I feel I have to put a disclaimer here. I am not a hardcore Dr. Who fan, I grew up with Pertwee and Baker and loved them, after that I hit puberty and the good Doctor left my own personal universe. So basically I want to say that I view this picture as a film lover, not as some serio Dr. Who fan. Thus I ask, just how did Amicus get it so wrong?
Oh it really isn't as awful as some "who" fans have painted it as, and by painted I mean spittle daubed venom! But it looks like Amicus have tried to reinvent Dr. Who about 25 years before he needed reinventing. I mean, I realise it's a show involving time travel, but Amicus' Tardis is just a bit too early! They have taken two of Britain's most beloved entertainers and made one a bumbling comedy side-kick (Castle as Ian), and the other a doddering old eccentric granddad type (Cushing as the Doctor). Fair enough Cushing's Doctor is a genius, we know and understand that, but if you take away the Tardis invention, then this could be any old geezer in a sci-fi movie.
Things are further muddied by lack of screen time for Cushing, he is strangely secondary here. It's a good job the two girls playing his nieces (Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey) get good characterisations to work from, and that the Daleks are a colourful and dastardly foe, because Sir Peter of the Who is jostling for attention in a film that bears his character's name. The irritants continue when you reach the end credits and the action quota amounts to being very little. It's safe to say the stunt department and director Gordon Flemyng's camera were not required to work over time.
On the plus side. The production design, considering the low end budget, is visually impressive. The outer lands of the Dalek's planet Skaro is very striking with green tints and scorched plant life. The interiors are suitably metallic in feel, plenty of odd angles, though you will have to ignore parts of the set flapping about when they aren't meant too. The Thal race of beings that enter the story significantly, are interestingly costumed and made up, preempting Glam Rock by a few years, and those Daleks, pop culture for ever assured and entering the villain stratosphere, really do rock with their staccato voices. But ultimately the film feels like such a waste of talent and source material, so much so that not even a casual Dr. Who fan can proclaim it a worthy spin on this particular practitioner. 5/10
Oh it really isn't as awful as some "who" fans have painted it as, and by painted I mean spittle daubed venom! But it looks like Amicus have tried to reinvent Dr. Who about 25 years before he needed reinventing. I mean, I realise it's a show involving time travel, but Amicus' Tardis is just a bit too early! They have taken two of Britain's most beloved entertainers and made one a bumbling comedy side-kick (Castle as Ian), and the other a doddering old eccentric granddad type (Cushing as the Doctor). Fair enough Cushing's Doctor is a genius, we know and understand that, but if you take away the Tardis invention, then this could be any old geezer in a sci-fi movie.
Things are further muddied by lack of screen time for Cushing, he is strangely secondary here. It's a good job the two girls playing his nieces (Jennie Linden and Roberta Tovey) get good characterisations to work from, and that the Daleks are a colourful and dastardly foe, because Sir Peter of the Who is jostling for attention in a film that bears his character's name. The irritants continue when you reach the end credits and the action quota amounts to being very little. It's safe to say the stunt department and director Gordon Flemyng's camera were not required to work over time.
On the plus side. The production design, considering the low end budget, is visually impressive. The outer lands of the Dalek's planet Skaro is very striking with green tints and scorched plant life. The interiors are suitably metallic in feel, plenty of odd angles, though you will have to ignore parts of the set flapping about when they aren't meant too. The Thal race of beings that enter the story significantly, are interestingly costumed and made up, preempting Glam Rock by a few years, and those Daleks, pop culture for ever assured and entering the villain stratosphere, really do rock with their staccato voices. But ultimately the film feels like such a waste of talent and source material, so much so that not even a casual Dr. Who fan can proclaim it a worthy spin on this particular practitioner. 5/10