FANTASIA OBSCURA: The Mysterious Were-Gorgon of Gothic Germany
There are some fantasy, science fiction, and horror films that not every fan has caught. Not every film ever made has been seen by the audience that lives for such fare. Some of these deserve another look, because sometimes not every film should remain obscure.
Sometimes, presentation alone can either make or break it.
The Gorgon (1964)
Distributed by: Columbia Pictures
Directed by: Terence Fisher
In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it. — Michelangelo
It’s hard not to keep these words in mind as we watch a film about a monster that turns victims into statues, especially by the time we get to the end of it.
Our film opens in 1910, in the (fictitious) German state of Vandorf. We watch as Sascha (Toni Gilpin) models for Bruno Heitz (Jeremy Longhurst) before they get into a spat over how their off-the-clock collaborations are going to produce something other than a work of art, ifyouknowwhatimean…
Distraught, Sascha wanders out into the night, where she catches sight of something she should not have. When next we see her at the medical facility run by Dr. Namarof (Peter Cushing), her condition is considerably worse; fatal, yes, and quite solidly so.
Immediately, the chief of police, Inspector Kanof (Patrick Troughton) tries to pin the rap on the painter… even if she was more sculpture than corpse. They find Bruno quickly, who hanged himself in despair, and close the case by blaming him for the murder so Sascha’s not simply another victim in a string of unresolved cases hanging over Karnof.
After all, these cases can’t be recognized, because no one is willing to admit that Vandorf is haunted by the spirit of the Gorgon, Megaera.
Wait, who? As there were three Gorgons who were named Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale, we’re left to wonder if this was the fourth sister that Ovid just didn’t bother with, if we take too long to consider it.
Unfortunately, Bruno’s father, Professor Heinz (Michael Goodliffe), isn’t going to settle for his son being sacrificed for the good name of Dunkler Payton Platz, and he digs deeper into the mystery. In addition to the scorn and silence of the town, he also has a run-in with Megaera, meeting the same fate as Sascha.
The town barely gets a chance to forget (unsee?) this whole thing before the next member of the Heinz family, Paul (Richard Pasco), encouraged and aided by his student advisor in Leipzig, Professor Meister (Christopher Lee), comes looking for closure. In addition to everything else, he takes a fancy to Namarof’s assistant Carla (Barbara Shelley), which sets Namarof into a jealous rage as the secret of Megaera gets exposed.
The big secret that comes out of this is it shows how troubled Hammer Films were at the time of this production. Ideally, this should have been a more enjoyable film. Having Fisher as director for both Cushing and Lee (with Lee being the heroic one this time, bringing some swagger that felt like he was channeling his British Spec Forces days from WWII), the old chemistry that helped launch the studio should have been there.
While the three of them do well with otherwise decent material, there are a few strategic choices made that keep you from embracing the film:
- Why set a film about a horror from Greek mythology in deep, Gothic Germany? It’s an odd choice to make and feels off stylistically, especially when we have to ask…
- Why is Megaera’s spirit bound to someone and can only emerge during a full moon? This makes her, what, a were-Gorgan? Which further makes us ask…
- Why do these dummkopfs just sit back and let her stone someone once in a while for the last few years? They know she tends to be up in the castle that overlooks Vandorf and is tied to a lunar cycle but can’t place one telegram to the Kaiser to send Paul Von Hindenburg and three battalions to wipe her out? Der fuuuu…?
The lack of a basis for a solid story that raises more questions than can be answered just underwhelms the film. Whether it’s being a prisoner of your brand, having to set all your movies during that time period, or just not being able to afford sets and costumes that allow you to go places that would better fit your piece, the trappings covering the film keep it from being able to breathe better.
There’s a reason we don’t tend to ask about the best gyro places in Dusseldorf: Why should we consider Germany when discussing Greek food? And it’s the same case here, in a nutshell.
And that’s the great tragedy before us: There’s a much better film than we got that needs to be released from its marble. Set the piece closer to the Mediterranean, or maybe use a different time era. Aspects of the film such as Namarof’s obsession with Carla and the Heinz family seeking justice could easily drive the story, were it not for making a Greek monster try and behave like a vampire or lycanthrope. The film might have done better as a modern set piece set at an art college or spa; take away the Gothic trappings and allow the Gorgon to be a damned Gorgon, and the film would have had a much broader audience.
There’s so much potential here in Hammer’s first female monster (years before Universal would finally get around to make such an offering) and the last pairing of Lee and Cushing under Fisher. And yet, this end result just cannot be placed upon a pedestal.
NEXT TIME: We have a real head case that maybe could have used a few more laughs.
