To the Satan a Daughter is a 1976 horror movie through which an occult novelist battles to save lots of a teenage lady’s soul from a gaggle of Satanists led by an excommunicated priest, who plan on utilizing her because the consultant of the Satan on Earth.
The film was directed by Peter Sykes (Venom; Demons of the Thoughts; The Home in Nightmare Park) from a screenplay by Christopher Wicking (Scream and Scream Once more; The Rectangular Field; Demons of the Thoughts) and John Peacock based mostly on the novel of the identical identify by Dennis Wheatley. It was promoted as To the Satan… a Daughter and later launched on VHS within the US with the alternate title Youngster of Devil.
The Hammer Movie Productions-Terra-Filmkunst co-production stars Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman (Fright; Story of the Mummy), Nastassja Kinski (Cat Individuals; Blind Terror (2001) and Denholm Elliott (The Home That Dripped Blood; The Vault of Horror; Supernatural: ‘Woman Sybil).
The movie’s rating was by American Paul Glass (Woman in a Cage; TV sequence Night time Gallery).
Timid Henry Beddows (Elliott) approaches author and professional on the occult John Verney (Widmark) to take care of his daughter, Catherine (Kinski), who visits England annually from her distant Bavarian convent.
It’s Catherine’s 18th birthday, although she seems much more harmless than her younger years counsel, holed away as she has been by the Order of the Youngsters of the Lord and it quickly seems that somebody aside from Beddows and Verney is eager to have her near them.
Cue ex-communicated priest Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee), who it transpires is answerable for the bizarre cult and is actively looking for Catherine to turn out to be the avatar (incarnation) of one of many topped princes of Hell, Astaroth. Battling in opposition to black magic, historic rituals and a bunch of sombre Satanists, Verney battles to save lots of the younger lady from a diabolical destiny…
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Evaluation:
To the Satan a Daughter was Hammer’s ultimate foray into horror till the prolonged hiatus was damaged in 2010. The movie adopted Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires and exhibits the manufacturing firm quick working out of each concepts and funds. Moderately extra of the funds than anticipated was spent on securing American actor Richard Widmark for one of many lead roles (an apparent try to mimic Gregory Peck’s function in The Omen) – though he performs the half with a straight face and thoroughly delivered traces, it appears an pointless expense, as he was a few years previous his heyday.
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Christopher Lee‘s connections to the movie stretch again to an earlier solid friendship with the creator Dennis Wheatley, who wrote many books on topics involving the occult. Lee supplied the choice of the 1953 novel To the Satan a Daughter to Hammer with Christopher Wicking (Scream and Scream Once more; The Rectangular Field; Demons of the Thoughts) and John Peacock tasked with bringing the web page to the display screen.
The earlier try by Hammer to adapt Wheatley’s works, The Satan Rides Out (1968) was each profitable and extremely considered. Wheatley went to nice efforts to make sure the accuracy of his references to Satanism and black magic, even going so far as to fulfill with practitioners, so the movie had a major quantity using on it for numerous events.
Alas, the movie is one thing of a large number. Denholm Elliott acted a lot in the identical method as he did in Hammer Home of Horror, with ham very firmly on the menu. It’s not that Elliott isn’t a succesful actor, solely that his efficiency is totally out of kilter with Lee’s. And Widmark’s.
Certainly, each solid member gives the look that they’re wandering into one another’s movies with characters disappearing (what turned of all the opposite Satanists on the convent just isn’t thought-about), plot traces being ill-thought-out and a few crash-bang sequences sitting uncomfortably alongside what may politely be known as structural padding.
The movie dispenses with a lot of Wheatley’s novel when it comes to plot, motion and with some important characters all however being written out – the creator was apparently incensed and insisted Hammer by no means contact his work once more.
Lee is in imperious kind, clearly relishing the supply materials (“It isn’t heresy, and I cannot recant!”), if not the script he’d been given. This line was sampled by Rob Zombie’s metallic band White Zombie for the music “Tremendous-Charger Heaven“. The film’s title was additionally referenced by White Zombie within the music “Black Sunshine” (“To the satan, a daughter comes…”).
