The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

Apparently, even bad books can make for great films in the hands of a master. Take for instance Bram Stoker's The Lair of the White Worm: originally a barmy horror novel that Stoker allegedly wrote while going insane from syphilis, it has been adapted here by none other than the cinematic madman Ken Russel, a man who was never one to back down from a challenge, and so his film is a conscious attempt to take a stinker of a horror yarn and turn it into a fun, charming piece of B-horror entertainment, and, for the most part, it succeeds admirably.

Russel takes the structure and basic premise of the novel along with a few of its characters, combines them with elements from Dracula while playing up the unintentionally silly and overwhelmingly British aspects of Stoker's plotting, especially the habit of his characters to drop everything right then and there and have an impromptu cup of tea while they discuss their next move. Stuff that was unintentionally bad before and sort of awkward and labored is now played up even more so that everything comes back around to being funny and kind of refreshing. Russel then throws in a pinch of sacrilegious hysteria straight out of his still-censored masterpiece The Devils for good measure, but that's hardly surprising for those who are familiar with his oeuvre.

I'm not always the biggest fan of horror-comedy, as it can occasionally feel overdone in the low-budget independent scene, but here, it all works so well. The horror is subtle, relying on prior genre expectations and savviness, and feels so much tenser because it never over-explains itself. But with all that tension comes inevitable release, only in this film release doesn't always mean a jumpscare, and that's where the humor comes in. But it's not just funny: it's charming and it has a way of growing on you over its brisk runtime, much like its colorful cast. The characters occasionally act like buffoons, sure, to create moments of comedy, but once their situation grows dire and they're made aware of what's going on, they no longer stop to crack jokes and so the audience really feels it when things get serious. It's a satisfying watch, and the rare B-movie that feels like it was intelligently made, almost like if  Stanley Kubrick had decided to try his luck at a goof on Hammer Horror just for the hell of it.

The cast are perfect. Hugh Grant is what Keanu Reeves should have been in Bram Stoker's Dracula. Amanda Donohoe somehow manages to look and act convincingly like a snake throughout; her mouth full of teeth especially feels tailor-made for the part. But the best performance may belong to Peter Capaldi, who does a great job as a nerdy everyman who's forced into becoming the unlikely hero of the film. Images of him charming snake people with bagpipes will forever be stuck in my head now, hopefully until I die.

It's just so rare to see people trying their best with material like this. It feels like something made for fun or because someone wanted to see it made rather than because the studios ordered it. It's such a weird idea; "adapt Stoker's worst book, and make it a comedy." Sounds like a recipe for an unfunny attempted parody, but by god if it does work. It doesn't ever cross so entirely into parody as to lose its identity as a horror film and genuine adaptation, but it never crosses so fully into horror and drama as to risk making its comedic bits feel out of place. Only a master of their craft could pull off this balancing act, and as Russel has shown again and again over his career, he is nothing if not one of the cinematic world's most surefooted directors of the most bizarre material.