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Gothic Details

1986 DVD Certificate 18.gif
  • Rated:
  • 50
  • from 678 members

An impromptu party on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva in July 1816 leads to a ghoulish night of terror: a night which will ultimately inspire the writing of two great horror classics: Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Dr. Polidori's 'The Vampyre'. Exiles Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) and his macabre companion Dr. Polidori (.. Read more

Starring Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Myriam Cyr
Director Ken Russell
Genres Horror

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Gothic cover art

Gothic

An impromptu party on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva in July 1816 leads to a ghoulish night of terror: a night which will ultimately inspire the writing of two great horror classics: Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein' and Dr. Polidori's 'The Vampyre'. Exiles Lord Byron (Gabriel Byrne) and his macabre companion Dr. Polidori (Timothy Spall), play host to the poet Shelley (Julian Sands), his mistress Mary (Natasha Richardson), and her step-sister Claire (Myriam Cyr). As a violent storm rages outside, after dinner conversation turns to the telling of ghost stories.

Starring Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands, Natasha Richardson, Myriam Cyr, Timothy Spall, Alec Mango, Dexter Fletcher
Director Ken Russell
Studio MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 1 hr 22 mins
Certificate DVD Certificate 18.gif
Genres Horror
Language English
Dubbed French, German, Italian, Spanish
Hearing-impaired English, German
Subtitles Dutch, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish
Released DVD: 20 Jun 2005
Production year: 1986
Format DVD

  • Critics' reviews (3) of Gothic

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  • 3 stars out of 5

    Ken Russell's talent to abuse past icons goes wondrously berserk here, as he resurrects the notorious 19th-century literary booze-up — Byron, Shelley, Mary Godwin, Polidori at the Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. It's this incestuous, laudanum-quaffing occasion that led to the writing of Frankenstein, and, while Gabriel Byrne, Julian Sands and Natasha Richardson take it seriously enough, Russell keeps undermining them with overwrought visual decadence. You feel you've been invited to the exorcism of some very private demons in this example of cinema as psychiatrist's couch.

    • Radio Times
    • Posted 29 Jan 2006

  • June 16, 1816. The Villa Diodati on the shores of Lake Geneva. An illustrious gathering: Lord Byron and his... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
    • Posted 04 Nov 2008

  • Most helpful member's review of Gothic

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  • 6 out of 6 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    For lovers of the Romantic Period

    This movie shows the romantic poets in a more human (and perhaps accurate)light than your GCSE homework. Good for people who have done really strange things while under the influence.

    NOT a horror movie.

    The soundtrack is dire 80's synth that does not fit at all.

    Try Haunted Summer for a more serous treatment of the subject.

      • Leif Larsen from London England
      • Posted 29 May 2006 17:14

  • Most recent members' review of Gothic

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  • 2 out of 2 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 1 star

    Arghhhh! A Ken Russel film!!!

    I didn’t realise when I ordered this that it was a Ken Russell film otherwise I would have avoided it like the plaque. The best way to describe this film is that it’s “Train Spotting” from the romantic period, but not a patch on the modern equivalent. If your idea of a good film is watching people wander about having hallucinations after taking drugs etc, then this is for you, otherwise leave well alone. The only connection to horror in this film is that Mary Shelley got the idea for Frankenstein whilst staying over with Byron in the film. Very poor!!

      • Gus from East Yorkshire
      • Posted 24 Aug 2007 unknown

  • News and features

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    Gothic

    Richardson dies after horror ski crash

    • 19 Mar 2009

    Actress Natasha Richardson has died after suffering serious head injuries in a skiing accident. She was 45. The Maid in Manhattan star, who was married to actor Liam Neeson, was taken to hospital in Montreal, Canada after the incident on the slopes of Mont Tremblant on Monday (16Mar09). Schindler's List star Neeson rushed to her bedside at the Hopital du Sacre-Coeur de Montreal as doctors battled to save her. He flew her to Lenox Hill Hospital in New York on Tuesday (17Mar09), where he was... Read more

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Rating breakdown

678 Member ratings
  • 100
19
  • 90
18
  • 80
48
  • 70
68
  • 60
112
  • 50
97
  • 40
90
  • 30
83
  • 20
90
  • 10
53

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      • An impromptu party on the picturesque shores of Lake Geneva in July 1816 leads to a ghoulish night of terror: a night which will ultimately inspire the writing of two great horror classics: Mary ...