Das Monster mit der Teufelsklaue

An overuse of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is a sure sign of a really cheezy horror and barely a minute goes by in Disciple of Death without the familiar organ tune striking up. Bach's composition is the perfect accompaniment to minor British horror star Mike Raven, who hams it up a treat in this gloriously schlocky slice of occult nonsense that is so wonderfully daft that it proves fairly entertaining.

Raven plays The Stranger, who is released from the depths of hell when a drop of blood is accidentally spilt on the grave of a suicide victim. Free to roam the Earth once more, The Stranger assumes the identity of a lord and begins his hunt for a maiden willing to sacrifice herself for him, thus permanently releasing him from damnation. Pretty squire's daughter Julia (Marguerite Hardiman) seems like the ideal candidate, but farmer Ralph (Stephen Bradley) will do anything to save his beloved. Teaming up with the village parson (Ronald 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' Lacey), Ralph attempts to end the Stranger's wickedness...

With terrible dialogue, awful acting (there are some hilarious 'Oooh arrr!' West country accents), pitiful direction from Tom Parkinson) and a woeful script (Parkinson and Raven every bit as bad at writing as they are at directing and acting), it's easy to understand the panning the film received from critics upon its initial release. One can occasionally detect a hint of tongue in cheek, but it's never explicit, and it's not hard to imagine Raven (an occultist in real life) taking his role all too seriously. Raven provides most of the (unintentional?) laughs with his performance, although additional light relief comes in the form of a comical Jewish cabalist who gives Ralph some magic artefacts that come in handy when an evil dwarf (played by Britain's Bounciest Weather presenter, Rusty Goffe) causes mischief.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for the mean-spirited murders: an old hag is garotted, a pair of lovers (Joe Dunlop and Doctor Who babe Louise Jameson) are interrupted when The Stranger gets stabby, and Ralph's sister Ruth has her heart cut out.

This marvelous indie Gothic fantasy really stretches the limits of what can be done on a small budget, with an exceptional screenplay and good performers. Taking place in an undefined country, in an undefined time, the film depicts a primal battle between the forces of good and evil, centering on a young man and his beloved. An early blood ritual between the two lovers invokes the insatiable demons of antiquity, dooming the couple and their community to the regressive terrors of entrenched conservatism. Evil soon enters, in the form of a dark charismatic stranger, a landowner with decidedly malevolent intentions. An old witch sees the evil stranger for what he is, and is summarily dispatched for this dangerous knowledge. The village parson is on to the dark stranger, and he and the young man must make a terrifying journey to confront and conquer this evil which threatens to decimate their community. Amongst many other treats, there are some rousing blood sacrifices, with some effective gore, plus an amazing "magic mirror" montage sequence. The monster's harem of the undead are a joy to behold, and the devil has an impressive chamber of horrors. The film excels in effective sketches of various period archetypes, each overdrawn almost to the point of caricature - very much in the spirit of the Andy Milligan horror films of the same time period. In addition, there are several surreal characters which seem straight out of a Russian folk tale. This magical film effortlessly takes us to another world, where life is cheap, dumb and brutal, and evil sucks the life from the innocent with impunity. A groovy period organ score, featuring familiar ditties by Bach and others, nicely accentuates the antediluvian nature of this insular fairy tale world. Adorable little indie films such as this put the bloated corporate product of Hamer Films to shame.

'Disciple of Death' (1972) remains in many inexplicable ways a bizarrely entertaining, if somewhat rudimentary period Brit-shocker 'starring' that wan-faced fright-light, Mike Raven, a radio DJ, turned vanilla horror impresario. This mesmerisingly dramatic void whose strident, razor-sharp goatee provides a welcome respite from his lugubrious, and somewhat ephemeral charisma! Vengefully unleashed from hell by a drop of virgin's blood, 'The Stranger' (Mike Raven) proceeds to run devilishly amok in this once sleepy god-fearin' Cornish village!

All that being said, I do secretly admire the stalwart, Dunkirkian effort, Raven expends in his wholly specious attempt to be the consummately creepy B-movie Bogey Man! To be fair, it is, Mr. Raven's theatrically rigid, implausibly grand mannerisms as vile necromancer 'The Stranger' which ultimately makes crude satanic oddity 'Disciple of Death' such a riotously amusing exercise in home-brewed horror hokum! Do watch out for a modest cameo from luscious future Dr. Who & 'The Omega Factor' star, Louise Jameson as an evilly zombified, sinisterly be-shrouded Satan serving succubus! The divinely absurd plot, rustic FX, mirthsome dialogue, and Raven's stupefyingly sulphurous shenanigans elevate 'Disciple of Death' to that of unmissable schlock!

Low budget English film set in the 18th century about a Satanist brought back to life when the blood of a virgin drops onto his tomb. As he sets about trying to find a willing virgin to spend an eternity in Hell thus ending his damnation (I don't understand it either) two lovers, the daughter of a rich nobleman and a young man who is slowly buying up the land in the area, try to find away to be together.

Shot on the cheap this film looks more like a dress up party than reality. It doesn't help that the two lovers are probably ten years too old for their roles. Still the film has a certain amount of charm thanks to a rather bizarre performance by Mike Raven who says his lines with often odd inflections. This isn't to say its a good film, its really not but those who like interesting misfires should look for this film. Those who don't want to see a misfire should stay away.

(I have an odd relationship with the film in that I had several images from the film burned into my head since the mid 1970's when to pictures from the film appeared in a then history of current horror films.The haunting image of two horsemen by a gallows and pictures of Raven during the sacrificial ceremony squeezing the entrails of a young woman into a cup stayed with me for the last 30 years as iconic images that belonged to some movie somewhere-which I've only just discovered)

Julia(Marguerite Hardiman)accidentally releases a stranger(Mike Raven)from the depths of hell with a drop of her blood.The stranger is cursed to supply his master Satan with the blood of virgins until he can find a maiden to spend eternity with him.Using Julia's blood to control her the stranger plans to make her his eternal bride,unless her boyfriend Ralph(Stephen Bradley)can stop him and free Julia."Disciple of Death" is extremely cheap horror movie with inept special effects and amateurish acting.Some scenes resemble much better Tigon's horror classic "Blood on Satan's Claw".Still I had fun watching this cheesy piece of trash and I can't wait to check out the other Mike Raven's vehicle "Crucible of Terror".6 out of 10.