UK Shaun Death Line (1972)Listed here on IMDb as Raw Meat. The Blu-ray is called Death Line. I think I prefer the title Death Line, as Raw Meat sounds like some lousy lousy B-movie. I had read about Death Line, so I had preconceived ideas of what it might be like. Made 45 years ago in 1972, the picture quality looked rather good. I won't go into story detail, as others have covered this here on IMDb already. Some reviews mention Soho, London. I really wanted to see Soho in the 1970's. What we see, are close up 'arty shots' of strip bar entrances, out of focus, heavily blurred, serving as a colourful backdrop to the long intro credit sequence, during which the music loops, and grates after a while.The film takes the viewer to Russell Square underground train station, both outside at night and inside through tunnels, on platforms, abandoned parts filled with huge arches and rubble. These locations help lift Death Line above the norm, as they are rather fascinating, assuming you are interested in architecture of this nature. Its real, no CGI.Special FX - 'The Man' hairy, with abscesses, spots, looks as grimy as you might expect someone to look, living in a place with no running water etc. There is a scene that sees someone with a rather wobbly axe buried in their head complete with bright red blood. The few other violent acts are implied rather than seen. By 2017 standards, I guess it's safe to say, Death Line is quite tame.How to rate Death Line ? It's odd ball. It's low budget. It certainly takes the view there. It's not 10/10 neither is it 1/10 (both these scores appear here on IMDb). Do you score something based on what it is, or do you also take into account the era, the budget. It's not 9/10, 8/10, and its better than 5/10 and possibly 6/10. 7/10 is about right.Cast performances: Hugh Armstrong, who plays the part of 'The Man' who lives in the London Underground lesser known areas, is rather good at playing what amounts to a caveman like creature that hasn't see light for a while. Admittedly his performance looks somewhat theatrical, like someone on stage rather than in front of a camera. Looking on the IMDb database, it appears he suffered long periods without acting. Bizarre, as he seems rather talented.Donald Pleasence, who plays the part of Inspector Calhoun, helps Death Line from feeling too dated. My experience of Pleasence, he performs in much the same way in everything I've seen him in, which isn't a bad thing.Christopher Lee, appears briefly as an MI5 agent. Wearing a bowler hat and sporting a thick black moustache, looked like the lead singer from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Anthony Kiedis, which is something I'd never picked up on in the past. Sharon Gurney, who plays the part of Patricia Wilson looks quite attractive, sporting a hairstyle from the era. I had never heard of her before, and IMDb indicates she only remained in acting for 6 years.David Ladd, who plays the part of Alex Campbell, an American student in London and Patricia's boyfriend. I wasn't sure what to make of him. He tended to over act like many actors from the 70's 80's. I thought someone else could have played the part better. Unlike the rest of the leading cast, Ladd shows the films age.

Joe Stemme I finally caught up with this on MGM HD. I had heard so many good things about it over the last couple of decades. The most common mini-review boiled down to something to the effect of, "RAW MEAT is a crude title for a subtle and effective horror film." Have to say, I agree with the naysayers here. It is a very poorly paced film. It takes over 20 minutes to get to the underground lair stuff, and it just jumps right into that (admittedly brilliantly done) tracking shot the film is famous for. I'm not averse to slow build-ups, but, here, it's just drawn out police procedural stuff that the audience knows from the opening scene is NOT going to be central to the horror plot. Pleasence is amusing, but his scenes come off as a Pilot for a British police TV show.And, as superbly done as the tracking shot is, it just seems plopped into the movie because they realized that it was fast approaching the 30 minute mark and they better get on with it! All of a sudden we cut from the police and young couple story into the "horror plot". It's just too abrupt to be as effective as it could (and SHOULD) have been.As to the rest of RAW MEAT. It's OK, but there really is no forward momentum with the plotting. Although there are a couple of neat shocks (and I mean ONLY a couple), it's pretty obvious where things are heading. Christopher Lee is really good in his one 3 minute scene (but, damn, many fans must have been real angry over the years when they see how disproportionate his billing is!).Why does RAW MEAT have such a strong reputation? I can only surmise that in those Pre-Internet days, a few good reviews in mags like Cinefantastique carried a lot of weight. Combined with how hard it has been to see over the years, and those fleeting good moments such as the tracking shot grow to semi-legendary status. And, heck, it was pretty gory for a "classy" British horror film back in the day, so it had that going for it, too.Worth seeing once.

Witchfinder General 666 DEATH LINE aka. RAW MEAT (1973) is an unusual and genuinely disturbing British 70s Savagery/Cannibal Horror film that no true genre lover should miss. The film by American director Gary Sherman (who is also known for the 80s Horror classic DEAD & BURIED of 1981) is an adaptation of an original story written by Sherman himself, which was allegedly loosely based on the real-life case of the cannibalistic Beane family in 16th century Scotland.Set in contemporary (70s) London, DEATH LINE is about a cannibal fiend who dwells in the Underground tunnel system. A young couple stumble over an unconscious man on the stairs of an Underground station; when they come back with a police officer in order to help, the man is gone. Shortly thereafter, more people disappear from the same Underground station by night...The film's premise and its execution are exceptionally disturbing. The gory makeup effects are very grisly, and the Underground tunnel system is a genuinely creepy and unsettling Horror location. The menacing and truly scary fiend's persona which is something in-between cannibalistic monster, human being and animal is maybe the most disturbing aspect of the movie.The performances are very good, especially the magnificent Donald Pleasence is once again great in the role of the eccentric and overall not very friendly investigating Scotland Yard Inspector. The Inspector's cynicism and eccentricities provide some humor in the otherwise disturbing film. Sharon Gurney, who plays the female lead, is also known for another British Horror film, THE CORPSE of 1971. Horror icon Christopher Lee has a cameo as an MI5 agent. Hugh Armstrong is incredibly creepy as the Cannibal fiend. His role reminded me of the Italian Gore-classic ANTROPOPHAGUS (1980), to which it may or may not have been inspirational; while I love ANTROPHAGUS, DEATH LINE is much more subtle and intellectual in its explanation of the reasons for people turning to Cannibalism.DEATH LINE is a highly disturbing and unsettling film that nobody who likes true Horror should miss. Highly recommended.

rpvanderlinden "Death Line" is a horror movie that hits all kinds of unexpected notes on the horror scale. The film strikes deep into urban myth territory with its tale of something alive deep in an abandoned section of the London underground, snatching hapless victims from a nearby subway station. It preys on our deepest fears regarding our vulnerability in such places. In one extraordinary tracking shot the film takes us alone into the lair of the beast. There we find a scene of incredible rot and decay, including the man/beast himself, himself decaying, mourning the death of his only companion, a pregnant woman. He emits a primal scream that raised the hairs on the back of my neck. This is classic horror, reminiscent of films as diverse as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and Cronenberg's version of "The Fly", as well as tales of Appalachian inbreds. The monster that invokes both pity and dread. And yes, there's a beauty involved. There is such pathos here that it actually augments the horror of the story. The lair itself is simply indescribable. I'm used to superior art direction in British horror films, but this is a rare achievement. The other elements of the story, the police procedural plot, for example, are relatively mundane, though efficient, and Christopher Lee makes a cameo appearance that stops the show. There's a genuine scare, done without shock SFX, but by using timing, silence and suspense. Films like "Death Line", and Cronenberg's early low-budget horror films are unique and ought to be cherished. You'd be hard-pressed to do it the same way, today. You'd want CGI creatures, faster editing and more violence. The director of this film achieves a lot with little, and all that's required of the viewer is to sit back and allow oneself to be drawn in. This movie is a real find.