The Grim Cellar

1967, UK, Directed by Terence Fisher

Colour, Running Time: 92 minutes

DVD, Region 2, Optimum, Video: Anamorphic 1.66:1, Audio: Mono

Amusingly they had to retitle this in the States for fear that American audiences would think it was a Western - it became ‘The Devil’s Bride’. Based on a Dennis Wheatley novel (who ended up being pleased with this cinematic conversion) the film introduces us to Richleau (Lee), who meets up with Rex to catch up with an old friend, Simon. It turns out though that Simon has become wrapped up with a society of Devil-worshippers who are intending to ‘baptise’ Simon and a girl called Tanith, thus begins a race to prevent the baptism. On their adventure they come across a manifestation of Satan himself and have to face demonic forces in a climactic showdown.

One of Hammer’s most famous films, it’s a well shot adventure-horror story that progresses rapidly and is quite ambitious in its attempts to recreate Wheatley’s supernatural story. I feel it hasn’t dated brilliantly, partly due to Lee’s overly emphatic performance - I think Charles Gray (as Mocata) managed to get the balance right personally. James Bernard’s score is also a bit over the top, but then again his scores always did seem to be trying to force the point home with a sledgehammer. There is a great car chase in there, which is quite unusual for the genre. Despite the now dated special FX and the aforementioned issues (that are probably unique to me), it is a well paced and entertaining film.

The Optimum disc (as with the others I’ve looked at, available separately or as part of the Ultimate Hammer Collection boxed set - see Amazon for a price that’s too good to pass up at time of writing) reveals a surprisingly beautiful transfer - lovely colours and lots of detail, you can’t ask for much better on DVD for a 60s film, plus it’s correctly framed at 1.66:1 and anamorphically enhanced to boot - perfect job! The only extra is a trailer but the disc can be bought cheaply anyway.