Rasputin: The Mad Monk

Reviews

John Chard
I offer him sins worth forgiving! 1966 was a prolific year for Hammer Films, the company would have 6 films released this year, unsurprisingly the quality of such was variable. Rasputin the Mad Monk was filmed back to back with Dracula Prince of Darkness, yet even though the BBFC afforded it the "X" certificate, it's somewhat tame and more a historical drama than horror film. In truth it's Christopher Lee as the title character who keeps this from plunging the depths of stinkerville, and this in spite of sporting a most distracting and ridiculous beard. Plot simply - and fancifully - shows Rasputin as a hard drinking, womanising bully with a penchant for hypnotism, all of which he uses for his nefarious ends. It's all very colourful, with Lee holding court as male saps and beautiful dames (Barbara Shelley oh my eye!) come and go, which all builds to a furious finale in the Hammer Films tradition. Yet the slow pace, weakness of the story and the overt feeling of watching a rush job, stops this from being anything but a Hammer time waster. 6/10

Wuchak
_**Holy man or unholy devil’s child?**_ A mysterious licentious monk named Grigori Rasputin (Christopher Lee) emerges from western Siberia with powers of healing and hypnosis. He worms his way into favor with the imperial family in prerevolutionary Saint Petersburg, in particular Alexandra (Renée Asherson), but his negative influence and debaucheries prompt conservative opponents to action. The cast is rounded out by Barbara Shelley, Richard Pasco and Francis Matthews. "Rasputin: The Mad Monk” (1966) is a Hammer historical drama/thriller with a bit o’ horror. It’s not a detailed real-life account, but offers the gist of the story in an entertaining manner, which inspires viewers to look up the actual history. Christopher Lee is outstanding as the eponymous character, both commanding and convincing. Meanwhile Shelley is a highlight on the feminine front. Rasputin was assassinated in late, 1916. It is said that his corruption of the government was responsible for the rising discontent of Russians, leading to the October revolution the next year and downfall of the monarchy. The movie runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot at Bray Studios, just west of London. GRADE: B/B-
Movie Recommendation
- Dr. Terror's House of Horrors1965-02-23Five strangers board a train and are joined by a mysterious fortune teller who offers to read their Tarot cards. Five separate stories unfold: An architect returns to his ancestoral home to find a werewolf out for revenge; a doctor discovers his new wife is a vampire; a huge plant takes over a house; a musician gets involved with voodoo; an art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.More...
- Straight Time1978-03-18After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.More...
- The House That Dripped Blood1971-02-22A Scotland Yard investigator looks into four mysterious cases involving an unoccupied house.More...
- Blood from the Mummy's Tomb1971-06-16Two Egyptologists, Professor Fuchs and Corbeck, are instrumental in unleashing unmitigated horror by bringing back to England the mummified body of Tara, the Egyptian Queen of Darkness. Fuchs’s daughter becomes involved in a series of macabre and terrifying incidents, powerless against the forces of darkness, directed by Corbeck, that are taking possession of her body and soul to fulfill the ancient prophesy that Queen Tara will be resurrected to continue her reign of unspeakable evil.More...
- Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter1974-04-07When several young girls are found dead, left hideously aged and void of blood, Dr. Marcus suspects vampirism. He enlists the help of the Vampire Hunter. Mysterious and powerful, Kronos has dedicated his life to destroying the evil pestilence. Once a victim of its diabolical depravity, he knows the vampire's strengths and weaknesses as well as the extreme dangers attached to confronting the potent forces of darkness.More...
- Bushwhacked1995-08-04A inept courier realises he has been used by criminals to deliver money. On the run from both the criminals and police, he poses as a Scout leader and leads a scout group on a hike through the mountains.More...
- The History of the Devil2008-05-08The History of the Devil charts the evolution the idea of a supreme embodiment of evil from the time of the ancient gods to the present day. This critical analysis provides insightful and structured analysis of the origins of Devil and the way in which it has been used over the centuries.More...
