Lair of the White Worm in the USA

[Iain Fisher]

Arkadin Cinema in St Louis present The Lair of the White Worm on 23 October 2025.

"Unfairly dismissed as an aging auteur’s bid at serious horror, THE LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM is Ken Russell’s typically extravagant exercise in camp absurdism. Drenched in phallic imagery, folkloric terror, and a masculine battle of wills between, of all people, Hugh Grant and Peter Capaldi, Russell’s sublimely silly tale of a gigantic white serpent monster who feeds on the flesh of virgins. Posh nobleman James D’Ampton (Grant) dismisses these tales until archaeology student Angus Flint (Capaldi) unearths a massive reptilian skull. Could lubricious local temptress Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) be involved?"

The screening includes a pre-show "Come out early for 30 minutes of slimy slithery terror with our Creepy Crawlies Pre-Show featuring the ickiest worms, snakes, slugs, and bugs in cinematic history".

For the Arkadin Cinema click here
https://arkadincinema.com/
For more on The Lair of the White Worm click here
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-lair-white-worm.html

[Iain Fisher]

The Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle present The Lair of the White Worm on 17 January 2025.

“Russell’s compositions are gorgeous to look at, though it’s the deliciousness with which the story unravels that made Lair of the White Worm Russell’s most enjoyable film since his masterpiece Crimes of Passion.” Ed Gonzalez, Slant

“What’s so wonderful about Russell’s quintessential female villain is that she embodies a sense that evil has no gender. It has no feelings. It simply is, and it’s quite fun to get to know it.” April Wolfe, Film Comment. On the same day the cinema also show The Cell by Tarsem Singh.  The film is heavily influenced by Russell.

The cinema website is here.
https://grandillusioncinema.org/
For more on The Lair of the White Worm click here.
https://iainfisher.com/russell/ken-russell-film-lair-white-worm.html