The Creeping Flesh – 1972 | 94 mins | Horror | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Yet another of those enjoyable "leave your brain at home" Gothic tales that was perhaps a little out of time to be a success. Certainly, there was more excess blood than Hammer ever used, and director Freddie Francis upped the pace from his usual stately approach to period pieces.

The Creeping Flesh (1972) is about the discovery of a Neanderthal skeleton in New Guinea. Victorian scientist and archaeologist Emmanuel Hildern (Peter Cushing) returns to London with the remains and accidentally discovers that water can make the flesh regenerate on the skeleton. Hildern believes the skeleton contains pure evil, and hopes to develop a vaccine against evil from it for use on his daughter Penelope (Lorna Heilbron), who he fears will go insane like her mother. Hildern injects her with the serum he has created, but instead of having the desired effect, she turns into a sex-crazed murderer.