- The Viking Queen1967-03-25Set in ancient Britain, at a time when much of Europe was ruled with harsh tyranny by Rome, a tribe of Britons led by Selina, set out to defy the invaders and discard their yoke of bondage. The Roman commander, Justinian, is sent to quell the uprising, punishing the dissenters with brute force but when he becomes emotionally attached to Selina, he is torn between his duty to Rome and his love for the Viking Queen.More...
- The Unnaturals1969-05-30During a thunderstorm, a group of members of London's high society seek refuge in a remote mansion in the countryside. They are received by Uriat and his mother, who appears to be able to communicate with the dead. The guests engage in a séance, but it will reveal each and everyone's darkest secrets.More...
- The 15:17 to Paris2018-02-07On Aug. 21, 2015, the world watches in stunned silence as the media reports a thwarted terrorist attack on a train that's bound for Paris -- an attempt prevented by three young Americans traveling together through Europe. The heroic and courageous actions of Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone help to save the lives of more than 500 passengers on board.More...
- Rebecca1940-03-23Story of a young woman who marries a fascinating widower only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously several years earlier. The young wife must come to grips with the terrible secret of her handsome, cold husband, Max De Winter. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house.More...
- Freaky2020-11-12A mystical, ancient dagger causes a notorious serial killer to magically switch bodies with a 17-year-old girl.More...
- The Intouchables2011-11-02A true story of two men who should never have met – a quadriplegic aristocrat who was injured in a paragliding accident and a young man from the projects.More...
- Police Academy 6: City Under Siege1989-03-09Our favourite police men are called together to deal with a gang who rob banks and jewelers. Using their various talents as well as their extraordinary luck, the crooks stand no chance against our men and women in blue.More...
- Big Trouble in Little China1986-05-30Truck driver Jack Burton gets embroiled in a supernatural battle when his best friend Wang Chi's green-eyed fiancée is kidnapped by henchmen of the sorcerer Lo Pan, who must marry a girl with green eyes in order to return to the human realm.More...
- Bronco Billy1980-06-11An idealistic, modern-day cowboy struggles to keep his Wild West show afloat in the face of hard luck and waning interest.More...
- Shanghai Knights2003-02-06When a Chinese rebel murders Chon's estranged father and escapes to England, Chon and Roy make their way to London with revenge on their minds.More...
- Carrie1976-11-03Withdrawn and sensitive teen Carrie White faces taunting from classmates at school and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When strange occurrences start happening around Carrie, she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers.More...
- The Abyss1989-08-09A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.More...
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans1927-11-04A married farmer falls under the spell of a slatternly woman from the city, who tries to convince him to drown his wife.More...
Similar Movies
The Countess
2009-03-13Kingdom of Hungary, 17th century. As she gets older, powerful Countess Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614), blinded by the passion that she feels for a younger man, succumbs to the mad delusion that blood will keep her young and beautiful forever.Rosemary's Baby
1968-06-12A young couple, Rosemary and Guy, moves into an infamous New York apartment building, known by frightening legends and mysterious events, with the purpose of starting a family.The Legend of the 7 G...
1974-07-11Professor Van Helsing had been asked to help against the tyranny of skeletal creatures that are responsible for terror and death amongst the peasants in rural China. He is the only person qualified to deal with the cause of these phenomena, for the undead are controlled by the most diabolical force of all.... Count Dracula. But he is not alone- to aid him comes a mystical brotherhood of seven martial arts warriors.The Spiral Staircase
1946-01-26On a stormy night, the mute servant to an ailing matriarch is stalked by a serial killer.The Shadow Within
2007-11-15Little Maurice Dumont lives with his mother in a village in the mountains. His twin brother Jacques died at birth. But Maurice told that he could speak with Jacques. The doctor, Dr. Prevost and her husband, who teaches at the local school, are of the opinion that his mother's strict upbringing is not good for Maurice. One day, they discover strange injuries on him. At the same time some women of the village plan to use Maurice's ability to communicate with the dead to contact their dead relatives. But this is not a good idea ...X: The Unknown
1956-09-21Army radiation experiments awaken a subterranean monster from a fissure that feeds on energy and proceeds to terrorise a remote Scottish village. An American research scientist at a nearby nuclear plant joins with a British investigator to discover why the victims were radioactively burned and why, shortly thereafter, a series of radiation-related incidents are occurring in an ever-growing straight line away from the fissure.Quatermass and the Pi...
