TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Taha Avalos The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Scott LeBrun "Satan's Slave" is typical of the New Wave of British horror in the 1970s, with the focus on a younger character, a contemporary setting, and increased doses of sex and violence. Candace Glendenning, a brunette beauty with a striking pair of blue eyes, is featured as Catherine, a young woman about to turn 20 who travels with mum & dad to visit the long unseen Uncle Alexander (a solid Michael Gough, rocking an impressively big and bushy moustache here), who lives in a country estate with his unhinged son Stephen (Martin Potter) and his luscious secretary Frances (Barbara Kellerman). We know from the start that there's something definitely not right here, but it takes Catherine a while to really wise up. In the meantime, she finds herself falling for cousin Stephen!In addition to the incest element of the package, "Satan's Slave" includes other exploitative ingredients such as female nudity, and some harsh violence, with killing implements thrust into eyeballs and mouths. One thing that really makes watching the movie worthwhile is its wonderfully depraved scene involving a pair of scissors, which occurs quite early on in the movie. The pacing is rather sedate, but this also allows director Norman J. Warren to establish an atmosphere of doom & gloom.The screenplay is courtesy of David McGillivray, who also does a cameo as a priest. Like so many other films of this time period, "Satan's Slave" isn't afraid to end on a downbeat note. John Scotts' music score is fitting and adds to the ambiance. The acting is right on the money, with fine performances by Gough, Potter, Glendenning, and Kellerman.Overall, this is an enjoyably sordid, low budget (it only cost about 15,000 pounds to make) for any viewer who delights in discovering these British genre efforts.Seven out of 10.

Woodyanders Sweet young Catherine (the lovely and appealing Candace Glendenning) goes to a British country manor to stay with her kindly doctor uncle Alexander Yorke (legendary horror icon Michael Gough, who's excellent as usual) and handsome cousin Stephen (a fine performance by Martin Potter). Unbeknownst to Catherine, both are members of a satanic cult who plan on using her for a special ritual once she turns twenty. Director Norman J. Warren, working from an absorbing script by David McGillivray (who appears in a flashback as a priest), relates the engrossing story at a steady pace, maintains a grimly serious tone throughout, creates and sustains a pleasingly creepy and unsettling atmosphere, and further tarts things up with a handy helping of tasty gratuitous female nudity and generous servings of raw bloody violence. Moreover, Gough's suavely sinister presence keeps the picture humming, the remote English countryside setting projects a strong sense of isolation and vulnerability, and the surprise bummer ending packs a potently upsetting punch. John Scott's spirited shuddery score and the crisp widescreen cinematography are both up to speed. Worth a watch.

dbborroughs Enjoyable British horror garbage about a girl who is to be use as a vessel for the return of an evil witch by a band of satanists that are lead by her uncle and cousin.Violent in a very graphic way (one character has a nasty thing happen to his eye) this is the sort of British horror film that seemed to be popping up on double feature bills in the late 70's before turning around and having a occasional screenings on late night TV. They were violent and uncomfortable affairs that made you squirm at the unpleasant things going on (the cousin is a sadist who abuses women). They were a bit more intelligent than many American horror films and got you in the head as well as in the viscera. Here the film is constantly disorienting you since we are like our heroine not sure of what is and what isn't real, though to be honest we do have a good sense that all is not well.I've seen this film a couple of times over the years and I've enjoyed it for the most part though its not something I've ever really sought to see the second third or fourth time, it was just something that happened. To be honest one one memory of the film is Michael Grough's mustache which is this big fluff affair and every time I see the film again I remember I saw it because of facial hair. Not a ringing endorsement I know but I should add that I do end up watching the film to the end.Worth a look

Adam This is actually quite a bright spot in the late 70's Brit Horror Film Industry breathing its last few gasps. It comes in a few different versions, some bloodier and sexier than others. It actually works in either the softer or hotter versions. The grue-- including a nude woman threatened with scissors, a head crushed in a door, a gory fall of a ledge, a woman slashed with a jagged piece of glass, and a nail driven into an eye-- is lively, but the central story about the traumatized heroine being cared for by her malevolent uncle and his murderous son is strong enough to stand on its own. There are also the expected scenes of black mass and nude female worshipers. The film plays nicely on our expectations and manages to surprise. With all the garish colors and hazy turn of events, we're never quite certain if everyone is off their rocker, the heroine especially possibly going off on some flight of fantasy triggered by the accident and exacerbated by the legend of the ancestress witch. Plus, characters you expect to play a pivotal role die suddenly, it's hard to tell who is trustworthy and who isn't, and Martin Potter as the cousin vacillates so perfectly between being a morose companion to the girl and a frenzied monster to everyone else that I found myself just as lulled in by him. The violent scenes are shocking and unpredictable, while the talkier sequences have a weirdly cold atmosphere to them. For me, this one gets unfairly written off far too often.