Watch Curse of the Crimson Altar For Free

To me, this movie is perfection.

Fresh and Exciting

Best movie ever!

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Okay low-budget horror film is bolstered by a strong supporting cast of veteran horror actors and a solid story, which I didn't realize until the end of the film that it was based on H.P. Lovecraft's "The Dreams in the Witch House," athough Lovecraft did not receive any onscreen credit. The story follows a young man who visits a remote manor in the English countryside after his brother's disappearance. Once there he senses a Lovecraftian sense of dread, which leads to (as the title would suggest) a secret devil cult. Scary old actors who may or may not be part of the cult include the great Boris Karloff and the equally great Christopher Lee. While the supposing cast is strong, the primary lead actors are not as good. Also to the film's detriment is it's low budget, which at times make the film laughable, particularly one especially bad dream sequence. The film also oddly and unnecessarily breaks the third-wall when one character jokes that the spooky old manner makes him expect to see Boris Karloff at any moment. Overall, "The Crimson Cult" is not terrible, but it's nothing to go out of your way to watch either. If you're a fan of witch and devil cult movies, this film may be worth checking out since the list of good and great films in this horror sub-genre is pretty short ("Rosemary's Baby" "The Devil Rides Out" "Curse of the Demon" "Suspiria" "Black Sunday" "The Wicker Man" and "House of the Devil" are probably the only films that fit that category, but feel free to add to that list if you can think of any others. I sure can't.).

If I told you about Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele in same movie you would instantly assume I'm talking about some horror movie from middle of last century and if you hoped to see horror you would be very disappointed. Although it was classified as one this movie does not have H of horror. It is not frightening, has no supernatural elements, it is not suspense, there's no blood or sudden scare scenes. Movie is totally realistic and music and effects are more appropriate for some alien SF than for horror, which this movie is not anyway. This is mediocre thriller that has pretty scenography and slightly spooky atmosphere, few resonant names and absolutely nothing more than that. I'm not sorry for spending 90 minutes on it, but I definitely do not recommend it.

With a pairing of Christopher Lee and Boris Karloff, you shouldn't go wrong. But there is very little time of the two in the same scene. Robert Manning(Mark Eden)is an antique dealer that is worried about his missing brother. So Manning makes a trip to a rural English village to start his search. Manning tries to prove that his missing brother has something to do with an ancient mansion belonging to a man named Morely(Lee). Robert gets involved with Morley's niece Eve(Virginia Wetherell), who wants to believe that something bad has happened to the American's brother. The two get entangled in the legend of Levinia(Barbara Steele), a witch that was killed 300 years ago. Was Manning's brother a sacrifice to a cult? Robert and Eve seek information from the village's grand elder, Professor Marsh(Karloff), who is an occult expert. The movie stays busy, a memorable one it isn't. Other players: Michael Gough, Rosemarie Reede and Michael Warren.

I'm not looking for technical brilliance or award winning performances, just some fun entertainment to pass the evening.Of course, there is Boris Karloff and Christopher Lee, along with Barbara Steele to provide some rather good acting in an otherwise low budget film.Like the hapless travelers in 2001 Maniacs, Robert (Mark Eden), looking for his brother, arrives at the time of the annual festival of a witch killed 200 years ago.Strange ceremonies and hypnotic trances cause us to wonder just what is going on. A simple revenge, or something more sinister? Virginia Wetherell provided nice eye candy in a film that was truly entertaining.