The
Devil Rides Out
1968
Director- Terrence Fisher
Cast- Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, Sarah Lawson,
Paul Eddington
With
absolutely no amount of hyperbole I can say that this is one of the best occult
movies ever made. The Devil Rides Out
(billed as The Devi’s Bride in the U.S.) is intelligent and suspenseful. It
takes the subject of magic seriously and seems well informed. Despite centering
around a Satanic cult it never detours into the lurid or sensationalistic. In
short, like The Ninth Gate, this is
an occult movie for the thinking person. But don’t think it’s dry or slow. It
moves at a good pace, keeps the viewer’s attention and has memorable imagery.
This is a horror classic brought to you by Hammer, the masters of horror.
Two old
friends (Christopher Lee and Leon Greene) discover that the son of a dead friend has gotten
himself involved with a Satanic cult led by a powerful magus (played
wonderfully by Charles Gray). Conflict ensues when they try to prevent their
young friend from going through with his Satanic baptism.
Most
folks would say that Dracula was Christopher Lee’s best role but I think it was this. He
plays the Duke de Richleau, an aristocrat with no small amount of occult
knowledge, kind of like an upper class John Constantine. Lee looks rather
satanic himself with his goatee but he goes against type as the hero. He is so
charismatic and intense that you can’t take your eyes off of him.
Charles
Gray’s portrayal of the cult leader is strong. He is obviously an Aleister
Crowley figure but plays it very dapper. He pushes the evil to almost
Bond-villain levels but doesn’t make it cartoonish. He seems to be smiling to
himself no matter what horror is occurring. At one point, after being rebuffed by
a family guarding an escapee from his cult, he says, quite charmingly “I shall
not return. But something will. Tonight.”
Nike
Arrighi is also good as the young girl caught up in the cult. She is a
sympathetic character who seems to have resigned herself to the eventual loss
of her soul. She had a small appearance in another Hammer film, Countess Dracula.
The film
is based on the 1934 novel of the same name, by Dennis Wheatley. Though
Wheatley wrote a lot of spy novels he was also very knowledgeable of the
occult. His book, The Devil and All His Works is an excellent survey of occult
lore through the ages. No less than three of Wheatley’s novels became Hammer
films including the similarly themed To the Devil a Daughter (which also
starred Lee but as the villain). The other, Uncharted Seas, was filmed by
Hammer as The Lost Continent.
If you want an intense, well-crafted thriller then you’ll enjoy The Devil Rides Out. Its imagery will stick with you. Two moments in particular stand out. The first is the summoning of the Devil, which appears as a goat headed man presiding over a cult of worshipers. The other is the appearance of the Angel of Death as a black knight on a winged horse. It’s a good companion piece to another British occult thriller, Night of the Demon. Of interest to metal fans, the film's poster was the inspiration for the album cover for Witchcult Today, by the English band, Electric Wizard.
