Michael_Elliott The Body Beneath (1970)* 1/2 (out of 4)A family of vampires realize that their bloodline is coming to an end so they must try and get new people in so that their family tradition can continue.THE BODY BENEATH is one of five films that director Andy Milligan made in Britian and believe it or not this film has some fans out there. Sadly, I am not one of them as I found this to be yet another extremely boring period piece that just didn't have enough working in it to keep me interested. It's strange but the more Milligan films I see the more of them I don't like but at the same time I find myself becoming a fan. That might sound weird because how can you become a fan by watching bad movies? Perhaps it's the fact that no matter which Milligan movie you're watching you can tell that it's a Milligan picture. I must admit that I somewhat admire the fact that he was making these period looking films on such a small budget. There are all sorts of technical issues with this film and there really aren't any "good" performances. With that said, the film remains mildly entertaining just because of that weird factor that the director always managed to bring to his pictures.

Woodyanders Prissy priest Algernon Ford (an effectively smug and sinister portrayal by Gavin Reed) is really a vampire who's organizing a gala annual feast for his fellow bloodsuckers. Assisted by pathetic hunchback Spool (the pitiable Berwick Kaler) and a trio of grotesque green-skinned vampire women, Ford has grisly plans for two of his luckless lady relatives: pregnant Susan (comely Jackie Skarvellis) gets chosen to be a breeder for vampire babies while lovely Candace (ravishing redhead Emma Jones) will be used as a blood donor. Writer/director Andy Milligan, whose movies are usually hopelessly cheap, static and inept, here shows a surprisingly substantial amount of flair and finesse. The rough, grainy, but still fairly polished cinematography in particular is occasionally impressive. The neatly varied score alternates between lush orchestral film library music and wonky, droning, atonal synthesizer noises. The gloomy British countryside adds considerably to the spooky and decadent Gothic atmosphere. The solid acting from the competent cast rates as another sterling asset: Reed truly excels in the lead, with sturdy support from Skarvellis, Kaler, Jones, Richmond Ross as Susan's brave, likable boyfriend Paul Donati, Susan Heard as Algernon's fetching, reticent wife Alicia, Felicity Sentence as brassy maid Jessie, and Judith Head as fiery vampiress Elizabeth. In addition, this film takes some interesting liberties with the standard vampire lore: These bloodsuckers don't have fangs, can walk around in the sunlight, and take regular blood transfusions to keep themselves strong. The climactic vampires' ball is both pleasingly lavish and appropriately gruesome. Nice dark surprise ending, too. A nifty vampire horror picture.

dbborroughs One of The better Milligan films that actually sort of works if you give it a a few allowances. One of Milligans English films, this movie actually is a good...okay...just...story of a vampires and such trying to get new blood into their family. (that maybe giving too much away, or not since the movie doesn't wholly make sense.) Technically competent which only has to survive the need to keep all of the actors in close huddle and some make up that would be too thick even on stage, this is a decent drama/thriller thats actually one of the few Milligan movies I can recommend on any level. Sure it dances the fine line around being a bad movie (and crosses over into that territory a few times) but its the sort of time killer you may actually watch to the end. Both better and worse than I'm making out this maybe the Milligan movie to start with if you have a yen so long as you understand what you're getting yourself into.

EyeAskance To say THE BODY BENEATH is a *GOOD* film might be sugaring things a bit heavily, but it certainly stands as one of the more professional achievements put forward by schlock auteur Andy Milligan. The evidence of more technically adept workmanship than in many of his other projects is multi-directional within this eerie little vampire opus, though the the gore is noticeably slight this time around. It's a fairly unembellished bloodsucker story with a few novel twists...a vampire-priest calls a meeting of all existing vampires at his Old England lair. During this meeting, he expresses his concern with the rapidly diminishing numbers of their blood-line, and motions that they move, collectively, to the United States.THE BODY BENEATH looks like a project which Milligan took a bit more seriously than many of his other horror offerings. It's fairly coherent(an amazing achievement for him), and the pacing and exposition actually aren't miles away from the accepted norm. Is this merely a film which denotes the natural progress of it's maker? Is it a sincere attempt to bring something palatable to mainstream horror film fans? Is it a sellout? ...I dunno...all I can say is that it has all the quirky Milligan hallmarks, but it's far removed from the schlock quality of much of his other work.4/10