Episode 117 - The Lair of the White Worm (1988)

<p class="MsoNormal">This adaptation of a Bram Stoker novel is a campy bit of folk horror about a villainous pagan priestess who feeds the unsuspecting to the subterranean serpent she worships, and the hapless villagers who battle her, including a young archaeologist, a pair of sisters whose parents are missing, and the foppish local lord. It’s a Ken Russell film, so naturally it’s a subtle piece. Loosely based on the English legend of the Lambton Worm, it's a silly, smutty, absurdist bit of gothic comedy in the vein of <em>An American Werewolf in London</em>, sitting somewhere between a Doctor Who serial and <em>The Wicker Man</em>.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Starring Hugh Grant, Peter Capaldi, Amanda Donohoe, Catherine Oxenberg, and Sammi Davis. Written and directed by Ken Russell.</p>