Donald Pleasance made his best films in the UK, before he went over to America to make a load of Halloween films and other dismal rubbish. While still on this side of the Atlantic, we got to treated great Donald Pleasance performances in films such as The Flesh and the Fiends, Cul-De-Sac and this film! Death Line is an odd film as it handles a theme not often seen in horror cinema. The closest film I can think of to this one in terms of theme was the recent thriller 'Creep' (which is pretty much the same), although that film doesn't have the nasty nature and fetid atmosphere of Death Line! The story is very original and also rather terrifying. It handles the idea of a bunch of subway workers getting trapped in the tunnel after part of it collapsed. Rather than suffocating to death, they were 'lucky' enough to find a pocket of air and survive for many years. The descendants ended up deformed (as you'd expect from a people exclusively living underground) and have taken to abducting, and eating, people unlucky enough to find themselves in the subway after dark. The last remaining descendant's life is shattered when his wife and unborn son die, leaving him with the task of finding a new mate.
Anyone who's ever been on the London Underground will know that it's generally very packed. I've never been down there during the night, but if this film is to be believed - it's likely to be a very frightening place! Director Gary Sherman (who went on to direct the imaginative Video Nasty 'Dead and Buried' in the early eighties) draws atmosphere from this fact, and manages to ensure that the film always feels very desolate; which bodes well with the festering corpses that the director so enjoys depicting. The film is very British in style and tone, and Donald Pleasance is the perfect leading man in this respect. He can become a little ridiculous at times, but in general his role as the cynical and sarcastic police chief fits the film very well, and usually manages to entertain. The film lays its cards with regards to the central plot theme on the table rather early; but it's obvious by then anyway, and the real surprise is nicely kept until the end. To criticise the film, it has to be said that the plotting is sometimes a little too relaxed. There's a lot of standout scenes, however - the grisly sequence that sees three men killed on the subway is the best of them - and the director manages to implement a lot of memorable images into the film. Overall, Death Line is a forgotten gem and well worth checking out!
Anyone who's ever been on the London Underground will know that it's generally very packed. I've never been down there during the night, but if this film is to be believed - it's likely to be a very frightening place! Director Gary Sherman (who went on to direct the imaginative Video Nasty 'Dead and Buried' in the early eighties) draws atmosphere from this fact, and manages to ensure that the film always feels very desolate; which bodes well with the festering corpses that the director so enjoys depicting. The film is very British in style and tone, and Donald Pleasance is the perfect leading man in this respect. He can become a little ridiculous at times, but in general his role as the cynical and sarcastic police chief fits the film very well, and usually manages to entertain. The film lays its cards with regards to the central plot theme on the table rather early; but it's obvious by then anyway, and the real surprise is nicely kept until the end. To criticise the film, it has to be said that the plotting is sometimes a little too relaxed. There's a lot of standout scenes, however - the grisly sequence that sees three men killed on the subway is the best of them - and the director manages to implement a lot of memorable images into the film. Overall, Death Line is a forgotten gem and well worth checking out!