Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Scott LeBrun This may not be one of their best offerings, but it's still solid and enjoyable genre storytelling done in the typically colourful, atmospheric Hammer style. Of course, any film of this sort that stars both Sir Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing is automatically worthy of some interest. It's also fun to see any film featuring the Gorgon character from Greek mythology. As directed by Hammer stalwart Terence Fisher, this doesn't really work as a mystery but all of the expected trappings do make this easy enough to watch. Perhaps the greatest asset to the tale is the overwhelming sense of tragedy to all of it.The setting is the European village of Vandorf in the early 20th century. The Gorgon Megaera has supposedly taken up residence in a nearby castle, and people periodically turn up dead, turned to stone as we are told was the fate of any person who looked a Gorgon in the face. Headstrong Paul Heitz (Richard Pasco) learns of the bad ends that befell his brother and father, and determines to solve the mystery; he is eventually joined by his colleague Professor Karl Meister (Lee). They believe that the cagey Dr. Namaroff (Cushing) holds the key to all of it.It's a treat to see the usually heroic Cushing play a much more dubious character than usual, and to see the often villainous Sir Christopher in a good guy part. They don't share any screen time until 71 minutes into the film, but the resulting scene is riveting as they square off. The other performances are all excellent: Pasco as Paul, who falls in love with Carla (Barbara Shelly), the gorgeous assistant to Namaroff, Michael Goodliffe as Pauls' father, Patrick Troughton as the officious Inspector Kanof, and Jack Watson as thuggish orderly Ratoff. Prudence Hyman dons the makeup as the monstrous form of the Gorgon, whose visage may come as a disappointment to some viewers.Technically well made overall, with a great score by frequent Hammer composer James Bernard, "The Gorgon" does have protagonists worth rooting for, and a fairly formidable monster.Seven out of 10.

Muhammed Salman Shamim An eerie town, a local legend, horrible murders and a false accusation to cover up the truth all set in a Gothic environment. What else do you need to watch in a dark cold night. Highly enjoyable hammer classic, and one of the reasons why the world is in love with hammer horror. Christopher Lee as the eccentric supporting protagonist along with the lovestruck Peter Cushing a story within a story. Lovely setup altogether and makes your really appreciate what the Hammer guys used to do with their limited budgets. Apart from the part that the name of the gorgon of Greek origin was not Magaera nothing wrong with this movie! Awesome classic horror must see for horror and Gothic fans.

ferbs54 Just one of the pictures that Hammer turned out in 1964, out of an eventual eight, "The Gorgon" finds the famed studio dipping into the well of Greek mythology for the first time, to come up with still another solid horror entertainment. The film, besides reuniting Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee (the two would ultimately appear in a whopping 22 pictures together!), also showcased the talents of director Terence Fisher, who would helm 27 films for the House of Hammer by the end of his career (including such beloved pictures as "Four-Sided Triangle," which was Hammer's first sci-fi outing, "The Man Who Could Cheat Death," "The Mummy," "The Curse of the Werewolf," "The Devil Rides Out," five of the studio's Frankenstein titles and three Draculas), as well as Barbara Shelley, who would soon be regarded as one of THE queens of British horror by dint of her appearances in such films as "Dracula, Prince of Darkness" and "Quatermass and the Pit" (for this viewer, however, she will always be Venus, from the classic "Avengers" episode "From Venus, With Love"). And as if that weren't enough talent both in front of and behind the camera, the film was scripted by John Gilling, who would ultimately direct six pictures for Hammer himself, including such beloved miniclassics as "The Plague of the Zombies" and "The Reptile." In "The Gorgon," a university student named Paul Heitz (played by Richard Pasco) comes to the German village of Vandorf, in the year 1910, to investigate the recent deaths of his brother and father, both of whom had mysteriously been turned to stone by an unknown agency. Local doctor Namaroff (Cushing) is secretive and unhelpful, while his assistant, Carla (Shelley), seems a bit more sympathetic. The legend of the Gorgon Megaera (still-living sister of the Tisiphone and Medusa Gorgons of Greek antiquity) is one that no villager wants to speak of, but after being hospitalized due to just catching a glimpse of Megaera in the reflecting water of a fountain, Heitz has little doubts as to her existence. But if the Gorgon takes human form by day, who on Earth can she be? Fortunately for Heitz, his professor from Leipzig University, Meister (Lee...Mr. Tall, Dark and Gruesome himself, here playing a "good guy" in a Hammer film four years before his Duc de Richleau in "The Devil Rides Out"), soon arrives on the scene to proffer some much-needed assistance....In truth, it really is remarkable how Hammer was able to fashion a perfectly acceptable horror outing with little in the way of special FX. This is a film that surely might have benefited from some Ray Harryhausen-type of stop-motion animation magic in bringing the Gorgon to the screen. As played by Prudence Hyman, the creature looks more like some old biddy with a bad makeup job whom you might encounter on Manhattan's Upper East Side, while her snakelike tresses barely move and, when seen from middle distance, look more than anything like the multicandled headpiece that the geriatric female Satan worshipper sports in the '67 Hammer picture "The Witches." But somehow, the lack of top-grade FX doesn't seem to matter here. The actors are all so good, down to the smallest bit part (Michael Goodliffe is especially fine, playing Paul's doomed father), the sets are so endearing (especially that stylized nighttime cemetery, and the interior of Megaera's lair, the deserted Castle Borski), James Bernard's music is so effectively eerie, that the picture is easily put over the top. Gilling's screenplay is a compact one, with little flab, although it should be fairly easy for anyone but the most dim-witted viewer to deduce the human identity of the Gorgon; so easy, indeed, that it is probable that it was not even intended to be a mystery. And need I even mention how wonderful Cushing and Lee both are in this film, although their screen time together is limited to only a few brief scenes? Also, for this viewer, how nice to see the brutish Jack Watson on screen, here playing hospital attendant Ratoff; Watson, for me, will always be best remembered as Juggins, who went after Emma Peel with a whip in another classic "Avengers" episode, "Silent Dust." Grand yet modest fun for all ages, from its opening shot of the Castle Borski to its deliciously (and surprisingly) downbeat ending, "The Gorgon" is yet another winner from the legendary House of Hammer.