Widmark provides stability however yawns his method by means of – he does get a number of the greatest traces although: “98 p.c of so-called Satanists are nothing however pathetic freaks who get their kicks out of dancing bare in freezing churchyards, and use the Satan as an excuse for getting some intercourse. However then there’s that different two per cent. I’m not so positive about them.”
The ‘two per cent’ line is delivered with nice deliberation… although questions precisely how a lot of an professional in satan worship he’s if he hasn’t thought-about this a few times.
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After which there’s Nastassja Kinski. The daughter of performing genius/absolute mentalist/monster Klaus (whom she was justifiably afraid of as a baby and hated), she had had little on-screen expertise, her solely efficiency of notice being in Wim Wender’s The Flawed Transfer.
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Nastassja has lamented that in this era, she understandably felt exploited by the film trade. In an interview with W journal she stated, “If I had had anyone to guard me or if I had felt safer about myself, I might not have accepted sure issues. Nudity issues. And inside it was simply tearing me aside.”
Within the movie, Nastassja wheels out the traces she’s given with about as a lot perception because the viewers accepts, it units her off on a profitable performing profession and offers Hammer the one factor, aside from Lee, with which to dangle a carrot to cinema audiences. Nonetheless, the movie stays utterly unwieldy.
The ending is so abrupt you end up rewinding in case you missed one thing, the results of the lightning strike being simply too just like the finale to Scars of Dracula and a spent funds not permitting for something extra spectacular. It’s utterly unsatisfactory however even divine intervention wouldn’t have saved the movie from confusion and tedium.
Scenes of Satanic orgies, a wriggling new child and Ms Kinski don’t, admittedly, sound like tamer Hammer fare however their means to spin a yarn had abandoned them. The rise of way more stunning, life like fare in America, from The Final Home on the Left to The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath left Hammer floundering in an try to sustain. The movie exists now as a memento of the time and as a testomony to how good a lot of their different work was compared.
Daz Lawrence, MOVIES and MANIA
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Different critiques:
“The staging of the murders, the occult manifestations and the climatic confrontation … are significantly enhanced by glorious camerawork and Bowie’s particular results, whereas Widmark and Lee – performing with extra fervour than traditional at this stage of his profession – show worthy opponents.” Phil Hardy (editor), The Aurum Movie Encyclopedia: Horror
“Sykes zooms everywhere in the gloomy landscapes and the ultimate outcomes are fairly good if considerably muddled.” John Stanley, Creature Options
” …Hammer’s willingness to go all in out distances any shortcomings to story, construction (the truncated and underwhelming ending is gloomy to look at), and narrative lapses. The norm of the time was to draw massive names to horror, and To The Satan managed to attain Widmark and Honor Blackman; Lee and Elliott had been extra attuned and accustomed to the Hammer vibe, so naturally they arrive off the most effective with the fabric.” Every day Lifeless
“Even Christopher Lee, who’s used to showing in spine-chillers beneath his dignity, appears uncomfortable … The movie just isn’t solely painfully gradual, additionally it is very nasty…” Every day Mail
“The unique has been butchered by script and route in order that, regardless of glorious particular results, the film emerges as second charge and a waste of its actors’ time and hassle.” Alan Frank, The Horror Movie Handbook
” … probably the most underwhelming “satan” motion pictures made within the seventies and positively a low-point for Hammer studios. Richard Widmark, a superb actor, is gravely miscast because the intrepid hero, and by no means registers a lot life, not to mention character. The transfer wastes time on peripheral characters (reminiscent of Honor Blackman’s) who quantity to nothing…” John Kenneth Muir, Horror Movies of the Seventies
“The movie’s unlikely trump card is Richard Widmark as a credibly sceptical supernatural investigator, who romps by means of the proceedings with a disarming stoicism … It’s a great deal extra attention-grabbing than the remainder of the possession cycle, however nonetheless a disappointment.” David Pirie, Time Out
“Apart from a hasty and unsatisfying climax, the film isn’t actually all that dangerous. It merely isn’t what followers had come to count on of Hammer.” Gary A. Smith, Uneasy Goals
” …the finale registers nicely beneath socko climax requirements.” Selection
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