Peter Cushing stars in this story concerning the ownership of the skull of the Marquis de Sade, and what happens to those who own it. There is a varied supporting cast, led by Christopher Lee and including Patrick Magee, Patrick Wymark, Michael Gough, and Frank Forsyth. After a prelude where a man digs up the Marquis and removes his head to study, only to end up dead in mysterious circumstances shortly afterwards, the movie moves on to present day. Christopher Maitland (Cushing) is a collector of occult items, which he uses as research for writing books. He is approached by Anthony Marco (Wymark) who offers to sell him the skull which he claims belong to De Sade. Marco has no evidence to offer, and Maitland goes to see his friend Sir Matthew Phillips (Lee) who tells him immediately that it is the skull of De Sade, which he knows because Marco stole it from him. Phillips insists the skull is possessed by evil spirits and he doesn’t want it back. He strongly urges Maitland not to buy it. Supernatural occurrences follow, leading to those involved coming to a bad end.

Director Freddy Francis maintains a gloomy and sinister atmosphere. There is a sense of impending doom throughout the movie – while the outcome seems inevitable the audience continues to watch, like looking at an accident that you know will happen but you just can’t look away. The director also uses some interesting camera shots – there are scenes where the point of view is from inside the skull. This could easily have been overused, but the director avoids that, using the idea carefully in order to remind us that there is an evil presence within the skull which is watching and manipulating events. There is a Kafkaesque dream sequence in the middle of the film, where Maitland is ‘arrested’ by two men and taken to a weird courtroom, where he is forced into a game of Russian roulette and then thrown into a room where the walls start to close in. The entire scene is bathed in a scarlet light and with camera work that enhances the distorted reality of the scene and the fear of the character.

Peter Cushing is, as always, excellent in the lead. The character Maitland may write about the occult and collect occult objects, but he has no inherent belief in the occult and this is actually what leads to his downfall. Cushing convincingly portrays the academic mindset of Maitland – he is obviously surprised and confused by the concern and the conviction of his friend Phillips, but he dismisses it as superstitious nonsense. Phillips gives him a talisman, the very item that has protected him against the evil of the skull while it was in his possession. But Maitland does not make use of it until it is too late. Cushing’s performance in the dream sequence is superb – the character’s obvious terror when forced to put a gun to his head, his pleading for explanations that are not forthcoming, his desperation when the walls start to close in, are all very convincing, and really help to sell the moment.

Patrick Wymark gives an excellent performance as Marco, the shady dealer Maitland buys items from. Marco lives in rented accommodation (begging the question whether he is not making as much from his business as you might think, or whether he just has to move around a lot), does not dress well and is generally very unpleasant. His false ingratiating manner with Maitland clearly shows that he is trying to butter up a client of whom he has a very low opinion. Wymark is suitably sleazy in this role.

Christopher Lee’s role is, sadly, quite small, but no less important for that. Sir Matthew Phillips also collects occult items, and we first meet him at an auction where he outbids Maitland for some carvings of demons. When he reveals he owned the skull and talks about its power, it does reveal a small hole in the plot. How long has he had it, and if he is aware of its power (he says the talisman has enabled him to resist but he can still hear it calling to him) why hasn’t he disposed of it previously? Other than begging Maitland not to buy it, he seems to think that now it’s off his hands its no longer his problem. This seems a bit of a cavalier attitude to something so dangerous, and while we are supposed to think of him as a good guy, it’s hard to feel that he is. Lee doesn’t have a lot to work with here – his character is mainly for exposition. As always, he is convincing in the part. Phillips in the end does fall victim to the skull, being assaulted and (assumedly) killed by Maitland under the skull’s influence.

A potential problem with this plot, is that the antagonist is a (mostly) inanimate object. It can be hard to maintain a sense of jeopardy when there is no tangible villain to fight against. However, I did not find that to be the case in this film. I think a combination of a good script, direction, and convincing reactions from the cast, led to the skull being a sinister and deadly presence, a force to be fought, a force that eventually wins. Despite the low budget, the moments when effects were needed were mostly handled well. The viewer is not going to forget who the villain is, or that there is real danger.

“The Skull” is a fine film of its type. The cast are enjoyable to watch, direction and script are very good, and it maintains its creepy atmosphere throughout. While it is not particularly scary, it is certainly entertaining, and I would recommend it, especially if you are a fan of British horror of the sixties and seventies.