Nachts, wenn die Leichen schreien

In mainstream American 1970s horror land 'The Devil's Rain' lies half way between the silly but still pretty good chills of 'The Car' or 'The Sentinel' and the so bad it's hilarious fun of 'The Eyes Of Lara Mars'. The main attraction here is the cast of familiar TV faces, which includes William Shatner and Tom Skerritt as brothers (which along with the presence of Joan Prather, makes this a 'Big Bad Mama' reunion!), Ernest Borgnine as a leering Satanic cult leader, 'Green Acres' Eddie Albert, veteran Ida Lupino, and a blink and you'll miss it cameo from a pre-superstar John Travolta. The plot concerns a much sought after book and devil worship, but really who cares? Sit back and enjoy the (unintentional) laughs, some classic emoting from Shatner, and the overly long face-melting scenes, which according to the video box is "absolutely the most incredible ending of any motion picture"! And dig that Borgnine goat face!

The plot of The Devil's Rain is very simple. It concerns the Preston family and a book their ancestors stole decades ago from a devil worshiper named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine). Corbis has spent centuries trying to locate the book and will stop at nothing to obtain it and use its power.

What Works:

• What a Cast! The Devil's Rain is the Airport (or at least The Love Boat) of horror movies. Just take a look at the cast - Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, and, although very brief, John Travolta. I'm amazed that the producers could get all of these people to appear in what is essentially a low budget horror film.

• Borgnine the Goat. This is where a lot of people seem to have problems with The Devil's Rain. They seem to find the sight of Borgnine with goat horns too funny to take seriously. I look at it just the opposite. I've always found it a disturbing, well-done visage. The whole idea that someone could literally transform into a demon is frightening to me. And the make-up is very nicely done. I've seen a lot of big budget films that didn't have special effects half as convincing as what's found here.

• Melting Bodies. Another special effects moment that is a winner as far as I'm concerned. Sure, the bodies look like they are spewing forth melted orange and lime sherbet, but I still find it effective. I've seen any number of melting body scenes over the years, but the ones in The Devil's Rain are among my favorite.

What Doesn't Work:

• Did I Miss Something? The movie gives no introduction as to what is taking place at the beginning of the movie. The viewer is literally dropped into a scene with people and actions that are a mystery. It's almost like the first half of the movie is missing.

• Silly Story. If you try to think too hard about what's going on with the plot, it can make your head hurt. My suggestion is to just enjoy the cheese and forget about trying to make sense of it all. Don't over-analyze it, just go with the flow.

In the end, I realize that The Devil's Rain really isn't that good of a movie, but it's just so much cheesy fun that I can't help but rate it as high as I do. It's a movie that could have only been made in the 70s. It seems to me that anyone with a half-baked idea and enough money could see their vision on the big screen. Many of today's horror movies are so glossy and over-produced that all the fun has been sucked out of them. And, for me, much of the appeal of horror movies is having fun.

A hidden gem of a movie from the 1970's (d. Robert Fuest) with a plot twist at the end. This isn't as much a horror film as it is an Occult/Fantasy film - there are elements of horror but the film was done at a time when Satan worshipping was in the news and people were afraid of what they didn't understand.

As the title sequence suggests this film has William (Cpt James T. Kirk) Shatner and Ernest (Dutch Engstrom from "The Wild Bunch" or Dominic Santini from "AirWolf") Borgnine facing off against each other, Shatner is the God loving Mark Preston while Borgnine is the reincarnated leader of a Satanic cult, Jonathan Corbis. John (Danny "Grease lightening" Zucco) Travolta makes a brief appearance as 'Danny', a brain washed occultist (this is Travolta's feature film debut). The opening credits confirm that Anton LeVay (the Church of Satan himself, who also has a cameo later as a Minister at the Church) was drafted in to act as Technical Adviser. It was this fact that sparked interest in the movie for me; I know of LeVay's work so I figured this movie would either be crammed full of relevant references or a vehicle to his churches glamorisation.

