The Lair of the White Worm

Director: Ken Russell

1988 / 93min / 35mm

Loosely based on Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, Russell’s frenetic fright-fest about a Scottish archaeologist (Peter Capaldi) uncovering the remains of a massive serpent in the Derbyshire countryside—and the odd events that follow this excavation, including the appearance of Hugh Grant as the self-proclaimed heir of a knight of ancient lore—is a riot of dark humor, pagan eroticism, and flamboyantly camp horror that ranks alongside the director’s finest.

35mm collection print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.