Director: Terence Fisher
Writers: John Gilling, J. Llewellyn Devine
Stars: Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Richard Pasco
Run Time: 1 Hour, 23 Minutes
Amazon Link: https://amzn.to/2uN5lnj
Synopsis
We are told of Castle Borski, outside the town of Van Dorf, which is exactly the same model used as Frankenstein’s castle in the “Evil of Frankenstein.” From the turn of the century, a monster from an ancient age came to live here…
Bruno the artist and his girlfriend Sasha are planning to get married, and she says they can’t wait much longer because she’s going to have his baby. The two of them run through the woods past the old castle to talk to her father, but as she catches up to Bruno, she sees something and screams.
Meanwhile, Dr. Franken-er… Namaroff is working in his lab, located beneath the asylum. They bring in the body, and the nurse accidentally breaks off one of the fingers– Sasha’s been turned to stone! There have been seven unsolved murders in the past few years.
Later that afternoon, they find Bruno hanging from a tree. There’s an inquiry, and Bruno gets the blame for knocking her up and then killing her. Namaroff testifies that there was definitely violence involved. No one seems to bring up the fact that she was turned into a statue, not even the doctors. All seven murders were the same; people’s bodies were turned to stone.
Namaroff’s assistant Carla says “She must have come back!” They are interrupted by Bruno’s father, Professor Heitz, who has come to town and now wants Namaroff’s help. He asks about the legend of Megara, the gorgon, who used to be in the area thousands of years ago. Namaroff warns him to leave town for his own good. That evening, the locals firebomb Heitz’s hotel and try to force him out of town. The police chief is not particularly sympathetic to Heitz. Heitz sends a telegram to Professor Meister calling for Paul, his other son, to come to Van Dorf.
Tht evening, Heitz hears strange singing. He heads outside into the woods to investigate and winds up near the old castle. He sees a woman with snakes in her hair. He screams and runs back out into the woods. He writes a letter to Paul before he dies.
Namaroff puts “heart failure” on the death certificate, but Paul reads the letter and knows better. Paul runs into Carla at Bruno’s home. She wants to help him. She believes the spirit of Megara wanders the woods and even comes to town sometimes. She says Namaroff believes in it, but won’t admit it.
She and Namaroff talk that night, and he says he agrees that Megara has taken on human form. That very night, Paul sees the reflection of the gorgon in a pool and in a mirror. It makes him sick, but it doesn’t kill him. It does kill one of the asylum patients who had gotten out. Paul sleeps for five days, but when he awakens, he vows to kill the creature.
Namaroff calls in the head of security for the asylum. “Don’t let her out of your sight tonight,” he commands. The two of them have a secret they are hiding.
Paul digs up his dead father and sees the condition of the body. Paul asks Carla to run away with him, but she just can’t. Professor Meister comes for a visit, and he comments on how old Paul looks now.
Meister and Paul go to the police and learn that the murders started around five years ago, just two years after Carla moved to town. Namaroff tells Carla that there are times when she shouldn’t be alone. She thinks he’s just very controlling and jealous, but there’s more going on than just that.
Paul goes to the castle, and he finds Carla there. She’s changed her mind, and she will go away with Paul. Meanwhile Meister is snooping around in Namaroff’s office. He finds out that Carla used to be a patient in the asylum; she was a victim of amnesia. Where did she really come from?
Namaroff comes around looking for Carla, and Meister has to deal with him. Meister thinks that Carla is Megara, but Paul doesn’t believe it. Paul says he’s going to go out at night looking for Carla, so Meister bitch-slaps some sense into him, but Paul sneaks out anyway.
He gets to the castle, where he finds Namaroff waiting with a sword. They fight. Namaroff wins, but he sees Megara, which goes badly for him. Megara comes up behind Paul, but Meister comes up behind Megara… and beheads her with Namaroff’s sword. The gorgon’s head changes back to Carla’s face.
Commentary
The sets, especially inside the old castle, are colorful and intricate. Christopher Lee’s wig and Cushing’s mutton chops are competing for a “ridiculousness” prize.
They got a different actress to play Carla and the Gorgon, which was odd and unnecessary. The snakes the gorgon’s head were poor plastic models, and was not at all convincing.
Paul and Meister are clearly the heroes of the story, while Namaroff is the villain here. Still, Namaroff was only trying to keep the woman he loved safe and to keep her secret. He never killed anyone, and it’s not clear that he even believed in the gorgon until near the end of the story. Still, he gets the unfortunate title of “villain” for this film, simply because the story is told from Paul’s point of view. The story could just as easily have been told as a tragedy from Namaroff’s point of view– and it might have been better for it.