The Crimson Cult

1968

Horror

7
IMDb Rating 5.5/10 10 3498 3.5K

witch virgin sacrifice police england cemetery

Plot summary

When his brother disappears, a man visits the remote country house where he was last seen. While the host seems outwardly friendly and his niece more demonstrably so, there's a feeling of menace in the air with the overhanging legend of Lavinia Morley, the Black Witch of Greymarsh.

Director

Vernon Sewell Photo
Vernon Sewell

Top cast

Christopher Lee Photo
Christopher Lee as Morley
Boris Karloff Photo
Boris Karloff as Professor John Marsh
Rupert Davies Photo
Rupert Davies as The Vicar
Barbara Steele Photo
Barbara Steele as Lavinia Morley
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
801.03 MB
1280*766
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 3
1.45 GB
1804*1080
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 27 min
Seeds 11

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by gavin6942 6 / 10

Surprisingly Dull For The Amazing Cast

Robert Manning (Mark Eden) searches for his vanished brother in a rural English village, where he is entangled in the legend of Lavinia (Barbara Steele), a witch killed 300 years ago. Lavinia's heir, J. D. Morley (Christopher Lee), wants revenge on anyone related to her killers, such as Robert. Robert romances Morley's niece, Eve, and is aided by occult expert Prof. Marsh (Boris Karloff), but it is up to him to repel Morley's evil designs.Boris Karloff became ill with pneumonia while shooting this project in the freezing rain. It was his last British feature, begun January 22 1968, and he would recover enough to shoot four Mexican features in May 1968, his final screen work. Barbara Steele is always a treat, and she is especially interesting with green skin and a large, feathery hat (if you can call that a hat).Loosely based off of H. P. Lovecraft's "Dreams in the Witch House", how does it stack up to the Stuart Gordon version forty years later? Honestly, you cannot even compare them. If there is a connection, it is very limited. There is a witch, there are dreams, but the two films are worlds apart.Howard Maxford calls the film "dated and somewhat slow", having "a better cast than it deserves". How a film that runs only 87 minutes can be slow is a legitimate question. Ivan Butler also feels the film falls short, saying the "promise of a combination of Lee, Karloff and Barbara Steele is not fulfilled". These are fair assessments.I recommend the film for the cast and the awesome organ track that opens the film. Beyond that, it is hit and miss and you could skip it.
Reviewed by Witchfinder-General-666 6 / 10

Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee AND Barbara Steele - Can One Ask For More?

Three of all-time's greatest Horror icons in one movie - which true horror fan would not love a film like that? Vernon Sewell's "Curse Of The Crimson Altar" of 1968 may not be a particularly memorable example for British Gothic Horror from the late sixties. More precisely, it is often extremely cheesy, and far from being a masterpiece, but the brilliant casting of Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and the wonderful Barbara Steele makes this a must-see for every lover of Gothic Horror.The story is apparently loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft's "Dreams in the Witch House". The film bears little resemblance to the short story by Lovecraft, however. It does, however, resemble several other Horror films from the 1960s in many aspects, especially the brilliant "City Of The Dead" of 1960s, which also starred Christopher Lee (even though it comes nowhere near its brilliance, of course).After his brother has gone missing, Antiques dealer Robert Manning (Mark Eden), travels to the village of Greymarsh, where his brother was last seen in a huge mansion. Manning is kindly welcomed by the mansion's owner Mr. Morley (Christopher Lee), a descendant of Lavinia Morley (Barbara Steele), a 17th century witch, who, before being burned at the stake, put a curse on the people of Greymarsh. Manning, who has no clue of where his brother is yet, gets along very well with his guest-keeper's beautiful niece Eve (Virginia Wetherell). Somehow, however, the area still seems to be under the menacing spell of Lavina...The film is, of course, particularly worth watching for its three stars. Christopher Lee is, as always, great and the incomparable Boris Karloff shines in one of his last roles as an eccentric old witchcraft expert who collects 'instruments of torture'. The greatest treat is the wonderful Barbara Steele (one of my favorite actresses and the greatest female Horror-icon ever) in the role of the green-faced witch Lavina wearing a bizarre horned crown. The supporting cast includes two other memorable British actors, Michael Gough ("Horror Of Dracula"), who plays a butler, and Rupert Davies ("Witchfinder General"). Beautiful Viriginia Wetherell fits well in her role as Eve, and also grants a peak at her lovely backside. The film is practically blood-less, but it is partly quite atmospheric, and occasionally quite weird, as several scenes seem quite bizarre and feature weird S&M style costumes. All things considered, the film is great fun to watch. It is certainly not highly memorable in any aspect except for the cast, but what a cast that is! No true lover of Horror can afford to miss a film starring Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele. Steele alone makes this a must for Horror fans in her green make-up! Recommended.
Read more IMDb reviews

1 Comments

Be the first to leave a comment