Death Line (1972)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Gary Sherman

Writers:

Ceri Jones (screenplay)
Gary Sherman (story)

Release Date:

September 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

Beneath Modern London Lives a Tribe of Once Humans. Neither Men Nor Women...They Are the Raw Meat Of The Human Race!

Plot:

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square...

Plot Keywords:

Tunnel | Inspector | Bookstore | Rape | Rat

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Donald Pleasence	...	Inspector Calhoun
Norman Rossington	...	Detective Sergeant Rogers
David Ladd	...	Alex Campbell
Sharon Gurney	...	Patricia Wilson
Hugh Armstrong	...	The 'Man'
June Turner	...	The 'Woman'
Clive Swift	...	Inspector Richardson
James Cossins	...	James Manfred, OBE
Heather Stoney	...	W.P.C. Alice Marshall
Hugh Dickson	...	Dr. Bacon
Jack Woolgar	...	Platform Inspector
Ron Pember	...	Lift Operator
Colin McCormack	...	Police Constable 1
Gary Winkler	...	Police Constable 2
James Culliford	...	Publican

Also Known As:

Raw Meat (USA)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 | UK:18 (video rating) (1989) (uncut) | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | West Germany:18 | Spain:18 (video rating) | France:-12 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (DVD rating) | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Aldwych Underground Station, Aldwych, Holborn, London, England, UK

Company:

Harbor Ventures

Trivia:

The original UK cinema and video versions were cut by the BBFC to heavily edit the broom impalement, a shot of a spade in a man's head, the cannibal biting off a rat's head, and his pursuit and attempted rape of Sharon Gurney. The full uncut version was finally passed by the BBFC for the DVD release in March 2006.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
The 'Man': Mind the doors!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Sugar Hill/Raw Meat (#1.41)" (2008)

Frankenstein reborn

In the early 70s, Hammer Production's star was fading fast, yet the UK was able to churn out this little gem. Based on an intriguing story concerning the underground-dwelling descendants of turn-of-the-century caved-in miners, it however starts off as a typical murder mystery. Donald Pleasance does a pretty good Eastend accent as a working-class, pug copper investigating the disapearance of a man of some importance in his district. Christopher Lee is wasted in little more than a cameo role whose character's intentions remain clouded and obtuse. The film borrows heavily from the 1931 version of Frankenstein with 'The Man', originally seen as the monster, is the most empathetic character in the movie, who does not understand the cruel world around him, whilst society as a whole, including those few 'humans' who get involved are cold, aloof, and far more monsterous. A film works better when the apparent villain is given three dimensions and isn't just a parody, as is the case here. A real sleeper.