The Lair of the White Worm (film)

The Lair of the White Worm
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ken Russell
Produced by	Dan Ireland William J. Quigley Ken Russell
Written by	Novel: Bram Stoker Screenplay: Ken Russell
Starring	Hugh Grant Catherine Oxenberg Amanda Donohoe
Music by	Stanislas Syrewicz
Distributed by	Vestron Pictures
Release date(s)	September 14, 1988 (Toronto Film Festival)
Running time	93 min.
Language	English
Budget	$2,500,000 (estimated)

The Lair of the White Worm is a 1988 film based loosely on the novel by Bram Stoker of the same name and drawing upon the English myth of the Lambton Worm. The film was written and directed by Ken Russell and stars Amanda Donohoe and Hugh Grant.

Plot

Angus Flint (Peter Capaldi), a Scottish archaeology student excavating the site of a convent, at the Derbyshire Bed & Breakfast run by the Trent sisters, Mary (Sammi Davis) and Eve (Catherine Oxenberg), unearths an unusual skull which appears to be that of a large snake. He ties the find to the local legend of the d'Ampton "worm", a mythical snake slain in Stonerich Cavern by John d'Ampton, the ancestor of current Lord of the Manor, James d'Ampton (Hugh Grant). When the watch of the Trent sisters' father, who disappeared a year ago near Temple House, the stately home of Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe), is found miles away in Stonerich Cavern, James thinks the legendary creature may have survived and still be alive deep beneath the cavern. The enigmatic Lady Sylvia is the immortal priestess to the snake god Dionin, which, as James suspected, still exists in the caves beneath her house which connect with Stonerich Cavern. She steals the skull and later abducts Eve to be the latest sacrificial offering to her god, but her actions are discovered and James with the help of Angus manages to rescue Eve and destroy both Sylvia and the worm, but both are unfortunately contaminated, and so will be carrying on the snakelike vampiric condition.

Cast

• Hugh Grant as Lord James D'Ampton
• Amanda Donohoe as Lady Sylvia Marsh
• Catherine Oxenberg as Eve Trent
• Peter Capaldi as Angus Flint
• Sammi Davis as Mary Trent
• Paul Brooke as Ernie

Production

Filming

The film was shot at Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire and on location at Gaddesden Place near the Gade Valley, Knebworth House and in the Peak District National Park, Derbyshire.^{[citation needed]}

The Derbyshire house used as the location for Mercy Farm was previously used as the Gordon family Home in the 1970s TV series The Adventures of Black Beauty.^{[citation needed]}

Reception

Critical response

The film received mainly lukewarm reviews. Roger Ebert gave it two stars and wrote: "It provides you with exactly what you would expect from a movie named 'The Lair of the White Worm.' It has a lair, it has a worm, the worm is white and there is a sufficient number of screaming victims to be dragged down into the lair by the worm."

The film is rated  R16  in New Zealand for its sexual violence.

External links

• The Lair of the White Worm at the TCM Movie Database
• The Lair of the White Worm at the Internet Movie Database
• The Lair of the White Worm at AllRovi
• The Lair of the White Worm at Rotten Tomatoes
• Bram Stoker Online Full text, PDF and audio versions of The Lair of the White Worm.