emphasised several times) to round up the most likely candidates knowing that by casting a wide net he will bag his target.

Well, that and the script says so.

We seem to be back at what killed the original series- the need to make Dr Who as the lowest form of 'Light Entertainment'.

It's silly in all the wrong ways, has a pantomime feeling about it, and recently the 'historical' characters all act with a very 21stC manner, as if the creators are so desperate to be 'Hip' and 'PC' that any reference to the actual biases of the past not only have to be ignored but actively re-cast in a modern light.

The gallows scene was a classic example of this- feeling wrong in execution and delivery.

Sadly, I really thought Capaldi would give the show some Gravitas, in the manner of Pertwee.

He could joke and play around, but was never foolish and it was always clear he was the smartest man in the room.

Worrying trend all this season.

First of all, the saving grace of this movie is a standout lead performance which compels you to keep watching.

However, the film itself takes place in some odd limbo of unlikable exaggerated characters, one note grotesques filled with malice and spite, and just too unremittingly hostile to be truly believable.

Our main character faces an unyielding tidal wave of hostility and venom which is just too caricatured to be even vaguely believable. I initially thought that perhaps it was the limbo of a dying man, or that perhaps a terrible past event had been revealed to others, but, no, it's a landscape that DeSade or Goya would reject as too one note in its bleakness.

It essentially sums up more of a certain national mood than anything else, and while beautifully shot and performed ultimately leaves one unfulfilled emotionally and, more worryingly, unmoved by the unfolding events.