Wordiezett So much average

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Kamila Bell This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

a_chinn Okay low-budget horror film is bolstered by a strong supporting cast of veteran horror actors and a solid story, which I didn't realize until the end of the film that it was based on H.P. Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House," athough Lovecraft did not receive any onscreen credit. The story follows a young man who visits a remote manor in the English countryside after his brother's disappearance. Once there he senses a Lovecraftian sense of dread, which leads to (as the title would suggest) a secret devil cult. Scary old actors who may or may not be part of the cult include the great Boris Karloff and the equally great Christopher Lee. While the supposing cast is strong, the primary lead actors are not as good. Also to the film's detriment is it's low budget, which at times make the film laughable, particularly one especially bad dream sequence. The film also oddly and unnecessarily breaks the third-wall when one character jokes that the spooky old manner makes him expect to see Boris Karloff at any moment. Overall, "The Crimson Cult" is not terrible, but it's nothing to go out of your way to watch either. If you're a fan of witch and devil cult movies, this film may be worth checking out since the list of good and great films in this horror sub-genre is pretty short ("Rosemary's Baby" "The Devil Rides Out" "Curse of the Demon" "Suspiria" "Black Sunday" "The Wicker Man" and "House of the Devil" are probably the only films that fit that category, but feel free to add to that list if you can think of any others. I sure can't.).

manchester_england2004 CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR is another great British horror that has been all too frequently derided, as though it were a poor film. It's actually very good, with some great nightmarish imagery (for a British horror), great acting and a few interesting twists.Tigon produced a few horror films back in the day. Among their works are THE HAUNTED HOUSE OF HORROR, THE BEAST IN THE CELLAR, VIRGIN WITCH, WITCHFINDER GENERAL and THE BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW. It's the last two of these that are the most well-known and considered their best. I beg to differ, though, since I consider CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR to be their best film.The story concerns an antiques dealer called Robert Manning, who goes to a house in the countryside in search of his brother. He's in for a few surprises when he gets there.This is one of those British horror films with lots of dialogue and seemingly little action. But the script is well put together and the film holds your attention. It helps that the film makes use of the great talents of Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, two horror legends who don't disappoint. The hardest part of this film was getting Mark Eden, an actor not known for appearing in horror films, to carry it. But he pulls it off very well. Also appearing is the legendary Barbara Steele, who is famous for starring in a number of Italian horror films in the 1960s. She is arguably at her best in this film, though, playing the villainess in the form of a witch named Lavinia Morley.There is a creepy vibe running through the film much of the time. This is helped in part by the choice of musical cues and the air of mystery surrounding the manor house and its occupants. The nightmare sequences are particularly effective and director Vernon Sewell does a great job in his work generally.Overall, CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR is a very underrated film from a lesser known British film production company. It showed that Tigon at their best could compete with the better known Hammer and Amicus at making horror films.

JasparLamarCrabb Certainly not the worst horror film to come out of England in the 1960s, but it's surely one of the dullest. Considering that the cast includes both Boris Karloff AND Christopher Lee, one expects a whole lot more. Director Vernon Sewell brings zero sense of pacing to the film and instead of delivering thrills, it turns out to be all build up and no pay-off. Mark Eden, who looks, acts and sounds like Rod Taylor, searches for his missing brother at a lodge run by Lee, only to find there's witchcraft, human sacrifice and murder afoot. There's a high priestess played by the inimitable Barbara Steele (donning ram's horns and purple make-up). Lee & Karloff appear in a couple of scenes together but there's really nothing special here. Added to the mix is Michael Gough as a loony servant. On the plus side, there's a great and creepy music score by Peter Knight.

Ben Larson I'm not looking for technical brilliance or award winning performances, just some fun entertainment to pass the evening.Of course, there is Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, along with Barbara Steele to provide some rather good acting in an otherwise low budget film.Like the hapless travelers in 2001 Maniacs, Robert (Mark Eden), looking for his brother, arrives at the time of the annual festival of a witch killed 200 years ago.Strange ceremonies and hypnotic trances cause us to wonder just what is going on. A simple revenge, or something more sinister? Virginia Wetherell provided nice eye candy in a film that was truly entertaining.