Line #14 Film/TheLairOfTheWhiteWorm


1	[[quoteright:220:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/whiteworm_poster_7587.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:220: Good luck trying to charm her.]]
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5	''Lair of the White Worm'' is a 1988 horror comedy movie directed by Creator/KenRussell; starring Creator/PeterCapaldi, Amanda Donohoe and a young Creator/HughGrant, and loosely based on a novel by Creator/BramStoker.
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7	The film begins with Angus Flint (Capaldi), a Scottish archaeologist, discovering a large reptilian skull in the backyard of English sisters, Mary and Eve Trent. The Trent sisters share with him that their father disappeared in a local legendary cave while on expedition and believe the skull might be connected somehow. This cave was on the property of the D'Ampton family, nobles in the area and the subject of a local legend. Centuries ago, a D'Ampton fought a giant snake in the same cave and killed it by cutting it in half with a sword. This giant snake is referred to in legend (and a rock'n folk song) as the D'Ampton Worm. They soon meet James D'Ampton (Grant), the current heir to the property, and attempt to unravel the mystery.
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9	Meanwhile, returning from a vacation, Lady Sylvia Marsh (Donohoe) returns to her mansion next to the D'Ampton home. Lady Marsh is a well respected member of the area and, of course, happens to be a vampire. It also just so happens that she worships the D'Ampton Worm and is keen on its return. She has her eyes set on James D'Ampton and the sisters, particularly Eve. As it turns out, Lady Marsh needs the blood of a virgin to release the D'Ampton Worm and Eve fits the bill. What follows is a surreal, tongue-in-cheek horror movie filled with the occult, blood sucking, a giant snake, and Amanda Donohoe with a strap-on.
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11	----
12	!!This film provides examples of:
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14	* AffectionateGestureToTheHead: Angus pats Mary's head after rescuing her and Eve.
15	* AmbiguousEnding: We have no idea Angus is now infected with the vampiric essence or whether it will have any effect now that Lady Sylvia and the worm itself are dead? Even if he is we don't know if James will be able to overcome him? The door is very definitely left open for a sequel which never happened.
16	* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: The final shot is of [[spoiler:Angus]] in full-fledged vampire mode. It creates a bit of a BolivianArmyEnding.
17	* AnkleDrag: Sylvia drags Angus to her sacrifice location.
18	* BadassBookworm: Angus is pretty nerdy but isn't afraid to fight vampires and giant snakes.
19	* BatmanGambit: Angus and James' preparation to take down Lady Marsh involves research, careful planning, and giant pairs of balls.
20	* BetweenMyLegs: A shot of Eve toward the end as she is prepared to be sacrificed.
21	* {{BFS}}: James D'Ampton grabs hold of a gigantic claymore to repel one of Lady Marsh's vampiric servants. The sword is so large that it effortlessly bisects the woman...and keeps going, bowling James over after he's made a full rotation with it.
22	* BigBad: Lady Sylvia Marsh, a reptilian vampiress plotting to summon her dark god.
23	* BodyMotifs: As is to be expected when Ken Russell does a film about a giant snake, there is a ''massive'' amount of phallic imagery.
24	* BoundAndGagged: Eve and Mary at the climax of the film.
25	* BraveScot: Fluffy and nerdy Angus turns out to be one.
26	* BreakTheCutie: It seems this happens to [[spoiler: Eve after her virginity is nearly taken away by Lady Marsh.]]
27	* {{Camp}}: Quite intentional.
28	* CampbellCountry: D'Ampton is a small town in rural England and also the site of an ancient dragon and his vampire worshippers.
29	* CatFight: James has a dream about Lady Marsh and Eve as wrestling flight attendants.
30	* CreatorCameo: Director Creator/KenRussell is seen walking past the farm in the beginning.
31	* CurseThatCures: [[spoiler: Angus does not need his glasses]] after being bitten.
32	* DepravedBisexual: Lady Sylvia Marsh is perfectly willing to seduce men to acquire sacrifices, but prefers virgin women. Said sacrificial ritual involves raping the virgins to death with a spiked strap-on.
