The Devil's Men

Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance are legendary actors, and director Kostas Karagiannis was the man behind the successful Greek Giallo-esquire thriller Death Kiss in 1974; and yet when you combine the three talents, all you get is this complete load of drivel! God only knows what drove the likes of Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasance to star in this cheapie devil worship flick, but I really do hope they were well paid as neither one deserves something as amateurish as this on their resumes. The story focuses on a group of devil worshippers that kidnap some kids, leading another group to go after them. The pace of the plot is very slow and this ensures that the film is very boring. The plot is also a long way from being original and anyone with even a passing interest in the horror genre will have seen something a bit like this, and no doubt done much better. The obvious lack of budget is felt throughout and the film doesn't manage to overcome this at any point. This really is a depressing and miserable watch and not even a slightly decent ending manages to up the ante enough to lift this film out of the very bottom of the barrel. Extremely poor stuff and definitely not recommended!

Well, pardon me for being excited at the prospect of watching Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing in a '70s horror film. It does not take long to see why this film, titled "Land of the Minotaur" in the US but also possessing the horrendous title "The Devil's Men", is not more widely seen today or spoken about. It is such a dull film lacking in scares, drama and any other sort of talent that it is a wonder that Cushing and Pleasence were even in it. It has to have been a good pay-day for them. In fact, the entire budget must have went towards securing their contracts, because evidently there was nothing else left by the time they went to shoot this absolute borefest. Nothing happens, and there is nothing of interest apart from the banter between the priest and the PI, that swings between jovial and nasty. The director must have slept his way through the film, the editor had nothing to do because the film gives the impression that what was shot as quickly as possible and stuck together. Every single trope you can think of from Satantic horror films makes its way in here, and is done in a way that the film-makers shrugged and said "They've seen it before, why bother making an effort or putting a new spin on it?" I am surprised of Cushing and Pleasence not being able to see through this one when they were approached.

The Devil's Men. A Satanic cult led by horror legend Peter Cushing are committing human sacrifice to a Minotaur figure in rural Greece and it's down to priest Donald Pleasence (another horror legend) and his friend from New York to put an end to it. I've read mainly negatives about this movie and it certainly has flaws. For a start Cushing looked to me like he was merely going through the motions. Pleasence played an Irish man but his accent kept slipping. Having an interest in the occult I felt that there was a lack of information about the cult, it's beliefs, origins, etc. And the finale was rather sill, but entertaining. However, on the positive side it is visually very good, plenty of colour and great use of Greek locations. The musical score, by Brian Eno, is effectively menacing. Some reviewers found it boring but I did not. Being a 1970's Euro horror movie we get some nudity, plus a fair amount of blood and gore. It's really not too bad.

The Devil's Men represents what turned out to be one of the last gasps of the occult obsessed horror scene of the 70's shortly before Halloween came along, tore up the rule book, set fire to it and kicked it screaming through a plate glass window.

To cut a long story short a couple of enterprising Greek film makers fancy their chances of nailing together a new film franchise featuring the unlikely double act of womanising, wise talking American investigator Milo and stuffy but kind hearted priest Father Roche. An exiled nobleman is mixed up in some satanic jiggery pokery - offering up tourists as sacrifices to an extremely unfrightening effigy of the minotaur and only Milo and Roche can stop him!

Or something like that.

The reality is however horribly dull, frustrating and loaded with wasted opportunities. I strongly suspect that the fledgling film makers blew most of the budget on getting Donald Plesance, Peter Cushing and Brian Eno (for the soundtrack) onboard and hoped that would be enough to sway audiences in the English speaking world.

It isn't. The Devil's Men looks beautiful with assured, camera-work and fantastic locations. Eno's score, though basically just a one chord drone that he probably cranked out in an afternoon is suitably atmospheric and the movie is laden with cracking 70's crumpet including that Austrailian sort from Fawlty Towers and uber hottie Jane Lyle of Island of Death infamy. But there the positives end. Cushing sleepwalks through it, looking like he has a corn cob up his bum and Pleasance fusses about trying his best, but never quite getting things right. To make matters worse the character of Milo is appallingly flimsy and unlikeable.

Okay, so it doesn't look that good. But from there the film simply refuses to go anywhere. There is an insinuation that the local villagers are possessed, but to be fair to them, they never really do anything very much other than shuffle about looking glassy eyed. Perhaps they were just tired? Just when you are sure things will come to some kind of a head Milo and Roche interrupt the Baron's satanic party with laughable ease, sending him on to meet his maker. The statue of the minotaur falls silent and hey presto! Satan is defeated.

Yeah right.

The inane optimism that The Devil's Men might be the first of a series of films is hammered home by Father Roche's final line mere seconds before the ridiculously rushed ending.

"Who knows Milo? Perhaps one day I may call upon you again to help defeat the Antichrist."

I'm sure you'll be putting that call in any day now Donald.

The presence of Donald Pleasance and Peter Cushing two players well schooled in the horror film make Land Of The Minotaur an endurable feast. Speaking of feasting these two guys digested well a complete diet of ham to get through this film.

Pleasance plays a priest and Cushing a local nobleman by day, but by night he's the leader of a cult of devil worshipers. The object of their veneration is the ancient Greek monster the Minotaur who according to this film is really just another name for the Christian Satan.

The cult has captured some visiting young tourists and are using them of course for their own nefarious purposes. So if you can't figure out where this is going you haven't been exposed to too much the work of the two British players.

Location photography in Greece helps also, but mostly watch it for these two thespian legends.