Scarecrow-88 Hammer took a break from the Dracula and Frankenstein movies to focus on the Gorgon character, a witch with snakes as hair, her face turning those that look at her into stone. Seven victims in the forest near the village of Vandorf have fallen victim to the Gorgon, but Dr. Namaroff (Peter Cushing) and the police (specifically Inspector Kanof played by the second timelord, Patrick Troughton of Dr. Who fame) have concealed her crimes—the question is why? When a painter is found hung after the death of his girlfriend, Namaroff will have a hard time keeping a lid on the Gorgon any longer. Professor Jules Heitz (Michael Goodliffe) pursues justice for his son, considered the one responsible for his girlfriend's murder (she was in fact turned to stone), found hung from a tree, and also falls prey to the Gorgon. Before he succumbs fully to the stone affliction of the Gorgon, Jules gets a letter to his son Paul (Richard Pasco), informing him of Vandorf's corruption and this instigates an investigation which could once and for all uncover who houses the evil witch's spirit that comes to life at the fullness of the moon. The ruins of Castle Borski is the location where the Gorgon spirit Magera seems to frequent. Paul is a student of Professor Karl Meister (Christopher Lee), and needs his mentor's help after an encounter with the Gorgon. Paul is in love with a nurse of Namaroff's, Carla Hoffman (Barbara Shelley), which produces further complications. Karl and Paul know that Namaroff is hiding something, but he will not cooperate with their investigation of the Gorgon—but what is he hiding and why? I have to admit that this film is more fun before the Gorgon is actually revealed (she is pretty cheesy, I must confess), when the face of this creature is obscured and we see frightened faces of those unfortunates who look at her (I think the acting does really sell how horrific she looks, but Hammer couldn't cheat their audience without at least showing Magera at the end, now could they?), especially as characters like Paul go looking around the ruins of Castle Borski. Lee is particularly fun as the formidable Meister who doesn't tolerate the same sort of bullying tactics that Paul's father did by the citizens and police. Determined to find an answer to who the Gorgon is and what Namaroff is keeping secret, Meister is needed because Paul becomes misguided by his love for Carla (Namaroff is also in love with Carla). Cushing has a complex character in this film, so in love with Carla that he could be contributing to the murders instead of stopping them. The ending is quite tragic as Paul pays a heavy price for his love of Carla (as does Namaroff), with Lee saving the day. With the sinister ruins of the castle and plenty of atmosphere to spare, I think "The Gorgon" is a nice little sleeper worthy of discovery for Hammer fans.