The Lair of The White Worm(1988)(Review)[Weirdo Wednesday]

Continuing with the fun and weird train that director Ken Russell is conducting, I decided to check out one of his more infamous horror pieces, “Lair of the White Worm”.

When an archaeologist uncovers a strange skull in a foreign land, the residents of a nearby town begin to disappear, leading to further inexplicable occurrences.

This movie is exactly what you think it is. It’s part investigative mystery and half fever dream. We meet the main villainess early on in the movie, who is an immortal-reptilian-snake-worshipping-dominatrix-vampiress who is collecting people to sacrifice to the ultimate Snake God. If that sentence alone doesn’t peak your interest then I don’t know what will. The film is full of violence, bonkers imagery, suggestively grotesque jabs at Christianity, and erotic fever dreams that you would only find within a Ken Russell movie.

It’s absurd in every sense of the word, and it gleefully wears that on its sleeve. What you see is what you get, and what you see is a lot of hallucinations and a venom-spitting woman who seduces and controls/murders citizens in the town. The film also stars a very young Hugh Grant, Peter Capaldi, & a front-and-center Amanda Donohoe.
And yes, you get to meet the Snake God.

If you’re looking for something that will stir your emotions, make you frequently blurt out “WHAT!?”, and leave a permanent mental scar on you, then you’ve come to the right place. It has a charm that is… well, hypnotizing. And I’m excited to continue riding the Russell-Train furthermore.

3.5/5
“The Lair of the White Worm” is currently streaming on Tubi & Vudu.

‘Til Next Time,
Mike Cleopatra