The Movie: Straight from the off you are thrown into the action without explanation or a lead up to events - while this was confusing it grew on me as it saved a lot of unnecessary spiel. We learn straight away that Shatner's parents in the film are being held hostage in exchange for a book which Shatner is hiding. A fake version of Shatner's father attempts to convince him to bring the book to Corbis (Borgnine) but the wax-fake creation soon melts in the rain (There's a lot more 'melting people' action later on in the film). Shatner goes to confront Borgnine's church which is situated in a run-down rural town. Shatner states that his God will protect him from any temptations that Borgnine's could offer and sets a challenge that if he visits the church and is unaffected he can take his kidnapped parents, if not he has to hand over the book and his soul.

The Book: Written in human blood it dates back to simpler times when Corbis was trying to separate settlers and convince them to join his Satanic cult. Anyone joined Corbis signed their name in the book in blood and are thus linked to the cult/book forever. Corbis is found out as a Satanist/Witch and burned at the stake, before being enveloped by flames he curses Shatner's family line as it was his wife that sold out the cult. The book is the final piece of a jigsaw that Corbis needs to gain his full powers and to unleash the "devil's rain".

Back to the Movie: Shatner fails at his challenge (even with his amulet of protection) and is turned into a Satanist. This means it's left to his brother (Tom Preston AKA Tom "Top Gun" Skerrit) and sister-in-law (Julie Preston AKA Julie Prather) to rescue him, low and behold they have brought a doctors with them too (Dr Sam Richards AKA Eddie "Pod Clock from the Borrowers" Albert). By coincidence Julie has had dreams about the impending events so she tries (but fails) to be a navigator through the chaos. Brother Tom is pretty poor at his rescue attempts too and ultimately fails and is almost turned into a Satanist too. Dr Richards is the saviour, while it seems that he has dropped a clanger in bringing the book with him and leaving it on the floor of the alter while stealing an urn of souls. In actuality it's the urn that has the power rather than the book by itself; by getting Preston to smash it he is able to save the day.

__________

The movie is dated - when you see how young the starring cast is you'll realise. There is a lack of gore but I can only surmise that this was on purpose to get an already risky satanic film past censors. The Satanists are easy to spot; they have blackened eyes and wear black robes. When they are killed instead of bleeding good old claret they ooze a mix of yellow, green and blue blood. This was confusing at first, the Satanists already lumber around like alien zombies so when I first saw the multi- coloured life liquid spill out of them I wasn't sure if it was a statement about Satanists or if it was for the censors. As well as the multi coloured blood, the Satanists melt when they die. It isn't mentioned whether the people were melting because the Satanical spell had been broken or because God (other Deity's are available) was washing away evil from the lands much like a Noah (and the Arc) scenario. The melting and the colourful blood are good FX for the era (1970's) but look a little old now.

Borgnine's character is inherently a bad guy (or baaaaad guy) and he is the main vehicle for the film, his delivery is top class (even as a half-man/ half-goat Baphomet!) and is as convincing as a lot of the other top films he's been in. Shatner is no lame duck, but then again he's no acting phenomena, Shatner plays the role like only Shatner can - Shatneresque. The rest of the cast are good, a little over hammy in parts but not enough to detract from the performance. As well as Borgnine, Shatner, Travolta, Skerrit, Albert, Prather and LeVay you will also find Ida Lupino playing Mrs Preston, Keenan Owens playing Sheriff Owens and Diane Le Vay (Mrs Church of Satan) playing Priscilla Corbis. With LeVay pulling the strings as a Technical specialist ask yourself, do you really think good will triumph here?

