Often mis-categorized (understandably) as a Hammer film due
to the presence of both Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee in the cast, this 1972
production is actually not much better or worse than most of Hammer’s output
from the same period; (that’s not a good thing, incidentally). Although the set-up is intriguing, overall
the film suffers from weak production values and unimaginative direction. A low-budget can be turned into a strength by
imaginative filmmakers, but Eugenio Martin doesn’t do much in this direction
but instead milks the hokey monster-movie clichés for all they’re worth. Lee is a collector of cryptozoological finds
and is transporting a presumably long dead specimen in a crate on a train from Manchuria
home to England. Cushing is a rival
anthropologist who helps investigate the situation when the contents of Lee’s
crate gets loose and starts killing the train’s passengers into zombies. One interesting element is a Rasputin-like
monk who quickly transfers allegiance from God to the creature when he sees how
powerful it is. It’s a little fun off
and on, but mostly not very rewarding.
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