The Leech Woman

"The Leech Woman" is a film that's a lot better than its title. Coleen Gray plays the older wife of Phillip Terry, a doctor who's been experimenting with various mixtures in order to find the fountain of youth. The acting is quite good by a group of old pros, and the film throws in about everything: the older woman/younger man plot twist, alcoholism, tribal rituals, emotional abuse, love triangles, several murders, smart-mouthed cops, journeys into darkest Africa, revenge and betrayal, explosions, quicksand...well, you get the idea. Gray does quite well with a difficult role, with fine support from Terry, Grant Williams, Kim Hamilton, and Gloria Talbott. I thought the ending was a little weak, but otherwise it's an entertaining take on an unusual story regarding rejuvenation. Worth catching.

Unlike a lot of movies given a good workover by the fine folks on Mystery Science Theater 3000, "The Leech Woman" is fairly watchable. The idea is that an aging woman who wants to restore her beauty finds a magic that will allow her to become young again- but only for a day at a time. The spell, unfortunately, also requires her to kill men.

Of course, she doesn't particularly care about the lives of men, which is where the main plot starts. I won't spoil it for you, because this is a film I think you might actually enjoy.

The movie suffers, unfortunately, from some drab performances by members of the cast. The main stars, however, play their roles pretty well, and the elderly priestess featured in the beginning of the film is particularly creepy.

Also, the plot, though good in theory, seems to get bogged down at times. The movie crawls along and can get very boring. But there are some excellent sequences in there that really bring the movie back from the gutter.

In any case, I recommend at least trying to find the MST3k version of the film...during the more boring sequences you'll appreciate the boys' humor, and even the good parts certainly aren't hurt by a little good-natured jesting.

While traveling through the African wilderness, an aging woman discovers the secret of youth, but she will have to kill to stay young.

A clever story and an outstanding performance from Coleen Gray uplifts this old B thriller. You've gotta give Leech Woman a little more credit for being a drive-in movie from the late 50's that doesn't rely upon some 'monster' to drive it. Leech Woman is instead a more thoughtful thriller that examines a woman's desperation. It's low budget indeed, but does have some decent makeup FX, a nice music score, and a better-than-average cast to hold it together.

** 1/2 out of ****

I sat down to watch this movie expecting to see a woman with a big rubber leech head chasing people around but it turns out Leech Woman offers something slightly more sophisticated. The story is that a scientist and his estranged wife head off to Africa to search for the fabled elixir of hokum which turns women young again. Obviously these days it would be a waste of time because every second advert I see for toothpaste or shampoo offers time renewal, time protection and suchlike whatever that means.

One thing I liked about this movie was the way that every single character is awful in some way. There's a good story though it is a bit slow to start with. Some viewers have moaned about the rather obvious stock footage but anyone who is a fan of movies of this era will recognise it as just par for the course on a quick cheapie like this.

Give it a try, despite the tacky name it's quite a good story and worth a watch.

Speedily put into production in order to offer exhibitors a second-feature lure with bookings of The Brides of Dracula, this little movie suffers from a tedious First Act. The initial scenes were obviously designed merely to fill in time, so that latecomers would not feel at any disadvantage. We're told absolutely nothing that doesn't develop later on in the plot. A bit of judicious trimming here would do wonders. And in any event, Coleen Gray doesn't seem nearly old enough in these early scenes to make her motives credible. Fortunately, she is marvelously made-up later on—and in these sequences she also gives by far the best performance of her career.

Despite Dein's flat-footed direction and the obvious constraints and inhibitions imposed by a tight "B" budget, interest is kept at a high level in the last half of the movie not only by Gray's forceful portrayal (and the skillful way she is lit and make-up) but by some neat yet unexpected plot twists

Alas, the film cheats on special effects, the transformations being accomplished without camera trickery in a most tame and disappointing manner.

Nonetheless, although horror devotees will find the going pretty dull until the halfway mark, the movie does eventually hit its stride. In fact, I'd describe it as a key item for any keen fan's personal collection.