Scare-A-Thon Totals to Date:
Total Movies Watched: 20
Total First Time Views: 9
Amount raised for AMAZON WATCH: $1,595.20
The Devil Rides Out (aka The Devil's Bride) (1968) d. Terence Fisher (UK) (95 min) (3rd viewing)
The debonair Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee) has been entrusted with the care of his deceased friend's son, Simon Aron (Patrick Mower). The Duc discovers that the young man has been seduced into joining a satanic cult headed by the diabolic Mocata (Charles Gray), who is intent on making Simon and the lovely Tanith Carlisle (Nike Arrighi) card-carrying disciples of the Devil. Having rescued Simon from a bloodied ritual with the aid of his friend Rex (Leon Greene), de Richleau is pursued by Mocata, who will stop at nothing to destroy the Duc and his friends, even summoning the Angel of Death itself.
In one of his personal favorite roles, Lee plays against type, heroically leading a small band of friends against Gray’s nefarious cult of Satanic worshippers. Richard Matheson’s crisp screenplay condenses Dennis Wheatley’s novel of black magic while remaining admirably faithful to the source material in word and tone.
Fisher’s direction is fluid and atmospheric, and while some of the effects are dated today, the committed cast manages to generate a palpable sense of dread and tension, particularly when fending off powers of evil from within a chalked-out pentagram.
With several pillars of the studio’s technical team playing at the top of their form (Bernard Robinson’s art direction, James Bernard’s outstanding musical score, Arthur Grant’s cinematography, and James Needs on board as supervising editor) and a top-caliber cast, this remains one of the shining (if lesser known) jewels in Hammer’s crown.
BONUS FEATURES:
NEW 2K Scan of the 20th Century Fox Interpositive
Alternate Version: The Studio Canal Restored Master
NEW Audio Commentary with author/film historian Steve Haberman, filmmaker/film historian Constantine Nasr, and author/screenwriter Richard Christian Matheson
Archival audio commentary with actors Christopher Lee and Sarah Lawson
NEW “Satanic Shocks” with author/film historian Kim Newman (30 min)
NEW “Folk Horror Goes Haywire” with author/film historian Jonathan Rigby (24 min)
“Black Magic: The Making of The Devil Rides Out” (35 min)
“Dennis Wheatley at Hammer” (13 min)
World of Hammer TV episode “Hammer” (26 min)
Theatrical Trailers
Still Gallery
The Devil Rides Out is available October 29 on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory and can be pre-ordered HERE:
https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-devil-rides-out?product_id=7201
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