Guest Author - Andy Boxall

Director: Robert Fuest
Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Ida Lupina, William Shatner and Tom Skerritt.
Region 0, Dark Sky Films.
Released 31st October 2006

There is a scene in The Devil’s Rain where William Shatner’s eyes have been replaced by dark holes, making his face take on the portentous image of one Michael Myers. However, the obscure fact that Myer’s famous blank expression was created from a Shatner face mask is where the similarity between the two movies ends, as Devil’s Rain is no mad killer flick, but an entry into the 70s rash of Devil movies.

The Preston family possesses a book which contains the names of individuals who have sold their souls to the Devil; souls which are stored in a cask known as The Devil’s Rain. Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) is the leader of a Devil worshipping cult who wants the book back, so he kidnaps Mrs. Preston to use as a bargaining tool. It’s down to Mark and Tom Preston (Shatner and Tom Skerritt respectively) with assistance from occult expert Dr Richards to make a deal with the evil Corbis.

Following similar religion-based horror offerings such as The Devil Rides Out, Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist, The Devil’s Rain sits somewhere in-between these three in terms of effectiveness. There are moments of creepiness in the first half and for the more religious viewer, some worrying imagery and comments on sin, however as the film progresses this is all forgotten as we head into a by-the-numbers ending and way too many lingering effects shots.

During the opening 15 minutes or so, many questions are posed with very few answers forthcoming, leaving the viewer feeling very confused as to what on earth is going on. Add in several sequences of limited dialogue and the result is a frustrating first act. Luckily there are some excellent locations and some atmospheric cinematography to occupy you while nothing much is happening; in fact, the majority of the movie is very nicely shot, a stand-out moment being a great dolly shot accelerating away from an escaping Shatner.

William Shatner is his usual likeable and enjoyable-to-watch self; just don’t go expecting too much emoting, while Ernest Borgnine grimaces and growls his way through his performance as the evil Corbis. Only Tom Skerritt keeps his feet firmly on the ground, giving a level-headed and realistic performance. Watch out for an almost unrecognizable John Travolta in his movie-debut too!

The Devil’s Rain has a scary premise (that of souls locked into purgatory), a pleasantly individual look and a selection of well known actors; it even boasts the Founder of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, as a ‘technical advisor’! All these things make it an interesting addition to the genre, but the formulaic second half and time-wasting melting FX shots stop it slightly short of being a top addition, relegating it to only being average.

The Disc

Regardless of the movies distinct averageness, it’s nice to see Dark Sky releasing another little seen horror movie and giving it their usual loving treatment. Using the original 35mm vault materials to create a new 2.35:1 widescreen transfer, the quality of the picture for the most part is excellent, with only a few sequences close to the start showing some grain.

Audio is Dolby 2.0 Mono and respectable, however there were one or two clicks on the audio track during the movie. The spooky soundtrack, consisting of music with the sound of the crying souls inside The Devil’s Rain in the background, which plays over the menu screen and features several times in the movie, sounds great though.

A theatrical trailer, stills gallery and a few radio spots start of the extra’s list, with a tiny 35-second piece of newsreel footage covering LaVey doing some kind of Satanic wedding between some attention seekers completing the basics. The commentary with director Robert Fuest is interesting if a little frustrating to listen too. Fuest tends to um and err a lot, but once you slow yourself down to his speed of talking and relaying information, he becomes a pleasant companion with plenty of tidbits of information concerning the movie.

Conclusion

An equal amount of positive and negative points places The Devil’s Rain firmly in the average category for the majority of horror devotee’s, but those who are fans of Shatner, Fuest himself (who was also responsible for the Dr. Phibes movies) and 70s Devil horror should definitely seek out a copy of this unusual film.