The Devil Rides Out

Nicholas Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) meets his friend Rex Van Ryn at an airfield. They set off to check on their friend Simon Aron who is living on an English country estate. They find him hosting a party for a group of strangers. It turns out to be a cult for the devil.

This has good atmosphere and Christopher Lee helps deliver an intensity to the material. On the other hand, the action needs to be better. The special effects are not up to the task. The spider is especially bad. The devil isn't much more than a guy in a goat mask or is that supposed to be a guy in a goat mask. All in all, this is probably the best Hammer film from the 60's that I've seen.

'The Devil Rides Out' is easily one of the most entertaining of Terence Fisher's Hammer movies. While best known for his Dracula and Frankenstein movies, this fascinating blend of adventure thriller and Satanic shocker is not to be overlooked. While technically a horror movie with strong supernatural elements, the movie's use of old fashioned thrills and Lee's dashing heroic character Duc de Richleau, gentleman and occult expert, give this one quite a unique flavour unlike most of the other Hammer classics. Lee is brilliant throughout, as is his nemesis the evil magician Mocata played by Charles Gray (Blofeld in 'Diamonds Are Forever'). The rest of the cast are also very effective. Leon Greene as Richleau's loyal friend Rex, Nike Arrighi as Tanith the mysterious girl rex becomes besotted with, and Patrick Mower as Simon, Richleau and Rex's young friend who foolishly dabbles with Satanism and soon finds himself under the control of Mocasta. The film is consistently interesting, with lots of excitement and some unpredictable plot twists. The Satanism is treated more seriously and realistically than many 1960s horror movies (and wait til you see "The Goat Of Mendes"!) , and this is a credit to Richard Matheson who adapted Dennis Wheatley's original novel. I am becoming increasingly aware of just how many movies I admire that Matheson had a hand in writing - many of Roger Corman's Poe series, 'The Legend Of Hell House' and 'The Last Man On Earth' to name a few. Matheson is one of the most talented and imaginative horror writers to ever work in Hollywood, and rarely gets the credit he deserves. 'The Devil Rides Out' is yet another fantastic movie from the Hammer studio, and highly recommended.

Dennis Wheatley's black magic novel gets the Hammer horror treatment, with Christopher Lee relishing the chance to play the good guy for once as the Duc De Richleau, an authority on the occult who does battle a group of Satanists (led by Charles Gray) for the soul of his friend. Made the same year as Rosemary's Baby, it was one of a number of films that brought Satan out of the shadows during the onset of the Summer of Love and is one of Hammer's best movies. Directed by the legendary Terence Fisher (The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula (1958), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) and The Mummy), from a screenplay written by Richard Matheson (of I Am Legend fame, the novel that spawned Last Man on Earth with Vincent Price, Omega Man with Charlston Heston and I Am Legend with Will Smith), it received praise from Wheatley himself and Christopher Lee said in interviews that it was one of his favorite onscreen performances. The cast includes Niké Arrighi as the sexy satanic neophyte Tanith Carlisle and Sarah Lawson and Leon Greene. The grinning Goat of Mendes in the film was played by Eddie Powell, who was Christopher Lee's stunt double in Hammer's 1958 adaptation of Dracula.

Last night I saw this film for the first time in 35 years. Time has been kinder to it than it has to many Hammer films, but this one is less driven by effects and make-up and more by dialog.

That's all for the better because once again, when need be, Hammer fails in the effects department. I had forgotten how the theater went wild in 1968 while looking at the cheap tarantula effect - was it growing or not, the perspective changed constantly.

Some of the effects are of the "stop the camera" variety, no more convincing here than on "Lost In Space." But still, it is the performances, situations and the dialog that engage us. Christopher Lee, who brought the project to Hammer, seems to be enjoying himself as the Duc de Richleau, finally getting to play a hero. His longtime friend Rex, played by Leon Greene (but voiced by Patrick Allen) is a real stalwart guy, given to punching out windshields when necessary, climbing into car trunks, and throwing a crucifix from a running board to eliminate the specter of the devil himself.

The best scene has Lee and company in a circle in which to protect themselves from the evils sent by Mocata, played by Charles Gray with a suaveness that matches the twinkle of his blue eyes. Mocata tries every trick in the book, including trying to make it appear that the daughter of the household is being threatened by the tarantula, as well as an Angel of Death on horseback (it is a large room). Meanwhile, outside, Rex has a potential female victim tied up for her own good, she later becomes a medium when the previously "threatened" little girl is kidnapped - to take the place of the medium on the sacrificial altar!

Nike Arrighi plays the "medium" - a young woman who was to have been re-baptized as a servant of the devil, but whose life now hangs in the balance between the black magic of Mocata, or the efforts of the Duc de Richleau, and she has more talent than most of the Hammer actresses of the period. The Duc's friend Rex falls for her, but is hard pressed to keep up with the spells of Mocata, who will stop at nothing to reclaim his servant.

What really helps the film is a great sense of period - somewhere midway between the two world wars. The props (especially the vehicles) and costumes are quite right, and the landscapes are far more diverse than the usual Bray Studios trappings. There's no doubt that the team sought to make this one special and shoot on some real locations - and it's perhaps here rather than in the effects that the budget was concentrated. All in all, despite some shortcomings, a very enjoyable Hammer film, a solid Richard Matheson script from a superior Dennis Wheatley novel makes for exciting viewing, far superior to the previous Satanic Hammer film "The Witches" (aka "The Devil's Bride") and equal to the later adaptation of Wheatley's own "To the Devil A Daughter" - the last Hammer film which may have its less than sterling reputation for that measure alone.

One of Terrence Fisher's greatest directorial efforts certainly is this stylish, witty, thrilling adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel. Richard Matheson did the screenwriting honors, ad like most of what he touches, it turns to gold. This film has a wonderful score throughout, some superior set pieces and some pretty novel special effects for its day. But behind all of this is the central, universal battle between the forces of good and evil, represented by the characters of Christopher Lee and Charles Gray. Both actors do an excellent job. This may indeed be Christopher Lee's finest performance, which is all the more surprising since he not only plays a good man but also is in a role that Peter Cushing would have devoured. Lee, from the very onset of the film, plays a man well-versed in knowledge of the occult and whose presence literally steals scene after scene. His counterpart, the malevolent Charles Gray, is just as good as Lee's antithesis. Gray is an underrated actor whose presence also illuminates and transcends the screen. The film boasts some great scenes including the much heralded Angel of Death scene, and there is a great scene between Gray and Lee's niece. A tremendous film in many respects and one of Lee's best, Fisher's best and Hammer's best!