Lair of the White Worm

(1988) ***½

A Scottish archeologist finds a weird old skull which seems to open, pardon the pun, a whole can of worms. He's staying in a town where legend has it that a large white snake like worm, the D'Ampton Worm was slain many years ago. Mary Trent, the woman whose Inn is where Angus is staying takes him to a party in the village. Angus meets Lord James D'Ampton, the ancestor of the great worm slayer and here he learns the story of the worm. Angus and Mary see a strange car on the way home and Mary asks the police to check it out since it was just last year that her parents disappeared on the very same road. But it's just Lady Sylvia Marsh returning to Temple House, a nearby mansion, much earlier than expected.

The next day Marys father's watch is discovered in an old cave, the legendary worm's lair in fact. While Mary & Angus are at the cave Lady Sylvia sneaks into Angus' room and steals the skull. Here we get a first glimps of the Lady's fangs & venom.

Mary's sister Eve later finds the strange fluid on the crucifix and when she touches it she has a bizarre psychedelic vision of a snake lady and a giant white snake wrapped around a cross. Outside she finds a large tile mosaic that Angus has uncovered of a cross & snake just like her vision.

People begin to disappear in town. Agnus, Mary, Eve, and their friend Lord James d'Ampton search the cave for any clues. Eve goes back down to the Inn alone to attend to the guests where Sylvia abducts her and prepares to sacrifice her to the worm. people begin to disappear. Agnus, Mary, and Lord James have to rescue Eve and stop Lady Sylvia before it's too late.

This is a classic Bram Stoker tale. I enjoyed the film very much but I'm not so sure it would have been Mr. Stoker's vision for this story. Either way it's a fun one to watch and seemed to me to be more like a late '60's early '70's flick, it just has that feel to it.