Freddie Francis finds himself working for Tigon on the ambitious, albeit flawed, horror opus The Creeping Flesh. It's always fun to see Cushing and Lee working together and this is no exception, although it's fair to say that they don't get enough shared screen time in this particular film. Nevertheless, The Creeping Flesh is an extremely interesting and well-made offering. Ultimately it bites off more than it can chew, but there's still plenty of enjoyment to be had from a viewing of it.Victorian scientist Emmanuel Hildern (Cushing) returns from New Guinea with the skeletal remains of a humanoid creature. His excitement about the creature is tempered somewhat when he discovers his wife has died while he has been away. Not that their relationship was a normal one anyway – Mrs Hildern had been put into a lunatic asylum run by Emmanuel's brother, James (Christopher Lee), on account of her unquenchable sexual appetite. Furthermore, Emmanuel's daughter, Penelope (Lorna Heilbron), has no idea that her mother has been locked away, believing that she died years ago. Whilst examining the skeleton, Emmanuel discovers if it comes into contact with water its flesh and blood cells are able to regenerate. In other words, the skeleton can regrow flesh when wet. Believing the creature may be the 'Evil One' mentioned in the ancient prophecies of the tribes of New Guinea, Emmanuel decides to investigate further. He discovers strange cells in the creature's biological make-up and concludes they may be a germ-like form of evil, suggesting that evil itself is a virus like any other, as easy to 'catch' as a common cold. Emmanuel attempts to use the cells to create a vaccine against evil. He tests it on his daughter, believing that she may need to be protected in order to prevent her from turning out like her mother. Alas, his tests have the opposite effect and soon Penelope becomes a dangerous murderess intent on luring others to their death. Meanwhile, James plots to steal the New Guinean skeleton for himself… but makes the mistake of attempting to spirit it away during a rainstorm.As one can see, there's an awful lot going on in The Creeping Flesh considering that it is merely a 94 minute horror film. We have brotherly rivalry and betrayal; messed-up family politics; tribal prophecies; a flesh-growing monster; and the radical concept of evil as a contagious illness rather than an immoral mind-set. Where The Creeping Flesh comes undone somewhat is in its doomed effort to tie so many disparate components together into a coherent whole.Fortunately, the good points outweigh the flaws, resulting in a film that is worth watching in spite of any weaknesses. Flawed it may well be, but The Creeping Flesh still has much to admire. It takes a while to click into gear, biding its time in setting up the main 'evil-on-the-loose' story thread. However, once the consequences of Emmanuel's experimentations become clear - with Penelope going on a murderous rampage - things become exciting and compelling. Plus, of course, running alongside this thread we have the scheme hatched by Lee's character to steal the creature, not realising the potentially catastrophic result of taking it outside in the rain. With its steady but intriguing build-up, disturbing apocalyptic ending and plenty of atmospheric chills in between, The Creeping Flesh is a film that undeniably rewards patient viewing.

Peter Cushing plays a scientist returning from New Guinea with a huge humanoid skeleton he had found. He has formed a theory that it was evil, and when it is splashed with water, starts to regrow flesh, then eventually comes to life to wreck havoc. Meanwhile, he injects his daughter Penelope with its blood, mixed with blood he considers good, on the theory that it will destroy the evil: he is proved to be wrong, as Penelope goes on the same road to ruin that led to his own wife being put in an insane asylum, run by his brother(played by Christopher Lee).Contrived and cynical film about the battle between good and evil never amounts to much, even with two horror legends in the leads. Subtext about whether or not the scientist is really crazy(and the whole film a figment of his imagination) is not enough to redeem this film, though the direction by Freddie Francis is adequate.

This has Peter Cushing as scientist Emmanuel Hildern, who returns from New Guinea with a huge humanoid skeleton. This skeleton forms skin when water is dropped on it and somehow Hildern is able to deduce from the blood in the skin that evil is a sickness that one can get like a cold. By combining good and bad blood, his theory is he can make someone immune to evil. He promptly injects it into his daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron), hoping she will not become mentally ill like his wife who recently died in a sanitarium run by his brother James (Christophe Lee). She, naturally, goes nuts and hits the town hitting on men in bars before running into an escaped lunatic. Are you still with me? The script for this is really out there and seems like three good ideas rolled into one. It is a credit to Cushing and Lee that they make it work. Of course, you should also praise director Freddie Francis for making it look good. You won't get too many surprises here, other than the fact that the monster comes back to life and feels the need to knock on the front door to announce its arrival. The opening minutes set up an ending you can see coming from a mile away, but it still has a nice sinister stamp on it.

Horror deities Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee are arguable the best acting-team that Horror cinema has ever known, their collaborations including Hammer Horror Classics such as "The Curse of Frankenstein" (1957), "Dracula" (1958), or "The Gorgon" (1964), as well as many other fantastic Horror films including "Horror Express" (1970). A production from the British Tigon company, "The Creeping Flesh" of 1973 is yet another great Gothic example for what a prefect duo of the uncanny the two Horror icons and real-life friends formed. After the Michael Reeves' masterpiece "Witchfinder General" (1968) starring the fellow Horror-deity Vincent Price, and Piers Haggard's "Blood on Satan's Claw" (1971), "The Creeping Flesh" is probably Tigon's third-best production.The ambitious but good-natured scientist Emannuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) discovers the skeleton of a supposed primate in New Guinea. Upon his return to England, however, suspicions arise that the skeleton may be infested with evil. In the meanwhile, Hildern's malevolent and cruel brother James (Christopher Lee), who leads an insane asylum, is keen on taking his brother's discovery away from him... Cushing and Lee are fantastic as always. Lorna Heilbron is also very good in the role of Cushing's innocent and beautiful daughter. The film's plot has been compared to that of Eugenio Martin's Cushing/Lee collaboration "Horror Express", and while I still prefer "Horror Express" over this one, I must say that "The Creeping Flesh" follows several additional ideas. The atmosphere is constantly creepy and the Victorian English settings and Gothic buildings make the prefect setting for a film of the kind (even though there have been greater locations in British Horror films, including most of Hammer's productions). Overall, "The Creeping Flesh" is an exquisitely entertaining and very creepy addition to the filmography of Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee, and no lover of British Gothic Horror should miss it. Highly recommended!