Sticky: The Lair of The White Worm on Johnny Brento’s JuJu

Lady Sylvia in her Snake Women Guise. With a name like that, I'm scared already

In honor of British director Ken Russell’s passing, this week’s Johnny Brento’s JuJu will be devoted to my favorite of his films, The Lair of The White Worm.  Released the same year I graduated high school, 1988, the film was extremely loosely adapted from the novel by Bram Stoker “Dracula” & starred Hugh Grant, Amanda Donohoe and Catherine Oxenberg.

An archeology student visiting the British countryside digs up an elongated skull he assumes belongs to a dinosaur while excavating the site of a buried convent, now an English bed-and-breakfast run by two young sisters.  Lord James D’Ampton, is the boyfriend of one of the sisters, and also the descendant of the legendary D’Ampton who reputedly slew a dragon (the “D’Ampton Worm”) that had terrorized the countryside.  The mysterious Lady March returns to her mansion nearby and discovers the skull, after which strange events begin to transpire.

The story’s framework follows the standard “creature feature” formula–weird occurrences, investigation, confrontation and triumph over evil.

Ummm, Intended to be shocking perhaps?

What really set The Lair of The White Worm apart for me at the time was the overt eroticism and pagan imagery. Being a young and impressionable teen upon my first viewing, I was quite literally enthralled.

I added this film to my VHS collection at the first opportunity. In fact, I think I have a few copies of it. Not really scary, not terribly disturbing but rather a tongue in cheek romp through a ridiculous horror fantasy realm with a healthy dose of comedy. Warning: Adult themes and sacriligious imagery abound so if that puts you off, you might want to avoid this one. Otherwise be sure to view this one. Speaking of which it’s available as a shippable DVD from Netlfix or you can view it online at Amazon.com for a few bucks.

Errr, I think I'm going to pass on that service, but thanks anyway, really.