"Raw Meat" (aka "Death Line" in the U.K.) is, well, quite well done. This slab of grisly early '70s goodness comes hot off the grill from director Gary Sherman, who would go on to direct "Poltergeist III" and the little-seen "Dead & Buried." The film stars the inimitable Donald Pleasence as an inspector sent into the dark and dank recesses of London's subway system in search of a missing person. As he unknowingly hunts the flesh-craving transient below, he must battle with tea bags, a competitive and dismissive M-15 agent (played by Christopher Lee) and some serious alcoholism. Unlike its grim subject matter, Sherman's film is brimming with character. From the flashy, slightly seductive opening sequence, to the scrappy special effects and unmistakable sense of humor, there's quite a bit of meat on this bone. Even during the film's slower spots, Sherman (who also conjured up the original story) throws enough at the audience to keep us on the hook. The film is unusually witty and quirky, which helps some of the its rawer ingredients go down a little more smoothly. Also, there's a surprisingly organic relationship between the film's two younger supporting characters (David Ladd and Sharon Gurney), which stands in stark contrast to a creepy turn by Hugh Armstrong as the Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dweller. Balancing this all out, of course, is Pleasence, who brings his A-game to one of his most colorful characters. Within a minute of his introduction, you're chuckling and reaching for the remote to make sure you heard him correctly. The man is a true pleasure to watch and makes the whole trip worth the price of admission. Likewise, his shared screen time with fellow horror legend Christopher Lee is fleeting yet smile-inducing.It might seem quaint now, but at the time of the film's release (45 years ago, to be exact), flesh eating fiends weren't very common. A year later, Tobe Hooper's seminal "Texas Chain Saw Massacre" would change all of that, but without a map, Sherman's film finds its way through the dark with considerable confidence. It's not all scares and there isn't much shock value to be found by today's standards, but the entertainment value is high. "Raw Meat" is definitely something worth chewing over. Not to put too fine of a point on it, but it's a bloody good time.

DEATH LINE (aka RAW MEAT) was made when British horror was in its golden age. Hammer were producing great films such as DR. JEKYLL AND SISTER HYDE for example, Amicus were producing some of their best anthologies such as VAULT OF HORROR and FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE and Pete Walker was barely getting started, having produced his first horror film, THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW in 1972, the same year that DEATH LINE was made. Unfortunately, DEATH LINE is a very disappointing film, directed by a bloke I've never heard of (and perhaps this film is the reason why).The plot of DEATH LINE is interesting if far-fetched - a cannibal lives in a disused part of a Tube station and passengers begin to disappear, never to be seen again. A police investigator hopes to uncover the secret of the disappearances and solve the mystery.One of the problems of this film is that the characters are simply not likable or interesting. The scriptwriter seems to go out of his way to make Donald Pleasance's character as obnoxious as possible and this just doesn't work at all. In these types of films, it's important that the police inspector investigating the case is a likable bloke who you want to see do what he sets out to do.It wasn't uncommon in the 1970s to cast comedy actors in horror films (Terry-Thomas in VAULT OF HORROR and Ian Carmichael in FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE for example) but Norman Rossington is given nothing to do to liven the film up. His comic talents aren't put to use and, to be frank, any other actor could have been cast in his role and no one would have noticed the difference. For a British film that's not what I expect.The remaining characters are all mostly forgettable. I like James Cossins as an actor and the beginning of the film with him in it does look good. It's good to see him doing his thing and these scenes are the best in the film. But sadly he's written out of the film far too early.Beyond the opening scenes, the film is mostly badly scripted. The police investigation is as dull as dishwater. The underground scenes with the cannibal are even worse. And the film as a whole feels longer than it is. Freddie Francis should have been asked to direct this film and Anthony Hinds would have been a good choice to write the screenplay. We would have had a far better film if they had, of that I have no doubt at all.Overall, DEATH LINE is a very disappointing film from the golden age of British horror. Besides Donald Pleasance, there is no actor with any screen presence. The film is mostly boring and forgettable. I can only assume that the cult status it has derived stems from some people seeing it as a "so bad it's good" film. I don't see it that way, though. It's just too dull.

There's something pretty grisly going on under London in the Tube tunnels between Holborn and Russell Square. When a top civil servant becomes the latest to disappear down there Scotland Yard start to take the matter seriously. Helping them are a young couple who get nearer to the horrors underground than they would wish.Very 70s, but not all that great. The problem is this is sort of a quasimodo frankenstein-ish movie and it takes itself seriously, but it's just not all that compelling.Lots of long segments with the "monster" (for lack of a better term) wallowing in the dark wet space of the London tubes. But it wears thin when nothing happened for so long.

'Death Line' is about a group of people who had been making the 'old' tunnels and had become trapped and just left there to die. But they didn't die, they bred! And managed to survive up to the current day by entering the Underground tunnels and grabbing the occasional 'last train' passenger from the platform! Saw this in an old cinema in Victoria, London.There was this old guy (one of the last survivors of this 'lost' troupe) stumbling along dark 'tube' (underground) tunnels to get to the station for his next meal - a lone passenger from the platform, who he would take back to his lair and where his ugly bride was about to give birth to the next generation. He would hang her up on a meat hook (until supper, presumably). But he kept repeating something that he had obviously had heard many times before - I thought was mumbling 'Diana Dors! Diana Dors!. The girl I was with in the cinema thought he was saying 'I'm all yours! I'm all yours!' But what he was ACTUALLY saying was 'Mind the doors!' Great idea. They should re-make it. Great film (for the 70s)...Shame Diana Dors wasn't in it...