Before they even reach their destination, they encounter a beautiful woman who turns out to be an evil succucbus (fortunately, Sebastian knows how to destroy her with a holy book). But things really get strange when they arrive at the estate of Sir Geoffrey Coyn (James Villiers) and his sister Anitra (Ann Bell). Our intrepid heroes have to deal with a mysterious murder, a human-like beast with a hairy hand, exploding dinner glasses, and a creepy ceremony in a cave. Is Sir Geoffrey really possessed as his sister claims? Or is there a more fiendish plot afoot? As made-for-TV movies go, this is a stylish affair that takes advantage of its atmospheric British locations (it's almost as if Hammer Films had made a movie for the small screen). Culp and Young are good as a modern-day Holmes and Watson…though with issues. In some of Culp's films, his intensity bordered on being overpowering, but he's very much in control here. Young doesn't have a lot to do, but the supporting cast of veteran British actors--including John Hurt and Gordon Jackson (from Upstairs, Downstairs)--is in fine form. Roddenberry's wife Majel Barrett (Nurse Chapel on the original Star Trek) has fun as Sebastian's witchy housekeeper.
Spectre was a pilot for a TV series that, sadly, never materialized. It's too bad that Sebastian's "hip" clothes and groovy pad date the movie, but that's really just a minor distraction in an otherwise engaging supernatural picture. It was released theatrically in Britain with some additional footage.
Young, who was a real-life alcoholic, died shortly after filming Spectre.
(If you're a Robert Culp fan, click here to read a review of his best Outer Limits episode.)