1967-11-09A mysterious artifact unearthed below a London subway station proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.Not of This Earth
1957-02-10An alien from planet Davanna, whose population has developed a terminal blood disease caused by nuclear radiation, is sent to Earth to acquire fresh human blood for his people.The Iceman and the Ps...
2004-06-01For the third time, HBO cameras go inside Trenton State Maximum Security Prison--and inside the mind of one of the most prolific killers in U.S. history--in this gripping documentary. Mafia hit man Richard Kuklinski freely admits to killing more than 100 people, but in this special, he speaks with top psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz in an effort to face the truth about his condition. Filled with more never-before-revealed confessions, it's the most chillingly candid Iceman special yet as it combines often-confrontational interview footage between Kuklinski and Dietz with photos, crime reenactments and home movies that add new layers to this evolving and fascinating story.Night of the Demon
1957-11-09American professor John Holden arrives in London for a conference on parapsychology only to discover that the colleague he was supposed to meet was killed in a freak accident the day before. It turns out that the deceased had been investigating a cult lead by Dr. Julian Karswell. Though a skeptic, Holden is suspicious of the devil-worshiping Karswell. Following a trail of mysterious manuscripts, Holden enters a world that makes him question his faith in science.The Brides of Dracula...
1960-05-01A young teacher on her way to a position in Transylvania helps a young man escape the shackles his mother has put on him. In so doing she innocently unleashes the horrors of the undead once again on the populace, including those at her school for ladies. Luckily for some, Dr. Van Helsing is already on his way.Scared to Death
1947-02-01A woman is married to the son of a doctor, the proprietor of a private sanatorium, where she is under unwilling treatment. Both the son and the doctor indicate they want the marriage dissolved. Arriving at the scene is a mysterious personage identified as the doctor's brother who formerly was a stage magician in Europe. He is accompanied by a threatening dwarf...The Quatermass Xperim...
1955-08-26The first manned spacecraft, fired from an English launchpad, is first lost from radar, then roars back to Earth and crashes in a farmer's field, and is found to contain only one of the three men who took off in it; and he is unable to talk but appears to be undergoing a torturous physical and mental metamorphosis.The Initiation of Sar...
2006-10-22A sorority girl unwittingly becomes the focus of a battle between good and evil.Dahmer
2002-06-21On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the world's most infamous serial killers, was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years in federal prison. This movie is based on events from his life.The Two Faces of Dr. ...
1960-10-24After a series of scientific experiments directed towards freeing the inner man and controlling human personalities, the kindly, generous Dr Henry Jekyll succeeds in freeing his own alter ego, Edward Hyde, a sadistic, evil creature whose pleasure is murder.Frankenstein Must Be ...
1969-05-22Blackmailing a young couple to assist with his horrific experiments the Baron, desperate for vital medical data, abducts a man from an insane asylum. On route the abductee dies and the Baron and his assistant transplant his brain into a corpse. The creature is tormented by a trapped soul in an alien shell and, after a visit to his wife who violently rejects his monstrous form, the creature wreaks his revenge on the perpetrator of his misery: Baron Frankenstein.The Curse of Frankens...
1957-05-20Baron Victor Frankenstein has discovered life's secret and unleashed a blood-curdling chain of events resulting from his creation: a cursed creature with a horrid face — and a tendency to kill.Frankenstein Created ...
1967-03-15A deformed tormented girl drowns herself after her lover is framed for murder and guillotined. Baron Frankenstein, experimenting with the transfer of souls, places the boy's soul into her body, bringing Christina back to life. Driven by revenge, she carries out a violent retribution on those responsible for both deaths.Frankenstein and the ...
1974-05-02Dr Simon Helder, sentenced to an insane asylum for crimes against humanity, recognises its director as the brilliant Baron Frankenstein, the man whose work he had been trying to emulate before his imprisonment. Frankenstein utilises Helder's medical knowledge for a project he has been working on for some time. He is assembling a man from vital organs extracted from various inmates in the asylum. And the Baron will resort to murder to acquire the perfect specimens for his most ambitious project ever.