31 Days Of Horror Day 24: ‘Corruption’ (1968)

Synopsis: A plastic surgeon goes to extreme lengths when his model fiance has her face badly burned. 

Before becoming Grand Moff Tarkin, Peter Cushing did a string of horror movies throughout his illustrious career. A career that spanned 6 decades by the way, beginning in 1939 with James Whale’s The Man in the Iron Mask. Predominantly sticking to Gothic horror, he occasionally stepped out into more modern (at the time) fare. I covered one of those already this October that can be found here. Corruption is another one and with it we see Cushing in a slightly different role, taking up the mantle of a reluctant murderer. 

Sir John Rowan (Peter Cushing) has it all. He’s a very prominent plastic surgeon, he has a beautiful model fiancé named Lynn (Sue Lloyd) and he’s surrounded by an amazing group of friends. One night Lynn drags him unwillingly to a rambunctious party with her model friends. John, who is much older than the other attendees, quickly becomes uncomfortable with the overindulgent subculture of the 1960’s fashion world and wants to leave. But before he can, Lynn gets yanked away by a sleazy photographer and pulled into an impromptu photo shoot that goes a little too far. John and the photographer get into a scuffle and in the melee, a hot lamp falls on Lynn. Burning and severely scarring her face. 

Driven by guilt, John becomes obsessed with reversing Lynn’s disfigurement. He develops a treatment utilizing a laser and the pituitary gland of a recently deceased woman. After an initial success, the “cure” begins to degrade. John deduces that the long dead gland will not do, leading him to kill a hooker in order to acquire a live specimen. The surgery is a success, at least for the time being. Soon even the live gland’s effects begin to wear off and at the behest of Lynn, he begins a killing spree. 

Featuring violence and gore (somewhat extreme for the time), Corruption is a departure from Cushing’s normal horror roles. Set in contemporary times and a bit darker themed than his previous films. This flick teeters on that grindhouse-style fare, but is well produced and features a top notch cast. 

Superbly acted by Cushing and Lloyd, this campy little time capsule stands out among its contemporaries. It has the Frankenstein-esque harvesting of bodies, more specifically heads for their juicy little pituitary glands inside. It has scenes that snapshot a time in the 60’s that you would swear Austin Powers pulled from. There’s a home invasion with unique characters (keep an eye out for David Lodge’s goon character). Hell, there is even a foot chase scene that seems a little sped up, bordering on Benny Hill theatrics. This flick has it all and holy shit was it a fun ride! 

I recommend you add this one to your watchlist. It’s British horror at its finest and absolutely merits a screening. Grindhouse Releasing did a deluxe blu-ray of this a little while back but you can also find it streaming on most services. I caught it on Tubi this go round.  

So grab your popcorn, kill the lights and join me again tomorrow as we continue our journey on this strange little trip down the 31 Days of Horror rabbit hole. See you soon…