Kattiera Nana I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Gurlyndrobb While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

manchester_england2004 CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR is another great British horror that has been all too frequently derided, as though it were a poor film. It's actually very good, with some great nightmarish imagery (for a British horror), great acting and a few interesting twists.Tigon produced a few horror films back in the day. Among their works are THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR, THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR, VIRGIN WITCH, WITCHFINDER GENERAL and THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW. It's the last two of these that are the most well-known and considered their best. I beg to differ, though, since I consider CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR to be their best film.The story concerns an antiques dealer called Robert Manning, who goes to a house in the countryside in search of his brother. He's in for a few surprises when he gets there.This is one of those British horror films with lots of dialogue and seemingly little action. But the script is well put together and the film holds your attention. It helps that the film makes use of the great talents of Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, two horror legends who don't disappoint. The hardest part of this film was getting Mark Eden, an actor not known for appearing in horror films, to carry it. But he pulls it off very well. Also appearing is the legendary Barbara Steele, who is famous for starring in a number of Italian horror films in the 1960s. She is arguably at her best in this film, though, playing the villainess in the form of a witch named Lavinia Morley.There is a creepy vibe running through the film much of the time. This is helped in part by the choice of musical cues and the air of mystery surrounding the manor house and its occupants. The nightmare sequences are particularly effective and director Vernon Sewell does a great job in his work generally.Overall, CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR is a very underrated film from a lesser known British film production company. It showed that Tigon at their best could compete with the better known Hammer and Amicus at making horror films.

Prichards12345 Curse of The Crimson Altar, as it's known in the UK, is very loosely based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft - The Dreams In The Witch House. But it's a pretty poor movie overall and the winter night shooting could only have contributed to Boris Karloff's worsening emphysema - in fact he caught pneumonia while filming. Christopher Lee actually looks as if he WANTS to catch pneumonia, and Barbara Steele, in her only British horror movie, is totally wasted.Curse concerns Mark Eden's search for his missing brother, and Eden's zero charisma performance is what helps sink the movie from the beginning. Years later he was to end up as Rita Fairclough's murderous partner in Coronation Street, memorably expiring under a Blackpool Tram! If only that had happened here.Eden's character Robert Manning soon makes his way to Greymarsh Village, where he encounters Christopher Lee's Squire Morley, who seems remarkably liberal to let a wild party take place in his mansion while he quietly reads upstairs! Cue scenes of people painting each other...After Virginia Wetherall's character utters she's expecting Boris Karloff to show up - he promptly does! So we're soon introduced to Boris and his collection of torture implements. Karloff may have been in poor health but he still outshines everyone else. He is, of course, just a red herring. Along the way we've been watching She Hulk and her portly assistant in an antlers and leather thong combo prepare for some diabolical rite. Lovecraft's original tale concerned a trans-dimensional witch and her monstrous human-faced rat familiar Brown Jenkin. Yep, superior for me to She Hulk and Antler Man, any day.For the 876th time in horror films, the mansion grows up in flames at the end. And for the first time in horror films Christopher Lee turns into a woman - the witch Lavinia, who has apparently been possessing him. Bet Lee was chuffed with that...

djgreenscratch1 Not sure if this is a "Hammer Horror" but it sure feels like it and goes head to head with any of their better 70s Gothic style out put. The main protagonist is set on journey to find his missing brother and ends up at a typical Gothic spooky castle where he walks into a swinging psychedelic party. The new guest is invited to stay and the weirdness unfolds with an odd homage/festival in honor of a witch burned at the stake some 300 years prior and in strange pagan ritualistic dream sequences. All in all there is some really nice set pieces, excellent cinematography and wonderful performances by an all star cast of genre regulars. Highly recommended for any fan of Hammer Horrors, euro-horror and any late 60s/70s cult films.

gavin6942 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.