SO TODAY is of course our new theme, āHorrible Death Wednesdayā, where we highlight some of our favourite dispatches for a multitude of memorable characters in Cushingās film. Itās a pretty good line-up if I say so myself, featuring one film Iāve regularly mentioned as a personal best, another that featured in my āChoicest Cushingā article and one that I havenāt as of yet praised- but will shortly.
FIRST UP is the aftermath of the titular creatureās death from āFrankenstein and the Monster from Hellā. During the final moments, the creature (having of course been on the rampage) is set upon by the inmates of the asylum and quite literally ripped apart. A particularly gruesome moment, itās one of a number of gory sequences that feel at odds in what is essentially a throwback film. None the less, it feels right in what is an exceptionally dark film (even for the Hammer Frankenstein series) and a fitting end to one of the more sympathetic creatures in the series.
NEXT UP is a sequence from a film Iāve regularly mentioned to be a personal
favourite, though havenāt as of yet written anything substantial on it.
Christopher Leeās death in The Skull has long been one of my favourites
and I think itās down to the very subtle elements of black comedy in the
scene. Bar one sequence at the opening, Lee and Cushing only ever
appear playing Billiards together, so itās little surprise when Cushing
batters Lee over the head with a ball. Unlike the above sequence,
thereās very little on-screen gore but itās the context that makes this
particularly gruesome. Subotsky had a particular flare for introducing
gruesome elements into his films, but somehow instructing directors to
keep the high levels of violence off screen (the āBlind Manā sequence in
Tales from the Crypt springs to mind). This is a prime example.
FINALLY we have a sequence from The Mummy. The Mummy is full of a number of
great death sequences, Daddy Banningās and Mehemet Bayās spring to mind,
but todayās is the death of Cushingās uncle played by Raymond Huntley.
Huntley is a familiar British character actor and heās such a friendly
and likable character that his death, strangled as Leeās titular
walking cadaver crashes through a door, proves to have something of a
resonance to it.
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