Rating: 
Summary: Unique premise, ghoulish details
Review: RAW MEAT [Death Line] (UK 1972): Trapped by falling masonry during construction of the London Underground, a group of Victorian workers have survived in the bowels of the earth for more than a century, breeding amongst themselves and cannibalizing the dead. A hundred years after their ordeal began, the last remaining descendant (Hugh Armstrong) finds his way back to the surface and begins to abduct people from station platforms in a desperate bid for food and companionship...With its unique premise and uncompromising attention to grisly detail, Gary Sherman's directorial feature debut has gained something of a cult reputation over the years, and not without good reason. Dominated by Donald Pleasence's central performance as a cynical copper who treats everyone - innocent and guilty alike - with equal contempt, the film strikes a precarious balance between eccentricity and horror, reaching its emotional highpoint during scenes depicting Armstrong's ghoulish underground 'home', strewn with rotting corpses. Art direction (by Denis Gordon-Orr) and cinematography (by veteran Alex Thomson) are uniformly excellent, generating a vivid illusion of ancient decay, and the production benefits from atmospheric location work in abandoned train stations dating back to the Victorian era. Juvenile leads David Ladd and Sharon Gurney are a dreary pair, and they're completely overshadowed by Pleasence's crowd-pleasing theatrics, but the film survives by virtue of its distinctive plotline and extraordinary setting, and there's at least ONE good scare that will lift viewers right out of their seats! Casual observers may find the opening scenes a little heavy-going, but Ceri Jones' admirable screenplay describes a fascinating narrative arc, and horror fans will be gripped throughout. Christopher Lee exchanges fruity insults with Pleasence during a brief cameo appearance, shot in a couple of hours and intended solely for marquee value. Picture quality on MGM's DVD is OK, though a little dark in places, and the soundtrack is strong. Sadly, the film has been issued under its American release title, rather than the original DEATH LINE, which is slightly annoying. The sole extra is a trailer, which plays up the movie's exploitation elements for all they're worth! NB. The running time quoted below doesn't include the MGM logos which open and close the DVD print, which weren't part of the original film. 87m 13s
1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced
Mono 2.0
Optical mono [theatrical]
Optional English subtitles and closed captions
Region 1
Rating:
Summary: Unique premise, ghoulish details
Review: RAW MEAT [Death Line] (UK 1972): Trapped by falling masonry during construction of the London Underground, a group of Victorian workers have survived in the bowels of the earth for more than a century, breeding amongst themselves and cannibalizing the dead. A hundred years after their ordeal began, the last remaining descendant (Hugh Armstrong) finds his way back to the surface and begins to abduct people from station platforms in a desperate bid for food and companionship... With its unique premise and uncompromising attention to grisly detail, Gary Sherman's directorial feature debut has gained something of a cult reputation over the years, and not without good reason. Dominated by Donald Pleasence's central performance as a cynical copper who treats everyone - innocent and guilty alike - with equal contempt, the film strikes a precarious balance between eccentricity and horror, reaching its emotional highpoint during scenes depicting Armstrong's ghoulish underground 'home', strewn with rotting corpses. Art direction (by Denis Gordon-Orr) and cinematography (by veteran Alex Thomson) are uniformly excellent, generating a vivid illusion of ancient decay, and the production benefits from atmospheric location work in abandoned train stations dating back to the Victorian era. Juvenile leads David Ladd and Sharon Gurney are a dreary pair, and they're completely overshadowed by Pleasence's crowd-pleasing theatrics, but the film survives by virtue of its distinctive plotline and extraordinary setting, and there's at least ONE good scare that will lift viewers right out of their seats! Casual observers may find the opening scenes a little heavy-going, but Ceri Jones' admirable screenplay describes a fascinating narrative arc, and horror fans will be gripped throughout. Christopher Lee exchanges fruity insults with Pleasence during a brief cameo appearance, shot in a couple of hours and intended solely for marquee value. Picture quality on MGM's DVD is OK, though a little dark in places, and the soundtrack is strong. Sadly, the film has been issued under its American release title, rather than the original DEATH LINE, which is slightly annoying. The sole extra is a trailer, which plays up the movie's exploitation elements for all they're worth! NB. The running time quoted below doesn't include the MGM logos which open and close the DVD print, which weren't part of the original film. 87m 13s
1.85:1 / Anamorphically enhanced
Mono 2.0
Optical mono [theatrical]
Optional English subtitles and closed captions
Region 1
Rating: 
Summary: FOR ALL OF YOU FANS CONSIDERING THIS MOVIE
Review: THIS EXTREMELY GROSS AND GORY MOVIE STARS DONALD PLEASANCE AND CHRISTOPHER LEE!!!!!! In 1892 eight men and four women were left for dead in a collapsed underground tunnel in London. There was only one survivor. Finally, one man, having just seen his wife die with child, is left. He then gets [ticked] off and goes crazy, promting a bloody and violent tale of one man [ticked]off at the entire world. The whole movie is complete with severing heads, drinking blood, sticking a stake clear through someone's chest, biting the heads off of rats, and many other fun events. The man continually drools long strands of saliva as he menaces and kills. The movie looks like it obviously was made on a small budget, but, there are some beautiful set pieces that wholly capture the mood of the story. The acting is generally good all around. Donald Pleasance, however, makes the film worth seeing, as he plays the role of a police inspector investigating the crimes in the subway. As for Christopher Lee...well he is good in his five plus minutes of screen time, hovever, his role is totally devoid of any importance to the storyline.
Rating: 
Summary: "Rediscovered" Film Somewhat Disappointing
Review: This is one of those films you've heard about for 30 years and have never been able to see, until now. It has a small cult following in England (where it was shot). It concerns a lunatic living in a London subway, preying on commuters. The movie had a lot of potential. Donald Pleasance is terrific as a sarcastic police chief, the premise is creepy and the camera work is good. Yet somehow the film falls flat. When it's over, you'll say: "That's it?" The DVD has no extras. Director Gary Sherman runs hot and cold. His "Dead and Buried" is very good, but "Poltergeist III"... need I say more? Fans of British horror will want this rarity to complete their collection, others beware.
Rating:
Summary: CREEPY URBAN CANNIBAL MOVIE
Review: This movie is interesting in many ways. First, the story is really deep and well thought. The Cannibal character is not showed as some kind of BoogeyMan but more like a victim of his situation. He scares you but makes you feel sad at the same time, a lot like the Frankenstein's creature does.
Then, you got Donald Pleasance and Christopher Lee in it and that's more than a good point. Plus there are some great scenes of macabre ( the Cannibal's room full of half devoured dead bodies will blow your mind !! ) and a litle bit of Gore too. To my mind, the only low point of the movie is the lack of action, that's why I don't give the movie more than 3 stars. But anyway, that's a great movie that any Horror Fan should add to his collection. Yes Sir !!
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