The Devil Rides Out

  

 

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.

 

Eye of the Devil

  

 

Eye of the Devil

1966

Director- J. Lee Thompson

Cast- Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Flora Robson, Donald Pleasence, David Hemmings, Sharon Tate, Edward Mulhare, Emlyn Williams

            

      Phillipe (David Niven) is a rich aristocrat, the latest male heir in a family going back a thousand years. He is living the good life with his wife Catherine (Deborah Kerr) and their kids. His family’s money comes from a vast vineyard, worked by the villagers that live around the family estate. His is living abroad until he gets a letter asking him to come back because the vineyard is failing, the grapes dying on the vine. Catherine becomes worried and suspicious when Phillipe tells her that he doesn’t want her to come with him.

            

     He goes off alone but, of course, Catherine ignores his advice and follows shortly with their children in tow.  When she arrives she meets the local clergyman, Pere Dominic (Donald Pleasance, from Prince of Darkness and Halloween, looking impossibly young) and a pair of siblings Odile (Sharon Tate in an early but prominent role) and Christian (David Hemmings who also starred in Barbarella). All of them are a bit menacing, especially Christian who is always walking around with a bow and arrow.

            

     Phillipe acts strange and seems aloof. He makes vague references to destiny and implores his wife to take the children and leave. Catherine (of course) ignores his pleas and decides to do some snooping. While looking around the family castle at night she stumbles across a ritual where Odile presents a dead dove, shot by Christian, to a group of twelve hooded figures.

            

      Odile seems to be some kind of witch. She either has the power to transmute a toad into a dove, or at least has the power to cast convincing illusions. She befriends Catherine’s children, pulling them into her influence. While on the ramparts of the castle, she puts a spell on Catherine who then almost falls to her death.

            

     Catherine (of course) refuses to take the hint and is intent on finding out what kind of cabal her husband is a part of. A family friend (Edward Mulhare who most fans will recognize as Devon Miles from Knight Rider) helps her do some snooping and they find out that all of the male heirs in the family, going back to the time of The Crusades, have met with suspicious deaths; drowning, murder, hunting accidents etc. He reminds her that not only she, but her kids may be in danger. But in for a penny, in for a pound, Catherine isn’t leaving.

            

       While hunting for the grave of Phillipe’s father she is surrounded by a group of hooded figures and barely escapes. Phillipe tries to convince her that the villagers have strange customs but it is clear that he, and everyone else, are gaslighting her. Her persistence finally pays off and she learns her husband’s, and the village’s, dark secret. They practice a perverse form of Christianity (though it’s not explicitly Satanic) where the male heir (symbolizing Christ) is sacrificed in order to give life back to the land and restore the vines. Catherine hopes that she can talk her husband out of the ritual before it’s too late.

           

     I think fans of The Wicker Man and Midsommar will probably figure out the direction that the movie is heading pretty early.  Though this seems like a rip-off of The Wicker Man, the movie and the book that it is based on (Day of the Arrow by Robin Estridge) came out before The Wicker Man (and the book that it is based on as well).

           

     Other than the theme of sacrifice, Eye of the Devil really isn’t anything like The Wicker Man or Midsommar. Though there is the folk horror slant, there is much less focus on paganism. It’s hard to believe that this movie and The Wicker Man are only separated by a scant few years because they seem so different. Part of this is that Eye of the Devil is black and white, but it is also much more reserved, featuring none of the sex of The Wicker Man (and obviously none of the violence of Midsommar). It is a very reserved, methodically paced mystery and seems more like the movies of a decade earlier.

            

     The cast is a group of heavy hitters. David Niven was an Oscar winner. Deborah Kerr was nominated for Best Actress Oscars 6 times over the course of her career. Flora Hemmings and the director J. Lee Thompson likewise had been nominated for Oscars. Thompson is best known for his WW2 adventure film, The Guns of Naverone.

           

     It’s hard to believe that the Sharon Tate in this movie is the same one from The Fearless Vampire Killers. In Vampire Killers she comes across as a little vacant. In Eye of the Devil she is very menacing. I guess that’s a testament to her acting. One scene in particular stands out. Phillipe punishes Odile for almost killing his wife by whipping her. Rather than shrinking away from the pain, she meets his fury with a near orgasmic ecstasy, almost daring him to continue.

            

     Eye of the Devil was a very original thriller for its time, though later films covered the same ground more effectively. Probably the best reason to watch the film is to see its various performers in action, especially Sharon Tate.

The Masque of the Red Death

 

The Masque of the Red Death

1964

Director- Roger Corman

Cast- Vincent Price, Hazel Court, Jane Asher, David Weston, Nigel Green, John Westbrook, Skip Martin, Verina Greenlaw, Patrick Magee

            

   This is one of the Vincent Price /Roger Corman collaborations that the pair did through the early 1960’s. It, like the others, is loosely based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The Poe story serves mainly as inspiration for a much larger story.

