Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

MusicChat It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

Matylda Swan It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

begob Good for a few laughs, but it's a weak effort even allowing for its vintage.The opening sequence fails to show what we're looking at in the ploughed earth so we have to be told. The direction of the actor breaking in to the attic to save his fiancée is terrible.The judge is well played, but there's confusion over who the hero is. A mother who's just lost her two children isn't allowed to play out any grief. Several scenes get lost in a thicket of Thee and Thou, and a few characters disappear or are irrelevant to the ending - no idea why the vicar wasn't central to the de-demonising.The score is far too chipper in the first half. Some of the continuity jumps are incompetent. And the monster is ... undescribabubble. That paw coming up from the floorboards? Fcuk me. And the final sequence? My sainted trousers.Can't understand why it's rated so high. Guess it's the headbangers - no distinction between bad and laughable.

Cheese Hoven When I was younger I greatly preferred Hollywood's slick approach to horror- these 70s British films always seemed to me rough and amateurish. In hindsight, I much prefer the British product and what I mistook for roughness, I now see as a mark of authenticity.BOSC is one of the very few films of the sub-genre which Mark Gatiss in his history of Horror calls "Folk Horror" which also includes the more famous Wicker Man.BOSC is probably the finest film in this genre. There is a strong feeling of pagan England desperate to burst free from the thin veneer of Christian morality, something that is made metaphorically visible at the very start when the plough exposes the demonic claw beneath the surface.From then on, the film remains unsettling through out. Some scenes are somewhat confusing, inasmuch as they remain unexplained, but explanations here would be a hindrance.It must be said, however, that BOSC rather runs out of energy towards the end, maling the finale less impressive than it might have been. Nevertheless this remains one of the creepiest British films ever made.

Sean Jump The Blood on Satan's Claw isn't a Hammer production--but it should be! Exhibiting many of Hammer's trademark features--the Gothic setting, a diabolic threat that lives on the border of civilization, a complex hero with touches of darkness in his character, and a beautiful temptress--The Blood on Satan's Claw was actually a Tigon effort, and one that in many ways surpassed contemporary Hammer releases. In fact, the quality of The Blood on Satan's Claw is so fine, and the thrills it induces so powerful, that one can't help wondering just why the Gothic horror picture was on its way out. Few of the slasher films that would permeate the genre in the coming years can hold a candle to this picture.The Blood on Satan's Claw is a tale of an ancient evil reborn. A farmer unwittingly plows up a strange corpse, but the alien body disappears before the local judge can investigate. Soon, terrible things begin to happen, and the local youth seem to have all gone over the edge, perhaps into witchcraft. The Judge, played to perfection by Patrick Waymark, is a flawed individual, to say the least. He is dedicated to doing the right thing, true enough, but he is also harsh, cold, haughty, and judgmental. He is also very reluctant to concede that what he considers to be superstition is at work in his village even after evil begins to manifest itself in some very conspicuous ways, and only begins to realize the truth when it is very nearly too late.The other exceptional performance in the film belongs to the lovely Linda Hayden, who the previous year had starred in Hammer's Taste the Blood of Dracula. Hayden plays the young woman who becomes the leader of the strange cult which infects most of the village youth, and it is she who orchestrates much of the terror which ensues. Her character, ironically named Angel, is a seductress of a particularly haunting power, and it's hard to conceive of any actress from that era playing the part any better.The story does move a bit slowly, but the drama unfolds with conviction and a realistic touch which many more explosive films lack. The ultimate climax, in which the villagers square off against the coven of witches and their demonic master, is perhaps a bit of a letdown in that it's over very quickly, but when the final credits roll the viewer is still left with a very satisfied feeling. Frightening and atmospheric as only a Gothic can be, The Blood on Satan's Claw is a well-acted and produced horror picture that should appeal especially to fans of Hammer productions.

Spikeopath Out of Tigon Productions comes Blood On Satan's Claw. Directed by Piers Haggard (who co-writes with Robert Wynne-Simmons) it stars Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice & Wendy Padbury. Story is set in rural 17th century England and sees a village fall under demonic possession after a living one eyed skull is unearthed by the local ploughman.Well it's quite a title the film has got, the sort that conjures up many a blood curdling image. Yet it's some what misleading, but in a good way. There is indeed claws involved, and definitely "Old Nick" is part of the equation, but Haggard's film is more moody and quirky than the title suggests. It has definite links to Tigon's flag bearer, Witchfinder General, though not nearly as clever or as brilliantly cruel as Michael Reeves' film. We are in the company of Wiccan ceremonies and satanically influenced children, throw in some sexually charged dalliances and we are good to go. Hell there's even some smarts in the writing about class distinction and snobbery.However, the first half of the piece is more rewarding than the last half. The atmosphere and eerie thematics give way to standardised jolts and gore, with a finale that just comes off as slow-mo silliness that doesn't befit the earlier build ups in the script. The music (Marc Wilkinson), photography (Dick Bush), costumes (Dulcie Midwinter) and the acting (particularly petticoat terror Hayden) are of a very high standard. It's such a pity that the director loses sight of the tone marker set and fails to see it through to a satisfying conclusion. Still, it's definitely one of the better British horrors from the 70s; with eye catching period detail and a haunting poetic feel for the most part, Blood On Satan's Claw is a safe recommend to those that like a bit of Witchcraft and Satanism in their horror diets. 7/10