La fille du Diable

I was in the 5th grade at Lighthouse Elementary School when they were filming "The Devil's Daughter" across the street in a beautiful old mansion in Pacific Grove, CA, and also at a cemetery across the street from where I lived. There was a small part of a schoolgirl that I almost got, except they decided to go with a 3rd grader because she was wearing a red sweater which would show up better on screen! I remember going across the street every day, hoping to catch a glimpse of Jonathan Frid whom I loved on "Dark Shadows." I was lucky enough to meet both Jonathan Frid and Shelley Winters, and both were so kind and friendly to a little girl who had dreams of one day being a great actress!! Then when I saw the movie, I was delightedly scared and enjoyed seeing the sites of the town where I lived.

Well...it seems to me that this film has got something of a better reception than it deserves, but even so; The Devil's Daughter is a more than adequate made for TV story of devil worship. The film takes obvious influence from the likes of Rosemary's Baby as it features a largely innocent character finding herself in the world of demons and their worshippers. The plot focuses on Diane Shaw; a young woman who returns home for her mothers' funeral and is then adopted by a friend of her mother, who also happens to be a devil worshipper. To say any more than that would give too much away, so I won't. The runtime is very short at just 72 minutes, and as such; the film does feel more than a little underdone. However, the just about good enough to hold the audience's attention until the end, which is lucky because The Devil's Daughter's strongest element is its twist ending. The twist at the end is likely to be the only thing you'll remember about the film, and although I wouldn't say it's worth sitting through the entire movie just to see the twist - if you want an example of a made for TV horror movie, you could certainly do a lot worse than this. However, if you want a better version of a similar plot - check out Michele Soavi's excellent 'The Sect'!

The plot may sound cheesy, and maybe it is just a little, but this rarely televised made-for-TV horror flick features a marvellous all-star cast, some genuine shocks, and a very surprising ending which all combine to make it a classic horror film worthy of a theatrical release. The wonderful cast includes Shelley Winters, Joseph Cotten, Robert Foxworth, Martha Scott, Jonathan Frid, and Diane Ladd in an early role. It's a nice little gem if you should come across it.

Obviously inspired by Rosemary's Baby, this obscure ABC-TV movie is still quite entertaining in its own right. The amazing cast goes full tilt, with the ever-delightful Shelley Winters taking top honors as Lilith. Though slightly hampered by overall TV stylings, it features an ample amount of tension, an imaginative opening credits sequence of flames and silhouettes, and an explosive, nightmarish twist ending. Be warned, though--The Devil's Daughter is very difficult to find. I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel a few years ago and haven't been able to locate it since. Interestingly, it runs an hour and a half with commercials, whereas most TV movies run two hours. Fun, scary, and short!

From 1973 and obviously ROSEMARY'S BABY inspired,this has a great cast:Shelley Winters,Belinda Montgomery,Robert Foxworth,Joseph Cotton,and Jonathan"Barnabas"Frid as a mute butler.The 70s tv devil movies are all creepy.Very eerie in atmosphere with a young and pretty Diane attending her mother's funeral where she meets a very friendly Lillith who offers the girl a place when she lears Diane has nowhere to go.Unknown to Diane was that her mother used to be in a satanic cult with Lillith and her daughter was wanted by the cult.Diane discovers the truth,but,of course,too late.With a great spooky ending you'll never forget,TDDD is a neat little slice of tv horror.