Guru, the Mad Monk (1970)

Guru, the Mad Monk (1970)

Director: Andy Milligan
Writer: Andy Milligan
Cast: Neil Flanagan, Jaqueline Webb, Judith Israel, Jack Spencer

On the island of Mortavia in 1480, Father Guru is the schizophrenic chaplain of a Central European prison whom murders anyone he thinks threatens him including his mistress, a vampire, a hunchback and others. Carl is the jailor whom robs graves for the mad priest and saves one women prisoner, Najia, whom is condemmed to death for infantcide.

Lively period horror from low budget master Andy Milligan. Plot follows a schizophrenic monk named Guru and his two cohorts a vampiric priestess named Olga and an hunchback named Igor. When Nadja is wrongly thrown into prison for killing her new born child a prison warden trys to help her beat her execution by agreeing to help the evil Guru. Who rules the local populous as a way of making money and inflicting his warp minded views (not unlike the real church then). For what is clearly low budget film it has alot going for it lively plot and interesting characters lead actor Neil Flanagan as Guru is really entertaining and well cast. The gore though clearly very stagey is more fun than shocking. Theres many more interesting and better made religious horrors but all in all well worth a view for an undemanding rainy afternoon.

(4 out of 10)