In 1892 eight men and four women were left for dead in a collapsed underground tunnel in London. These people lived on despite their situation through cannibalism. Finally, one man, having just seen his wife die with child, is left. Death Line is HIS story, such as stories go. And this is a sick story to boot. The man grabs people unawares in the subway tunnel and drags them back "home" for supper...only they are the meat du jour. The man has a huge wound on his head, he mumbles "mind the doors" incessantly, that is of course when he is not severing heads and drinking blood, splitting someone's head down the middle with a shovel, sticking a stake clear through someone's chest, biting the heads off of rats, and so on, and continually drools long strands of saliva as he menaces and kills. Now this is not a normal man to be sure. The budget for the film was obviously limited, but I think much was made with these limited resources. The director Sherman may have overdone the gore a bit, but his use of the old tunnels as setting is very effective. There are some wonderful and shocking/frightening scenes in this labyrinth of old, no longer used tunnels where some moments the only sound her is a continual drip. Despite the bizarre nature of the story, the plot inconsistencies, and the general lack of artistic appeal, the film does have some fine points to offer. As stated the sets contribute a very eerie and claustrophobic sense to the film. The acting is generally good all around. Donald Pleasance, however, makes the film a film worth seeing as he essays the role of a police inspector. Pleasance chews up every scene he is in and plays his role with obvious relish. He is a joy to behold. As for Christopher Lee...well he is good in his five plus minutes of work..his role is totally devoid of any importance to the storyline, however.
Review of Death Line