Thanks for reading :)

This has got to be one of the strangest movies ever made, yet somehow I still find myself revisiting it at least once a year despite the fact that it's seriously flawed. I will attempt to explain why that is. Let's begin with trying to decipher some sort of "plot" out of this mess: From what I can surmise here after multiple viewings, Mark Preston (William Shatner) has possession of an important book which has been hidden by the Preston family for some 300 years. It contains signatures written in blood of the scores of people who have sold their souls to the devil over the years. There is also an immortal disciple of Satan named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) who has spanned these centuries terrorizing the Prestons in a failed attempt to obtain the book, which is required to deliver these souls to Lucifer. In the meantime, the tortured victims wait and moan in eternal limbo trapped inside a large vessel called "The Devil's Rain" until Corbis can locate the book he seeks. Corbis has succeeded in seizing Mark and his mother (Ida Lupino) and turning them into brainwashed cult members, and it's up to Tom Preston (Tom Skerrit) and Dr. Samuel Richards (GREEN ACRES' own Eddie Albert, looking totally lost) to join forces in foiling Corbis' plan.

At least that's what I think is going on. Director Robert Fuest (1970's WUTHERING HEIGHTS, the two DR. PHIBES films) does a horrible job in trying to tell a linear story, and there are more holes in the plot here than you would find on 42nd Street back in the 1970's. Just about everything going on in this movie may be pointed out as not being adequately explained. And yet -- and yet -- the film is still not without some things to enjoy for fans of cheesy horror... It's a treat getting to watch Ernest Borgnine (Marty himself) really getting into his diabolical role, and it's an added kick seeing him in monster makeup whenever he summons up a goat-demon from the pits of hell, emerging with huge ram horns! Eddie Albert seems to be as confused as we are, and this is most obvious in an outside sequence late in the film where he and Skerrit are arguing over the meaning of The Devil's Rain; it's hilarious watching them stepping over each other's words, and you get the impression they just winged all their dialogue for that scene. William Shatner gets his moments to shine where he goes over the top as we've come to love from him ("Corbissss!!!! Goddamn you!!!"). You also gotta love seeing Ida Lupino sink further in her later years to the point of walking around as a mindless zombie with her eyeballs blackened out, which is the preferred manner of initiation for the souls of Satan. And then there is John Travolta -- this was his first movie, but it's nearly impossible to spot him as one of the black-eyed cultists in his few very brief appearances. Real-life member of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, was an "adviser" on the film, and appears wearing a mask as one of the devil's servants.

The climax of the movie is worth waiting for, and it was touted highly as the main selling point back in its day... we get to see the results of The Devil's Rain on the minions of cult worshipers when the skies open up and pour down upon them. There are some good effects there, even if it's obvious how the sequence was being milked for all it's worth. THE DEVIL'S RAIN is not a good movie, but all the same it's one of those weird horror pictures that may appeal to fans of "so bad they're good" flicks. **1/2 out of ****

Two of the most acclaimed occult horror films of the 1970s—William Friedkin's notorious shocker The Exorcist and Richard Donner's biblical prophecy classic The Omen—succeeded in terrifying audiences by treating their supernatural subject matter with absolute realism. For his 1975 Satanic horror The Devil's Rain, Robert Fuest (director of the absurdly enjoyable Dr. Phibes movies) employed Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, as technical adviser, presumably to lend his film a similar sense of credibility and level of authenticity.

Despite this, however, Fuest still managed to turn out one hell of a cheesy film, one rife with trite occult stereotypes and embarrassingly creaky old-school horror trappings. Hooded eyeless acolytes, a raging thunder storm, an ancient tome written in blood, a centuries old curse, a deserted church in a ghost town decorated with Satanic symbology: it's all there, along with tinted flashbacks to 'ye olde days' and a demon with curly horns and a goat-like face.

For audiences still reeling from Linda Blair's rotating head, this approach proved less than thrilling, but for today's cult movie fans, for whom a high level of kitsch can only be considered a bonus, Fuest's seriously daft slice of diabolical horror should still prove a reasonably entertaining oddity. The Devil's Rain is by no means a good film, but it conjures up a strange hallucinatory atmosphere (largely due to the sheer incoherence of the script), offers some impressively gloopy special effects during the film's melt-tastic finalé, and delivers plenty of unintentional hilarity at the expense of its usually reliable cast (any film that features John Travolta in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role as a blind devil worshipper, sees Ernest Borgnine sporting hilarious demonic makeup, and has William Shatner reciting the Lord's prayer in his trademark staccato style has surely got to be worth a look for curiosity's sake).