TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER

Eschewing the psychological approach that made 1972's DEMONS OF THE MIND such a rich and perverse experience, this follow up collaboration between writer Chris Wicking and director Peter Sykes has a go at immersing us in the world of occultism. Based upon the novel by subject expert Dennis Wheatley, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is perhaps best compared to the earlier Wheatley adaptation, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968). While the latter, very solid film brought Hammer great acclaim, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is a lurid and unfocused affair that signalled the final bell for Britain's most prolific makers of horror cinema.

Having promised his 18-year-old daughter to the devil, Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) enlists the help of best-selling occultist author John Verney (Richard Widmark) to save her from the dreadful ritual. Whisking Catherine (Natassja Kinski) away from the airport, John keeps hold of the girl, while a weird cult that worships Asteroth (the devil) and its leader Father Michael (Christopher Lee) wonder where she has gone. After finding out where she's being kept, Michael and his cronies exert their supernatural influences, causing Catherine to murder John's agent Anna (Honor Blackman) and ultimately escape. With Anna's vengeance seeking husband David (Anthony Valentine) on his side, John vows to break the pact and destroy the evil forever, before it can consume the innocent Catherine.

Adapting a book he considered "unfilmable", Peter Sykes' version of TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER bears the mark of a film that went through a torturous pre production due to problems with Christopher Wicking's script. Hastily rewritten by Gerald Vaughan-Hughes, this film is torn between faithfully adapting a novel and meeting the needs of horror film fans looking for their next powerful fix in a post NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and EXORCIST world. The result is an unholy garble of images that at once pays tribute and violates the writings of Wheatley, in a vaguely entertaining piece of work that offended the author so badly that he retracted his gesture of handing the rights of his books over to star Christopher Lee.

Abrupt and confusing, TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER presents its images to us in a haphazard manner. The uneven exposition makes it hard for us to get into the fiction. Indeed, the narrative is so wonky that it isn't until after John has taken Catherine from the cult's clutches that we realize she's Henry's daughter - never mind that Henry promised her to the devil. Truly disjointed, the film's lack of clarity is a major narrative weakness that also minimises the level of suspense. Meandering and floundering, the film's disparate plot threads are so poorly edited together that we're sometimes inclined to thinking that certain scenes are being told back-to-front!

Despite being told on a scale larger than most Hammer films - with location shooting in both Britain and Germany - TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER could have been paced far better. Given the troubles in the script department, perhaps this isn't surprising, but it doesn't make laborious images of a baby being transported in an incubator over the film's first half any less tedious to sit through. Although most criticisms are aimed at the writing department, the poor editing is part of the problem too, particularly when a pregnant woman has her legs tied together throughout her ordeal. Despite being an unsettling, Sadean scene, it should work even better. But due to the kaleidoscopic montage, the constant cutting to other characters distracts our attention, when we should be biting our nails in dread.

Sykes uses enough interesting effects, such as the wide-angle lens, to make the action watchable - especially when Catherine, under some diabolical influence, staggers around the crowded streets. Indeed, the film is often watchable, thanks to the competence of the director. Though TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is never dull, we never really feel the benefit of a strong cast (American star Richard Widmark and of course Christopher Lee), and - critically - it takes a huge step over the line that separates seriousness with absurdity. When a horrid baby-sized mutant puppet glares at Catherine through a mirror it's hard enough to swallow. But when it starts rocking back and forth astride her naked body, before crawling into her womb, it feels more like a precursor to such 'alien rape' films as INSEMINOID and XTRO, than an adaptation of Wheatley.

The main extra is the 25-minute documentary, 'To the Devil…The death of Hammer', which cobbles together insights and opinions ranging from film historians such as Jonathon Sothcott as well as some of the film's principals. The result is a brisk and informative docu that provides an explicit link between the film and Hammer's demise, as well as detailing many of the production's problems, particularly in terms of the script. Thankfully, the bizarre and anti-climactic ending is addressed, in which the Lee character simply disappears.

Review by Matthew Sanderson