            

    Prince Prospero (Price) is an evil nobleman who terrorizes the locals under his power. He has people taken prisoner and executed at a whim. He is a loyal devotee of Satan and he seems intent on doing evil purely for the sake of evil. A plague, the Red Death, is ravaging the countryside. Prospero withdraws behind his castle walls and invites the landed gentry to join him while the commoners die. Prospero uses this as a chance to humiliate and degrade his peers. Juliana (Hazel Court), his mistress, is trying to get him to induct her into the deeper mysteries of devil worship. She might have succeeded except that a new plaything has caught his eye.

          

 

    He meets a young peasant girl, Francesca (Jane Asher), who is virtuous and kind. Prospero kidnaps her and holds her fiancé hostage.  He wants to corrupt her and turn her to evil. Prospero treats everyone else like dirt, but he dresses her in finery and is quite cordial, all the while espousing the virtues of a life devoted to evil.

            

    He throws a masquerade ball to celebrate the fact that he and all of his hangers on are safe from the plague while everyone else dies outside.  However, an uninvited guest shows up. It’s not Satan, as he hoped, but rather the spirit of Death itself. Will it spare Prospero as reward for his life devoted to evil? Will it spare the virtuous Francesca? Will it spare anyone?

            

    This movie doesn’t get into deep psychological examinations like Pit and the Pendulum or House of Usher. No one is on the verge of losing their mind. Instead, this movie is about the submission to evil. Prospero has done it and his mistress Juliana is attempting to do it.  Will Francesca submit to it as well?

      This is Corman's most straight forward horror movie with not the slightest bit of camp or humor. Its also Price's darkest film, with the one exception of Witchfinder General. The film is absolutely beautiful to look at with a superb color pallet, not quite to the extent of Suspiria, but certainly beyond what you'd expect from most horror movies. A must see for fans of Roger Croman or Vincent Price.

Santo vs. The Vampire Women

Santo vs. The Vampire Women (Santo contra las mujeres vampire)

1962

Director- Alfonso Corona Blake

Cast- Santo, Lorena Velázquez,  María Duval, Ofelia Montesco, Jaime Fernández, Augusto Benedico, Xavier Loyá, Fernando Osés, Guillermo Hernández, Nathanael León

           
From Mexico

    If you’re not familiar with the Mexican sensation that is Santo, I’m not sure if there is a cultural equivalent. Imagine Hulk Hogan, Wyatt Earp, and Superman all rolled into one and that might come close. Mexican luchadore wrestler, El Santo (The Saint).  starred in over 50 films where he fought Martians, witches, mummies, martial artists and every other nefarious thing that you can imagine. In this installment, maybe the best known outside of Mexico, he fights a coven of vampire women.

            

    The first thing that you need to do in order to enjoy this movie is to toss out your ideas about what a horror movie SHOULD be. Mexican horror takes recognizable elements from European and Hollywood movies but also filters it through its own unique culture, kind of like how The Day of the Dead is an obvious analog to the Anglo-Saxon Halloween but has unique elements that set it apart.

        

 

     The beginning of the film focuses on a coven of vampire women, seeking a successor for their queen. Tundra  (Ofelia Montesco)  is the high priestess of the coven. She awakes her sisters and their three male servants. The vampire women, before they get blood are old, desiccated hags. After getting their nourishment they turn in to toga clad beauties, each one glamorous and sexy. Their servants are muscular men wearing what looks like wrestling tights with black capes. Even though they have the typical vampire powers (hypnotism, turn into a bat etc.) they get their victims by running up behind them and giving them a blow to the back of the head like they’re getting mugged for their wallet!

           

    After securing nourishment, they revive their queen, Zorina ( real life Miss Mexico, Lorena Velázquez who couldn’t look more glamorous if she tried). The coven serves Satan and Zorina has a limited time on the Earth before she must go back to the dark world from which she came (there is a really cool effect, where we never actually see the Devil, we only see his shadow on the wall). Before her time is up she must find a successor to be queen of the coven. They have their eye on Diana (María Duval) a young woman who prophecy states should be their queen. She even has a birth mark on her shoulder that looks like a bat!

           

    Diana’s father is a loremaster and knows the doom that awaits his daughter, so he contacts Santo to aid the police in protecting his daughter on her 21^st birthday (the days she is meant to ascend to the vampire throne). The vampire coven tries to stop Santo, including a scene where one of them fights him in the ring, a scene which was homaged in the 2019 Hellboy film. They finally succeed in kidnapping Diana and Santo must track them down and face the coven in their lair.

            

    The beginning of the film is as creepy as anything Unviersal put out in the 40s and if you didn’t know what you were watching you’d think it was a straight up horror film. The movie gets silly at times. I don’t think it was meant to make sense as much as it was supposed to just be fun. Part horror, part live action comic book, part wrestling, Santo vs. The Vampire Women offers an interesting, sometimes bizarre, mixture of genres and imagery.