VHS : Gorgon [1964]

Rating: - Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and a woman whose hair hisses. Not bad for a Transylvanian village
The Gorgon started out with a fascinating premise: An American scientist, determined to find the answer to osteoporosis, force-feeds residents of a Los Angeles retirement home massive quantities of calcium the way French farmers force-feed corn mash to geese. To the scientist's frustration, the residents turn to stone before he can properly record his experiments. Instead of the Nobel Award for medicine, late one stormy night he receives a lethal injection at a state prison while screaming that his intentions were misunderstood.

When financing fell through, the producers kept the cast and the plaster statues of men and women and hurriedly rewrote the screenplay to appeal to a wider audience. Now, deep in Transylvania in the village of Vandorf, near the forbidding Castle Borski, villagers still turn to stone. The instruments of terror, however, are not a large jar of calcium tablets and a funnel, but the hideous Magera, the dreaded gorgon with hair like writhing snakes and a gaze that can petrify those unwise enough to look upon her.

When Professor Jules Heitz's son, an artist staying in the village, is found hanging from a tree branch, the professor arrives to clear the boy's name. His son had been accused of killing a village lass whose autopsy was made difficult because...well, she'd hardened. It's not long before Professor Heitz is hardened, too, but not before he'd sent a telegram to Professor Karl Meister (Christopher Lee) at Leipzig University asking for help. Soon, Professor Heitz's remaining son, Paul, is in Vandorf. All does not go well. When at last Meister himself arrives and meets the intense and obviously conflicted Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing), we know secrets will be discovered and terror faced with courage. Science will learn there's more to life than we can imagine...in heaven or in hell.

The Gorgon is filled with lush color, creepy sets and the kind of straight-faced acting that so many fine British actors with precise enunciation can bring to nonsense. Among the great enunciators in this movie, in addition to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, is Barbara Shelley who plays Carla Hoffman, Dr. Namaroff's assistant. Carla, like the actress who portrays her, is tall, cultured and elegant. The more we see of Carla and Dr. Namaroff, the more we realize there is a complex relationship trying to move beyond the confines of Transylvanian science,

At last Professor Meister ventures into the stone hulk of Castle Borski. He will encounter what legends say is true... the hideous secret of the woman whose hair hisses.

As corny, mannered and predictable as most of the Hammer horror movies are, including The Gorgon, it's got to be said that they're great fun. They're almost like watching a Kabuki performance with all of the deadly serious line delivery, richly detailed costumes, predictable and satisfying outcomes and stylized set pieces. The only thing lacking is quality. But while you might not get many smiles from most Kabuki plays, you will from most Hammer horror movies.

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Rating: - Stone me, its really good!
This is one of Hammer's very best. Its a bit of a lost classic, as it has no Region 2 official release, and is never mentioned when Curse Of Frankenstein, The Mummy, Dracula etc are cited as classic British horrors.
This is most unfair as its a gem of a movie, one of Hammer's most beautiful to look at, and it is a real tragedy, with an extremely downbeat ending. There are no villians, and the monster is unaware of its deadly gift. Christopher Lee gets to play the hero, the crusading Professor Meister,who acts as a father figure to Paul Hertz(Richard Pascoe)after the his father dies mysteriously. Dr Namaroff(Peter Cushing),may appear openly hostile, but he is only trying to protect the person he loves. The same goes for the villagers, who are acting through a mixture of fear and guilt.
This is an excellent film, and we can only hope that one day it will get that elusive Region 2 release it deserves. 5 out of 5

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Rating: - An offbeat monster movie from Cushing, Lee & Fisher
Hammer reunited their big three of actors Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee along with director Terrence Fisher for the first time since "The Mummy" for the 1964 film "The Gorgon." Having seen success providing their own twists on Universal's classic monster, Hammer was obviously going for something original. Our story begins with the death of a beautiful artist's model who is found petrified, the seventh victim turned to stone in the last five years. The local physician, Dr. Namaroff (Cushing) convinces the police to pin the murder on the girl's lover, artist Bruno Heitz, who was found hung. When his father, Professor Heitz (Michael Goodliffe) arrives to investigate he encounters a strange crature in the shadows. Turning to stone, the Professor manages to scrawl a note before the process is complete. The Professor's other son Paul (Richard Pasco) now arrives upon the scene, learns of his father's death, reads the note and concludes that the killer is in fact Magera, one of the Gorgons of classical mythology (title gives it away, right?). Namaroff sends his assistant Carla Hoffman (Barbara Steele) to spy on Paul, but the two fall in love. When Professor Meister (Lee) arrives to help Paul, he connects the dots and figures out Magera has been possessing Carla and that Namaroff is hiding this horrible secret. We then proceed to the unhappy ending.

Obviously the makeup job on the Gorgon (played by Prudence Hyman instead of Steele) leaves a lot to be desire, even given that we are talking about Hammer Studios in the Sixties. One of nice things about this film constitutes something of a role reversal for Cushing and Lee (I am trying to remember another film where Christopher Lee gets to play the hero). Both Steele and Pasco turn in what is arguably the best performances of the love interests in a Hammer film, but the love story is hampered somewhat by the script, written by John Gilling but heavily revised by Anthony Hinds. Still, when all is said and done, I think "The Gorgon" is an above-average effort from Hammer.

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Rating: - treat it as a moody fairy-tale.
This is possibly one of the least known of the Hammer Horror collection, hence how scarce it is to find these days. I have a soft spot for it though because it was one of the first horror films I ever saw (way back when), and seeing it again in recent times I think it's still an atmospheric offering. If you're expecting lashings of blood and gore, and classy special effects, then don't even bother as you'll be disappointed. The pace is slow, the special effects are kiddies' play-group standard, but some scenes I would argue are on a par with any much more respected low-budget very off-beat horror. A remote German village is periodically haunted by a she-monster from ancient times. Anyone who has the misfortune to meet her will be turned into stone. Old-hands Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are determined to track her down, and the spectacularly beautiful Barbara Shelley plays her dual role with great style.

The opening sequence, plus the scene where one man hears the Gorgon singing during the night and foolishly sets off through the forest (during a full moon and all!) to find her, have a very strong dark fairy tale feel to them. If you want a bit of vintage Hammer Horror with a difference then this is just the job.