classicsoncall Review of Rasputin: The Mad Monk

Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966)

"The power is mine, and I shall use it as I please."

[6/10 · 7 January 2024]

For a Hammer film, this is not quite horror, but might just as well have been. As a real historical character, Rasputin was a Russian mystic and holy man, known for his licentious behavior and love of alcohol. A lot of the story does parallel events in Rasputin's life without ever really coming to grips with the real historical figure. Which is OK because after all, this is a Hammer production. A specific scene that marks it as such is the bright red Hammer blood flowing from the wrist of Sonia (Barbara Shelley), mesmerized by Rasputin to do his bidding and then sent on her way with a hypnotic message to destroy herself. This is a role that really allows Christopher Lee to cut loose, involving himself in a rough and tumble brawl in which he cuts off the hand of an opponent, and gleefully dancing at an inn where he becomes the center of attraction. That dance was a fairly physical exercise making me wonder if it wasn't a stunt man in Lee's place because you could never see his face clearly until it was over. Having worn out his welcome by the brother of the woman who killed herself, Rasputin is set up for poisoning, and in somewhat of an approximation to the real Rasputin's murder, it takes a number of attempts to finally do him in. As much as can be known about the death of the historical mystic, the fatal event was a gunshot to his forehead, where here, his tumble out of a tsarist castle window served its purpose to close out the story.