Demon Rage

My review was written in October 1982 after a Times Square screening.

"Satan's Mistress", lensed in 1980 under the title "Dark Eyes", is a supernatural sexploitation picture sporting name talent but cheap production values. Weak story and direction hurt its theatrical chances but plentiful nude footage of buxom lead Lana Wood should create mucho vidcassette interest. Film went through interim title change, "Demon Rage" and "Fury of the Succubus" before its present moniker.

Silly premise is that dead spirits wander in limbo awaiting their final judgment, and in this lonely state are drawn to similarly lonely living folks whom the devil uses as bait to "catch" these spirits or souls. Lisa (Lana Wood) is just such a lonely woman, pining away at her beach house while being neglected by her busy with work husband Burt (Tom Hallick).

In a cheap effect imitating Al Adamson's 1977 "Nurse SherrI" film, a purple animated squiggle enters Lisa's bedroom one night and she is raped by some invisible entity. Next time, instead of invisible the spirit is personified by a dark, romantic man clad in black (Kabir Bedi). While both husband and daughter Michelle (Sherry Scott) are disturbed by Lisa's reclusiveness, she's getting it on almost constantly with the mysterious intruder.

With corny paranormal phenomena and hallucinations accelerating, plus the appearance of a black cat familiar, friend and mystic Anne-Marie (Britt Ekland)( tries to help, and local California priest Father Stratten (John Carradine) offers his advice. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman Belline (Elsie-Anne) tries to recruit Michelle to the devil's work.

Payoff is a gory death for Anne-Marie's husband (Don Galloway), very improbably killed by a guillotine that just happens to be stored in Lisa's basement. Fiey basement climax has Bedi the spirit nobly leaving Lisa and going to Hell.

With poor special effects (a monster that looks like a big pulsating eye and dream sequences which are blurry and eye-straining), filmmaker James Polakof is in big trouble. Problem is exacerbated by photography or printing which makes the interior scenes look too dark. A good cast is the film's drawing card, with Wood impressive in her frequent simulations of sexual passion and Bedi, currently costarring in "Octopussy", perfectly cast as the silent, Valentino-esque romantic stranger. Other roles, including top-billed Britt Ekland, are strictly functional.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Dark Eyes; before launching into my critique, here's a breakdown of my ratings:

Story - 0.75 Direction - 0.75 Pace - 0.50 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 0.75

TOTAL - 3.75 out of 10

Oh dear me, this film doesn't have a lot going for it so I'll try to keep it short - if not sweet.

Evidently, being lonely and depressed opens you up to occult experiences. That means at least half the world's population must have had a demonic visitation. Mine must be way overdue, and if dear ol' Luci's reading this, please make mine blonde and shapely, cheers you ol' devil you.

The story is the first problem with the film. It starts as your run-of-the-mill sexual haunting, which The Entity accomplished much better. Though, by the end, it's transformed into a twisted love story. Unfortunately, the writers didn't have the skill to complete the conversion believably or smoothly. In all honesty, the story is as jagged as a werewolf's fangs. Every element from the dysfunctional family and their separate emotions to their over-sharing friends to the demonic love needed better explanation and structure. Due to it being a mess, it becomes implausible, which makes it tedious.

Regrettably, the direction is as sloppy. The director opts for a point and shoot approach with a single meandering tempo. So added to the tedium of the tale comes the lethargy of the filmmaking. The special effects are not special enough - only the decapitation is notable, and it's not that great either. Though, the worst is the double exposure. I'm still not sure what the globular shape represented - but what is important is that I didn't and still don't care.

I felt sorry for Britt Ekland and Don Galloway: Their talent is wasted in the film. At least Galloway gave his all, and I hope he had fun doing it - he is, by and far, the best of the bunch. Ekland's name was top of the bill to get the bums on seats. I think she realised this because her performance wasn't the best. As for the leads, well, they were so wooden the writers should have changed the family name to the Redwoods.

If you've not guessed it yet, I do not recommend Dark Eyes, or any other names it hides under, for your viewing pleasure. I don't know you, and I'm not giving you a reason to hunt me down, so steer well clear of this piccy.

Please feel free to visit my Absolute Horror list to see where I ranked Dark Eyes, or better yet, to find something more enjoyable to watch.

Take Care & Stay Well.

The movie is not a classic horror film by any means. I saw it when I was about 11 or 12 years old and one part that really did scare me is when the main character played by Lana Wood (yes that is Natalie Wood's sister) is running on the beach at night from this creepy looking guy with a weird outfit and even weirder looking mask. She constantly dreams about him and he eventually catches up to her and rips off her clothes and has his way with her. It's been several years since I saw it.

Plenty O'Toole... I mean Lana Wood, younger, bustier sister of the late Natalie Wood, plays a woman in an unhappy marriage who starts having a perverse love affair with a tall, dark, handsome stranger who happens to be a minion of hell. Well, at first the Hell-bound minion rapes her, but she later decides she likes it and they start getting it on regularly. After that, some occasionally stylish touches show up in this low budget sexploitation horror film.

Film is really nothing more than excuse to show Lana's breasts (probably to distract from the sight of her horribly big hair).

What's really disturbing is that this might have actually been based on a true story.

Another Bond girl, Britt Eckland, also appears.

Satan's Mistress (1982)

** (out of 4)

Lisa (Lana Wood) is a bored housewife who has become sexually unsatisfied in her relationship. Before long she begins to have dreams of a sexual encounter with a mysterious man who might be much more sinister than she realizes.

SATAN'S MISTRESS has been released under a number of titles including DEMON SEED, DEMON RAGE, FURY OF THE SUCCUBUS and DARK EYES. No matter what you want to call it, this here is pretty much a show for fans of Wood. If you were disappointed that she didn't pop out of her suit in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER then you'll be happy to know that she's fully nude throughout this picture. Obviously with the plot and all the sex and nudity, this here is pretty much a sleazy horror picture and on that level it works.

We've seen countless possession movies but I will give this one credit in that it at least tries to be good. I say that because a lot of low-budget horror movies know there will be an audience out there for them so they can deliver crap if they want to and usually fans will except it. This film really wants to try and scare the viewer by delivering some psychological elements with the story. The film never wants us to know if the lead character is crazy or if she's normal. It's never clear if she's really having this sexual relationship or if it's all in her head. Is this man Satan himself or some sort of ghost?

Director James Polakof doesn't really succeed in what he tried for but, again, I give him credit for trying. The film is never suspenseful and it's also fair to say that the movie doesn't quite grab you like it should. What makes the film work is the fact that it is rather sleazy with there being several sex scenes and of course there's Wood willing to take it all off. There's full frontal nudity throughout the film and for the most part I thought she delivered a fine performance. Britt Ekland plays her psychic friend and John Carradine shows up as a Priest.

SATAN'S MISTRESS is a mildly entertaining film that at least tried to be something more than a low-budget exploitation movie. Again, I give it credit for at least trying but even in its failure it still remains an entertaining picture for what it is.