Corruption

A surgeon (Peter Cushing) develops a new treatment to rebuild damaged tissue, but at a horrible cost.

Corruption is a hodge-podge of Frankenstein and Jack the Ripper made watchable by the always-entertaining Peter Cushing. His performance as an obsessed doctor pushed to extreme lengths will no doubt recall his turns as Dr. Frankenstein in the many Hammer films, but Corruption proves he can be equally effective in a more modern setting.

The problem here is that there simply isn’t enough story to sustain the film’s 91 minute running time. Much of the film’s tired plot is exhausted by the 45 mark and the small twist during the last 10 minutes is too little, too late. Excising twenty minutes or so would go a long way toward making Corruption a lot more entertaining.

It should also be noted that another, more exploitive, version of Corruption exists. Titled Laser Killer, it’s not simply an unedited version in the traditional sense. Sure, it’s got extended scenes with more gore and nudity (Corruption features very little of either), but in Laser Killer, one of the smaller parts (the role of the prostitute), is played by someone else altogether. That said, I’d really like to see this version of the film as I think it would play much better with the film’s over-the-top ending.