This week's movie is a re-watch that I watched once back in the 90's. It is:
The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971).
This bleak horror movie with its overly dramatic name is directed by Piers Haggard and stars Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden and Barry Andrews along with a solid cast of British actors.
The Blood on Satan's Claw is set in the early 1700's in a remote English village. A plowman, Ralph Gower (Andrews) unearths a creepy inhuman skull when he is plowing a field. Terrified, he runs to the nearby manor where a visiting Judge (Wymark) is staying but when they return to the field, the skull is gone. Soon thereafter horrible things happen. People mutate and go mad, folks start growing coarse patches of hairy devil skin and a young woman, Angel (Hayden), becomes the mistress of a gruesome cult bent on resurrecting their demonic master, Behemoth. Things escalate, people get murdered and defiled, until the climax of the movie, that unfortunately wasn't very good.
The movie is made by Tigon Studios who had previously released The Witchfinder General (1968) which became a big hit and they were keen to replicate that success. Originally The Blood on Satan's Claw was supposed to be a trilogy of connected stories set in the Victorian era, but Tigon was worried that that period was played out and with their desire to keep riding the witch hunting train, the script was changed to be one movie set in the 1700's.
You can actually tell when the script jumps, cutting the story into three parts. They stick together pretty well, so the change really doesn't matter. The studio also insisted on changing the ending which was originally supposed to be the Judge arriving with a militia and butchering the whole village. This was deemed too dark even though it is a horror movie and the ending is a flat confrontation that is painfully cheap. Sure, the budget was only about £70.000 but the ending is just sad.
All the actors are very good, with Patrick Wymark being the solid old veteran but the standout is Linda Hayden. Taking the role of a witch/cult leader that tries to seduce the priest and commits several murders while never sliding into being the least bit cheesy is no mean feat, but when you factor in that she was only seventeen years old, it is really impressive. Angel starts the movie as more of a mischievous troublemaking teen but soon becomes pretty damn scary.
Prop wise the movie is fine. British film has lots of experience doing the 1700's so there is really nothing to complain about. There aren't really many gory scenes and what little there is, is done sufficiently well.
The music wasn't perhaps that good, but it does the job. At least it isn't jaunty jazz tunes, but then this movie isn't Italian.
So, do I recommend this movie? I do, at least to those who like slower more subtle horror. It is overall pretty tame as horror goes, even the interrogation of a witch was a no show, so it could also serve as an introductory movie to those who want to get into horror but are a bit unsure of where to start. The Blood on Satan's Claw lacks some of the finesse that Hammer Horror used to pull off, and The Witchfinder General is a much better movie, but for being a low budget period piece, The Blood on Satan's Claw was pretty good.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great week!
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