Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Graphic
- campy
- surreal
- irreverent
- cult movie night
- halloween marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film colorful, inventive, funny, and intermittently frightening, while considering its screenplay and excesses uneven but rewarding for Ken Russell devotees.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The D'Ampton Worm legend, village disappearances, ancient worship, and Christian-pagan conflict anchor the horror in English folklore.
The film uses gorgeously colored visions, cut-rate hell imagery, Freudian symbolism, and grotesque set pieces in Ken Russell's flamboyant style.
Archaeological investigation and monster mythology are punctuated by understated humor, bizarre meals, and outrageous supernatural imagery.
The enormous worm, snake cult, sexualized villainy, and sacrifice imagery make bodily and Freudian symbolism central to the film's identity.
Films like The Lair of the White Worm, and why
The Wicker Man
campy folk horror, pagan cult mythology, surreal imagery, and darkly comic monster-movie energy
Gothic
stylized british horror, eccentric sensuality, gothic atmosphere, and deliberately heightened supernatural menace
Vampire's Kiss
irreverent vampire horror, sexualized grotesquerie, colorful visual excess, and comic genre revisionism
Society
cult horror, black comedy, bizarre practical imagery, and a monstrous supernatural threat
Movie Details
- Director
- Ken Russell
- Release Date
- 1988-09-21
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 5.9 / 10 (331)
Cast
- Amanda Donohoe
- Hugh Grant
- Catherine Oxenberg
- Peter Capaldi
- Sammi Davis
- Stratford Johns
- Paul Brooke
- Imogen Claire
- Chris Pitt
- Gina McKee
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Lair of the White Worm about?
- A flamboyant English folk-horror romp pits an archaeologist and an heir against a seductive cult leader determined to unleash a legendary subterranean worm.
- What is The Lair of the White Worm like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Lair of the White Worm as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Lair of the White Worm violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Lair of the White Worm as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Lair of the White Worm?
- Critics broadly found the film colorful, inventive, funny, and intermittently frightening, while considering its screenplay and excesses uneven but rewarding for Ken Russell devotees.
- Which films are like The Lair of the White Worm?
- Films with a similar feel include The Wicker Man, Gothic, Vampire's Kiss, and Society.
- How long is The Lair of the White Worm?
- The Lair of the White Worm runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Lair of the White Worm?
- In United States, The Lair of the White Worm streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, MovieSphere+ Amazon Channel.
