A surprisingly good B-horror film in the style of the Hammer flicks of the 60s and 70s. Peter Cushing plays a (rather terrible) scientist who stumbles upon the skeleton of a prehistoric man/beast while digging in New Guinea. His research suggests that his specimen is a prophesied demon--evil incarnate. He attempts to make a vaccination against evil using its blood cells after discovering it regenerates its flesh upon direct contact with water, then promptly experiments on a human being which predictably ends in terrible results. Christopher Lee plays his villainous half-brother, head of an insane asylum, and is not given nearly enough time on-screen. Lorna Heilbron plays Cushing's daughter, and pulls off a pretty impressive transformation from virginal to evil/slutty about halfway through. The writing is middling, and the pseudo-science that drives the picture is absolutely stupid, but the acting and the atmosphere are both excellent. So much so, that it holds the picture up from the ranks of other Hammer fare that often would sink into cliche or boredom. The creeping flesh special effect was fun for low-budget 70s and the monster unleashed at the end was quite creepy. One funny thing to note: For a significant portion of the picture, the only creeping flesh we see is on a giant digit of the monster's finger bone that Cushing hacks off. Because of the lack of definition the sculpting had, it looks like Cushing is waving around an enormous demon dildo.
7/10
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