33	* DudeNotFunny: James' reaction to Sylvia's Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest reference.
34	* EerilyOutOfPlaceObject: Played with. When Angus finds the large snake skull in his backyard archeological dig, the assumption that it's some kind of dinosaur is quickly put down when he points out that the skull dates back from Roman times.
35	* TheEndOrIsIt: [[spoiler:Angus kills Lady Marsh and the White Worm, only to learn that he mistakenly injected an arthritis cure into himself instead of the antivenom that was supposed to prevent him from being vamped.]]
36	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: As Creator/RogerEbert says in his review, "It has a lair, it has a worm, the worm is white".
37	* EyeScream: The aforementioned vampire cop happens to land on a sundial, ripping an eye out of his socket in a particularly gory shot.
38	* {{Fanservice}}:
39	** Every scene with Amanda Donohoe. This being Amanda Donohoe in UsefulNotes/TheEighties, it was only to be expected.
40	** The young landlord portrayed by Creator/HughGrant has a shirtless scene.
41	** Under normal circumstances Catherine Oxenberg spending an appreciable amount of screen time in her underwear would definitely be this but given she plays the imperilled virgin Eve...
42	* FauxAffablyEvil: Lady Marsh is very friendly to everyone, but is still a vampire who wants to sacrifice virgins to her snake god.
43	* FeedItABomb: [[spoiler: Angus disposes of the D'Ampton Worm by feeding it with a hand grenade.]]
44	* FolkHorror: Lady Marsh's cult worshipping the Worm is referred to as pre-Christian Paganist, but it's portrayed as part-[[CosmicHorror Lovecraftian]], part-[[HollywoodSatanism Satanic]].
45	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
46	** At the start of the film, Mary steps on a long white hose.
47	** During the party there is a sketch, where the worm is trying to eat Eve (who's having a lot of fun) and James cuts it into halves, bravely rescuing his DamselInDistress.
48	** Played straight: James does cut an evil creature into halves with a sword.
49	** Subverted: Eve is to be eaten by the worm for real, but [[spoiler: it's Angus who saves her and kills the monster]].
50	* FullFrontalAssault: Lady Marsh attacks while at least partly nude in the end.
51	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Unless it deals with virgin sacrifices.
52	* GoodLipsEvilJaws: Lady Marsh's transformation into gaping-jawed reptilian horror.
53	* TheGreatSerpent: The titular Worm is a giant snake that slumbers in the Earth, the Worm portrayed as a [[EldritchAbomination Lovecraftian God]] that was once worshipped by the Pagans that lived in Derbyshire before Christianity came to England. Its only surviving worshipper is herself an immortal, vampiric [[SnakePeople snake woman]] that can disguise herself as a human, this implied to be in result of her faith.
54	* GroinAttack: The poor guy Lady Marsh bathes gets it. An oral attack from a vampire even... Ouch!
55	* HumanSacrifice: The D'Ampton Worm needs one in order to come back. It's preferable that the human is a virgin.
56	* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Lady Marsh attempts to [[FedToTheBeast feed Eve to the D'Ampton Worm]], but after a final confrontation she ends up becoming the Worm's snack via Angus slicing her hand off.]]
57	* {{Homage}}: The D'Ampton Worm story is very obviously based in part on the legend of Literature/TheLambtonWorm.
58	* IAteWhat: Angus tries pickled earthworm (a local specialty) before he realizes what it is. He doesn't take it well.
59	* KickTheDog: In Roman times, Lady Marsh ordered a group of nuns trying to build a convent on her land raped and slaughtered. [[spoiler:Near the end it's revealed that her sacrifices don't have to be raped to death either, she just likes the ceremony.]]
60	* LesbianVampire: Lady Marsh has sex with men but that seems to be a means to an end when it comes to feeding. She takes a more particular liking to Eve.
61	* LightIsNotGood: The D'Ampton Worm is a gigantic white snake with [[MonochromaticEyes pale eyes]], and its light body gets positively drenched into the SicklyGreenGlow of the cave during the climax.
62	* ManInAKilt: Angus during the party and the climax. In the end of the movie James pulls the kilt up by accident [[spoiler:and [[OhCrap sees the bite]].]] Wouldn't work with trousers.
