Curse of the Crimson Altar

Director: Vernon Sewell Vernon Sewell

Overview

This nocturnal tale of horror begins when Robert Manning (Mark Eden) takes refuge for the night in Greymarsh Lodge while searching for his missing brother. The antique dealer is fascinated by the collection of ancient torture equipment owned by his host Professor Marsh (Boris Karloff). The professor is an expert in witchcraft, and Morley (Christopher Lee) is his macabre assistant. Morley is the descendant of a witch burned at the stake by an ancestor of Robert. Morley spikes Robert's brandy with a hallucinogenic drug and sets out to seek revenge for the death of his ancestor 300 years ago.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/11/2017
UPC:	0827421033253
Original Release:	1968
Rating:	NR
Source:	Cheezy Flicks Ent
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:27:00
Sales rank:	25,014

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Boris Karloff	Prof. John Marsh
Christopher Lee	Morley
Mark Eden	Robert Manning
Virginia Wetherell	Eve Morley
Barbara Steele	Lavinia
Michael Gough	Elder
Rupert Davies	Dr. Radford
Rosemarie Reede	Esther
Derek Tansley	Judge
Denys Peek	Peter Manning
Millicent Scott	Stripper,Girl with Cockerel
Ron Pember	Attendant
Michael Warren	Basil,Basil
Nita Lorraine	Woman with Whip
Carol Anne	Virgin
Jenny Shaw	Virgin
Vivienne Carlton	Sacrifice Victim
Roger Avon	Sgt. Tyson
Paul McNeil	Guest
Vicky Richards	Belly Dancer
Tasma Bereton	Girl Who Is Painted
Kevin Smith	Drunk
Terry Raven	Driver
Nova St. Claire	Girl in Car Chase
Douglas Mitchell	Driver
Peter Knight	Composer

Technical Credits

Henry Lincoln

Mervyn Haisman

Louis M. Heyward	Producer
Vernon Sewell	Director
Tony Tenser	Executive Producer
Henry Lincoln	Screenwriter
Mervyn Haisman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

This co-production by American International Pictures and Britain's Tigon Films boasts an impressive cast of English horror stars, and has some passable moments of psychedelic excess and mild sexual sadism, but for the most part, it's a disappointment. Based on (but not credited to) H.P. Lovecraft's The Dreams in the Witch-House, the film stars Mark Eden as a London antiquities dealer who travels to a remote rural hamlet in search of his missing brother. There, he discovers a black magic cult led by Christopher Lee, who intends to avenge the death of his sorceress ancestor (Barbara Steele, looking both fetching and ridiculous in green body paint and a horned headdress). A wheelchair-bound Boris Karloff, in his final English genre effort, co-stars as an occult expert who aids Eden. References to LSD and some campy hallucinogenic scenes help to date the film, which is already hampered by a confused script (by Jerry Sohl) and rote direction by the veteran Vernon Sewell (The Blood Beast Terror). Horror fans intrigued by a film boasting the presence of Lee, Karloff, Steele, and Michael Gough should know that the former three have no scenes together. The PG-rated American version lacks a few moments of nudity included in the European cut.