From the video vault: "Death Line" (UK), "Raw Meat" (US) Low budget horror from 1972/1973

Let's get the negatives out of the way first.
It's under 90 minutes, but the uneven pacing makes it seem longer. The musical score is atrocious, the dialogue ranges from banal ("My shampoo, please!!!") to seemingly improvised (see Donald Pleasence in the pub) to surprisingly witty. The acting of the young couple is woeful.

Now the other side of the coin: it's wildly atmospheric, well photographed (the derelict station scenes make this low budget effort look amazing) and quite poignant in parts. The idea of descendants of the original tunnel workers surviving in a disused line (circa 1890's)of the London Underground is intriguing and original, being infected and reduced to cannibalism (tube commuters, beware) - gory, graphic and creepy. When the remaining mutant screams "Mind the doors!" you think: "Where was this line in those lists of memorable movie quotes?" This is a cult classic territory.
The decidedly odd tone of the film begins with the bowler hatted pervert doing a Soho tour of sleaze and continues with the bizarre cameo of Christopher Lee as a MI5 toff.  The underground tunnel home of the cannibals features an incredibly long tracking shot with dripping (blood, seepage) the only sound. Donald Pleasence (he has top billing) has great fun in the role of the manic police inspector - ranting Cockney-esque "this is my manor", berating the office's teabags, switching to a toffy accent, throwing darts at his door and making throwaway sardonic comments. He is a joy to behold.
Lots to like. Two Bond villains in the cast (Blofeld and Scaramanga), the settings look like actual tube stations, albeit disused.
Trivia: Russell Square is on the Piccadilly Line (but the platform sign reads "District Line"). The train is correctly labelled "Cockfosters". The director was American (Gary Sherman). Definitely worth devoting 87 minutes of your life to.

NB. God dag, to all my Swedish readers, why so many page views, or is this just a pesky spammer?

"Wake in Fright" 1971 An Australian classic movie few have seen.

I first saw this film as a teenager in 1971. I remember the kangaroo shooting scene was quite confronting. Lots of men behaving badly. This is a film, once seen, will never be forgotten. It is rarely on television.
Called "Outback" in the U.S, it was adapted from the kickass Kenneth Cook novel, "Wake in Fright" (1961).
This movie is about the ugly side of Australia. Mateship gone feral. Think Crocodile Dundee meets "Wolf Creek". Set in Broken Hill, but don't expect the Broken Hill of "Priscilla, Queen of the Desert". A horrific "fish out of water" story about a young English school teacher stuck in a country town.
The Australian film industry (thanks to government subsidies) was going through a  rebirth in the early 1970's. Strange that two of the seminal films of the era (both about inland Australia) were directed by foreigners. This film was directed by Canadian, Ted Kotcheff (his biggest movie was "Rambo, First Blood"). In the same year you had the cult movie "Walkabout" by Englishman, Nicholas Roeg ("Don't Look Now", "The Man Who Fell To Earth").

Bear in mind about 85% of Australians live around the coast in urban areas. The outback is a strange and unwelcoming place. Some fear it. This makes "Wake in Fright" all the more powerful.
"Wake in Fright" stars newcomer Gary Bond, horror/villain actor Donald Pleasence (he is stunning in this), Jack Thompson (at the start of his career) and ocker icon Chips Rafferty (his final, and finest movie).
In 2009 it was digitally remastered. The original editor was used. Original reels were found rusting in a U.S. store room. The Australian National Film and Sound Archives are custodians of this masterpiece.
Watch the entire restored film on You Tube. 
A gift from Australia.