Devils of Darkness

This is basically a Hammer Films knock-off, in terms of set decoration and production design. The result is a nice-looking movie with a muddled, incoherent story, weak acting, and limp direction. It's not exactly excruciating to sit through, but it's one of those films that makes you feel you could be doing something better with your time.

The plot is a mixture of vampire and devil worship, and although there are one or two good moments, there's not enough substance to make it particularly interesting.

If you're fond of campy/cheesy B-picture horror, you might want to give this one a look, but I wouldn't put it at the top of your list.

Armond du Moliere is really a 400 year old vampire called Count Sinistre and he heads a coven of Satanists in Brittany, France, with the story then moving to England. British horror movie from Planet Film Productions, I can remember being very excited by the prospect of vampires and Satanists (I love Hammer's The Satanic Rites of Dracula - 1973) but I also recall being rather disappointed with the film. I have just watched it for the second time (on a 41 year old VHS tape) and again it failed to impress. French actor Huber Noel plays the Count, he is very suave but also quite lame compared to Christopher Lee's menacing Dracula. I do not remember seeing one set of fangs and there is barely a drop of blood to be seen. The night scenes were obviously filmed in daylight (though Hammer did this too), the film is quite slow, the ending looks rushed and cheap but Tracy Reed does give some sex appeal and the Swinging Sixties party is quite entertaining. This movie was never going to Hammer a run for their money, it simply lacks bite, however it is still a reasonable watch.

Nobody in their right mind would say that "Devils of Darkness" was a good film but this little known British vampire flic possesses its own charms even if they do belong to the 'so-bad-it's-good' variety. After an interminable pre-credit sequence in which a rubber bat bites bride-to-be Carole Gray, only to have sinister Count Sinistre resurrect her from her tomb, we cut to the chase when on All Soul's Night the so-called Devils of Darkness rise again. Yes, it's terrible in an am-dram kind of way and it does have some of the worst scenes of vampirism ever committed to film but as bad movies go it's still a lot of fun even if actors who should have know better do make fools of themselves. At least the gifted French actor Hubert-Noel does make Count Sinistre a sexy and suave vampire lending the film a very slight touch of class.

This film is not grand but it's not down right horrible either - it's an in-between film - one of those movies you don't mind watching if there is not a lot on TV or you are just in the mood for something different to watch.

You can easily pass this one by without missing anything but if you do decide to watch it don't expect a lot from it. It's mildly entertaining. Watch it if you really want to see another film on the occult / witchcraft - otherwise you can pass it by.

I'm not downing this film - I found it a a bit enjoyable but there are much better films to watch and re-watch on the market.

5/10

I had never heard of this one when it was announced as part of the revived "Midnite Movies" line of DVD releases paired with the renowned WITCHCRAFT (1964); frankly, I was disappointed that this obscure title was chosen over, say, NIGHT OF THE EAGLE (1962) which would have been the ideal companion to Don Sharp's film. In any case, it did seem rather intriguing from the colorful stills posted on Internet sites which reviewed the disc(s) but, all in all, it emerged as pretty goofy, with risible accents and several instances of wildly dated 60s modishness; in fact, an unexpected degree of camp is present in the lengthy pre-credits gypsy dance sequence, when depicting the 'degenerate' lifestyle of a group of ostensible bohemians (read bitchy lesbians and buffoonish, tipsy gentlemen) and the climactic Satanic ceremony!

The narrative, then, provides an unholy mishmash – with little rhyme or reason – of popular horror themes: vampirism, witchcraft and, most bafflingly, body-snatching are all called upon by the oddly female screenwriter. Clearly, this was made by people with no proper knowledge of genre convention: consequently, the end result is aloof and forgettable, if undeniably good-looking (particularly prevalent are the vivid, velvet robes sported by the Satanists) and eminently watchable; in essence, this lies somewhere between the generic output of Hammer and AIP. Predictably, most of the characters initially skeptical author William Sylvester comes into contact with turn out to be members of the devil/vampire cult. In the same vein (pardon the pun!), the police inspector investigating the various mysterious deaths and disappearances starts off as hostile but gradually becomes sympathetic – not to mention, a believer in the supernatural! Unfortunately, the film's slow-moving 88 minutes (misprinted as an even heftier 124 on the DVD back cover!) are capped by a rushed and altogether weak climax.

Sylvester makes for a likable if wooden lead; he had already appeared in another notable horror film DEVIL DOLL (1964) and would later feature in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968). Hubert Noel, though lacking most of the qualities one typically associates with a bloodsucker (not that "Le Comte Sinistre" sees much action in this respect – since all he seems concerned about is to recover his precious talisman!), along with Carole Gray (as the intended gypsy bride of the vampire who, for whatever reason, is jilted by him in favor of the former!), make a rather arresting pair of villains. The belatedly-introduced Tracy Reed is a striking, redheaded heroine – she is Carol Reed's niece, Oliver Reed's cousin and director Anthony Pelissier's daughter, and is best-known for portraying George C. Scott's bikini-clad secretary in DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)! Curiously enough, as I lay watching, I pondered on how it would have effected the film had Gray and Reed exchanged roles...