Lively, entertaining reviews of, and essays on, old and newer films and everything relating to them, written by professional author William Schoell.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

Chris Lee and cohorts seek safety inside circle
THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968). Director: Terence Fisher. Screenplay by Richard Matheson, from a novel by Dennis Wheatley.

"I'd rather see you dead than meddling in black magic."

When Duc De Richleau (Christopher Lee) discovers that his young friend Simon (Patrick Mower) and a woman named Tanith (Nike Arrighi) are going to be baptized into a cult that worships the Devil, he takes action. Along with his friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene), Richleau spirits the young couple away where he attempts to keep them out of the grasp and influence of Mocata (Charles Gray), the leader of the Satanic cult. But Mocata has no intention of losing these two souls, and Richleau and his group have to contend with sinister materializations of everything from a little girl to a giant spider, not to mention a devil with the head of a goat. One of the best sequences has Richleau gathering everyone together into a circle of protection in the vast room of a manor house. Lee, Gray, Arrighi, as well as Paul Eddington as Eaton, give very good performances, but while the movie is entertaining, it's not completely satisfying either as thriller or horror. From Hammer studios.

Verdict: Lee is always interesting. **1/2.

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