Directed by Freddie Francis
Esoterica collector Dr Maitland buys an unusual skull from his ordinary source; the artifact is what remains of the Marquis De Sade. Much too soon, Maitland discovers that the skull is turning him into a frenzied killer.
Il Teschio Maledetto, La calavera del Marqués de Sade, De duivelse schedel, Le crâne diabolique, A Maldição da Caveira, Le crâne maléfique, Det levende kranie, Pääkallo, Les forfaits du marquis de Sade, I nekrokefali ekdikeitai, I nekrokefali tou Drakoula, Η νεκροκεφαλή εκδικείται, がい骨, La calavera del marqués, Czaszka, A Caveira, Craniul, Череп, La maldición de la calavera, Dödskallen, Korkunç Geceler, Der Schädel des Marquis de Sade, Il teschio maledetto, Le Crâne maléfique, 魔骷髅, 魔骷髏
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This was a straight up delight and made me think of Fincher's "The Game" in how it was constructed but the narrative deals with the cursed skull of the "Marque De Sade".
There is honestly so much to enjoy in this stylized short film from it's skull vision to the subtle curse that drives people in possession of the skull causes one to kill. We have a stellar Hammer cast in an Amicus film that is really brilliantly shot by the underrated Freddie Francis who deftly handles the camera and creates an enjoyable tension shots in a creative fashion.
So glad I caught up with seeing this Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee gem, cause I know they have worked together…
Effective horror from Amicus that makes good on its simple premise and benefits from the inclusion of horror heavyweights Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as a couple of occult collectors. Based on a short story by Robert Bloch, the film focuses on the apparently possessed skull of the Marquis de Sade. Peter Cushing really brings the film to life. It's an understated performance, but his little mannerisms really add to depth to his character. The Skull is a real moody film, featuring a small number of well realised locations - not least Cushing's study, which is packed full of interesting bric-a-brac. Director Freddie Francis really makes the best of the simple concept. There's a real focus on the visuals, including…
Another Freddy Francis, Amicus, Robert Bloch, thing. Peter Cushing is like the luckiest guy ever with his occult library/study...until his newest acquisition: the skull of the Marquis de Sade comes along.
I know this is bad, but I thought it was kind of funny when Cushing was flinging himself around the super cool occult study/library like a muppet, yelling for his wife who is like, REALLY passed out in the bedroom. The music actually cuts off when they show her and I couldn't tell...was it supposed to be funny or is it just me? Maybe Elisabeth Lutyens had a weird sense of humor, too. Her score is fantastic, downright sinister, creating tension where otherwise, I fear this would be pretty dull. (Though I admit, some of the sequences with the floating skull are somewhat unsettling.)
How dare you turn me into a phrenology prop? #201
"All I can say to you is keep away from the skull of the Marquis de Sade!"
- Sir Matthew Phillips
In fairness, he did warn us. Tricky little bleeders, those possessed skulls. Especially when placed among the script of such a terribly slow storyline. The Skull has such a great cast and so much potential, but requires a fair amount of patience to make it through to the end.
“You've been digging, Luke, and if you keep digging you'll be digging your own grave.” -Caleb Mandrake,
- Hooptober8.0: boxd.it/dkW3A
Peter Cushing was debonair as fuck... that dude is smooth.
This is a fun little haunting story about a skull and I enjoy it. I liked the cast a lot and there is a sincerity to the film's drama that I find endearing and interesting. I loved all the pov shits and the ending was fun.
No real complaints, I liked this film fine it just needed a little bit more.
As someone who buys physical media, I understand the idea of collectables. Can’t say I’ve ever felt the need for things like a human-skin book or a dead writers’ skull. But each to their own. And who am I to hobby shame?
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee both play occult hobbyists in this one and both have large gothic library-sitting rooms displaying their ephemera that they can lounge around in, in red dressing-gowns. That’s not important to the story, just that they look very cool and I want one.
Cushing acquires the skull of the Marquis De Sade and then its murder time. That one sentence is essentially the plot. This is a film that a hundred percent runs on…
2nd Freddie Francis (after Tales from the Crypt)
There's a lot to admire in The Skull. The first forty minutes are a tightly made and deeply creepy exercise in chills, and the final fifteen minutes are a masterclass in pure cinema. The score by Elizabeth Lutyens is superb, and Peter Cushing gives one of his brilliant, morally-ambiguous performances as an author who gets more than he bargained for when he buys the skull of the Marquis De Sade.
Unfortunately, where the film falls down is the script. The story goes, apparently, that Subotsky gave Francis and co. a copy of the script, only for them to find it was 49 pages long. So, to compensate, they had to improvise, and…
boxd.it/dgzEq
Hooptober Ocho
Cushing and Lee, icons of horror, in another collaboration! We don't have their likes these days and I savored being able to see these two old pros giving a somewhat so-so film some enjoyable grace notes!
To me, The Skull is rather like an extended episode of the old Night Gallery show. It seems like the idea would also make for a nice segment of an Amicus anthology, but perhaps not a full feature. Still, I've seen worse....much worse.
The central conceit is that the haunted skull of the infamous Marquis de Sade is responsible for homicidally supernatural mischief wherever it alights. Cushing, a writer and collector of such items, possesses the benighted skull and this decent man falls into the throes of perfidy and bewitchment. Will Cushing's character survive...or be possessed and destroyed? You will have to see The Skull to find out.
I just don't understand this. Why is the skull of the Marquis de Sade so into pentagrams and devils and Satanic cult stuff? And when the skull influences you, he causes you to murder people? That seems a bit off. I'd think the skull of Marquis de Sade would, I don't know, fellate you to death or something. The skull floats a couple times, but mostly, it just sits there while the music gets louder and more dramatic and LOUDER STILL and it's all so OMINOUS AND HORRIBLE AND the skull is still just sitting there on a table. Not doing anything. I feel like this whole movie might be an elaborate practical joke. No one even grabs the skull…
"All I can say to you is: keep away from the skull of the Marquis de Sade!"
Spooky Season #34
I couldn't let October and blessed Halloween pass me by without a film starring the legendary Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, so I took a chance on The Skull, a fairly short Amicus production in which a small cluster of posh English folks are haunted by the Marquis de Sade's eeeee-vil skull. Based on a short story by Psycho novelist Robert Bloch and directed by horror stalwart Freddie Francis, the 83-minute film follows occult researcher Cushing's attempts to break free of the possessed cranium's sway, which compels him to attack his own wife (Jill Bennett) and a fellow collector of…
The Skull is based on a short story from Psycho writer Robert Bloch. Peter Cushing stars as Dr. Christopher Maitland, who specialises in collecting occult artifacts. He leaps at the chance to purchase a skull said to be of the infamous Marquis de Sade. His friend Matthew Phillips, played by Christopher Lee, in an extended cameo role, warns him off it, telling him he once owned the skull and he is more than happy to be rid of it. Maitland ignores his friends words of warning and soon a terrifying chain of events begin to unfold.
The Skull is one of the best feature length films produced by Amicus. In truth it feels as much a Hammer film as anything…
Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee and Freddie Francis is a match made in horror heaven. Quite a trippy story about a skull that has an evil influence over anyone that possesses it.
Delicious camerawork, seeing characters from the skull's perspective was a cool idea, very affective, and the last 20 minutes or so is pure cinema, minimal dialogue and driven by atmosphere, and creepy vibes. The Skull is a great film from Amicus Productions.