63	* MonsterProgenitor: It's implied that the D'Ampton Worm spawned the snake-like vampires shown in this film. It's also possible that Lady Marsh was one of the first or possibly the first.
64	* MrsRobinson: Lady Sylvia is very dark example, seducing a young hitchhiker before taking him back to her residence and killing him.
65	* MushroomSamba: Touching the acid left behind by Lady Marsh makes people hallucinate briefly.
66	* NatureAbhorsAVirgin: Lady Marsh mocks the idea of virginity and is delighted in sacrificing virgins to her snake god.
67	* OhCrap: [[spoiler:Angus when he realizes that the antivenom he used to protect himself in the final battle was actually arthritis medication, due to a mistake by the local hospital.]]
68	* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The D'Ampton Worm is a giant serpent and is worshipped by, and possibly created, a race of reptilian vampires.
69	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: They're LizardFolk, apparently. The usual weakness toward Christian crosses is also averted as shown when Lady Marsh dissolves a crucifix by [[AcidAttack spitting acid]] on it. They can be charmed by listening to rhythmic music, apparently (which isn't how snake charming works, but whatever). They don't drink blood (their fangs are for injecting venom). Oh, and these vampires [[DaywalkingVampire function in daylight]]. Lady Marsh at one point is even seen using a sun bed!
70	* PainfulRhyme:
71	->''And when at night it crawled about a-lookin' for some booze,
72	->If it fell dry upon the road, it milked a dozen cows.''
73	-->-- The EarWorm song... ear [[{{Pun}} worm]], get it?
74	* ThePlace: ''The Lair of the White Worm''.
75	* {{Reincarnation}}: Eve was previously incarnated as one of the nuns who was raped and murdered.
76	* RichBoredom: This is James' first year as Lord of the Manor and he "[doesn't] give a damn" about his legacy and seems to lament he doesn't have much to do. He is soon given plenty of responsibility when he has to help fight against Lady Marsh.
77	* SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl: Mr. Flint, the Archeologist, and Mary making jokes about her father's late cow.
78	* SettingUpdate: The original novel took place during the Victorian Era but the movie takes place in TheEighties, the decade that the movie was made.
79	* SexyStewardess: The lord's dream is not innocent.
80	* SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror: This is a pretty balanced movie with scares and laughs often happening at the same time.
81	* SnakeCharmer: The vampires are SnakePeople who can be charmed by bagpipes.
82	* SnakesAreSexy: Combined with a healthy dose of VampiresAreSexGods.
83	* SomethingElseAlsoRises: In D'Ampton's dream, he holds a pen over his lap and tilts it upwards. Of course, the entire movie is just gleefully raunchy and there's a ''ton'' of unabashedly sexual symbolism around.
84	* UnwillingSuspension: Eve bound hand and foot in her undies during the films climax.
85	* TheVamp: Lady Marsh... in more ways than one.
86	* VirginSacrifice: The D'Ampton Worm prefers this.
87	* WeaksauceWeakness:
88	** A vampire's natural enemy is the mongoose. It coincides with the snake motif, sure. And yeah, the mongoose ends up getting killed anyway but... still a little silly.
89	** Also, playing the bagpipes puts them in a trance briefly. [[spoiler:Unless they have earplugs, of course.]]
90	* WickedCultured: When discussing the death of the Trent girls' parents, Lady Sylvia says [[Theatre/TheImportanceOfBeingEarnest "To lose one parent is unfortunate, to lose two looks like carelessness"]] and when burning her [[ItMakesSenseInContext Snakes and Ladders board]] in her fireplace she says [[Film/CitizenKane "Rosebud"]].
91	* WorldOfPun: "I'm [[BlatantLies not going]] to bite you," says the vampire to her victim. "Slither in," says the hero to a bitten person. "They were like swallowed up," says Mary about disappeared people. And lots of other biting and snake puns. Also, the movie begins with Mary being very dorky and making jokes and puns.
92	* TheXOfY: ''The Lair of the White Worm''.

Context Film / TheLairOfTheWhiteWorm