Circus of Fear (1966)

Circus of Fear seems to have been an attempt to combine a gritty crime/mystery thriller with some horror elements, with Christopher Lee included in the cast to make sure horror aficionados got the point. It doesn’t entirely work, despite the undoubtedly charismatic presences of both Lee and Klaus Kinski. The movie might have worked better if they’d played up the horror elements a bit more, but it’s still an interesting hybrid. I must admit that my enjoyment of the film was hampered by the extremely poor DVD picture quality. Since I only paid a couple of bucks for the DVD I shouldn’t really complain though.

Circus of Fear does have the creepiness that a circus background always gives to a movie. There are two parallel plots, one being a revenge plot and the other involving the hunt for the loot from a daring daylight robbery on the Tower Bridge. The film does have some camp value, and it’s decent entertainment if you like low-budget 60s British movies.