Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)

I offer him sins worth forgiving! 1966 was a prolific year for Hammer Films, the company would have 6 films released this year, unsurprisingly the quality of such was variable. Rasputin the Mad Monk was filmed back to back with Dracula Prince of Darkness, yet even though the BBFC afforded it the "X" certificate, it's somewhat tame and more a historical drama than horror film. In truth it's Christopher Lee as the title character who keeps this from plunging the depths of stinkerville, and this in spite of sporting a most distracting and ridiculous beard. Plot simply - and fancifully - shows Rasputin as a hard drinking, womanising bully with a penchant for hypnotism, all of which he uses for his nefarious ends. It's all very colourful, with Lee holding court as male saps and beautiful dames (Barbara Shelley oh my eye!) come and go, which all builds to a furious finale in the Hammer Films tradition. Yet the slow pace, weakness of the story and the overt feeling of watching a rush job, stops this from being anything but a Hammer time waster. 6/10