The Blood on Satan's Claw (Devil's Advocates)

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The screenplay for the film was originally written by Robert Wynne-Simmons as an anthology of horror stories set in a small village, and had the working title of Satan's Skin. After director Haggard was hired for the project, he and Wynne-Simmons reworked the screenplay into a singular cohesive narrative. Principal photography took place in 1970, mainly in the Chiltern Hills region of England. Red Right Hand: Par the course for whoever so much as sees the bones. They grow patches of fur anywhere on their bodies, sometimes even claws. The plot of this story is demonic interference in a rural village in the olden days (I'm not sure it is possible to be more precise about the date of the setting than this.) The main performers are perhaps better known for their comedy shows, but this is not a comic tale -- well, not deliberately, anyway.

Whilst the atrocity of rape had been featured in films before, such as Ingmar Bergman’s The Virgin Spring (Sweden, 1960) (a film which would influence the 1970’s horror subgenre of rape-revenge movies like The Last House on the Left (US, Wes Craven, 1972) and I Spit on Your Grave (US, Meir Zarchi, 1978)), and was implied in earlier horror films such as Hammer’s The Curse of the Werewolf (UK, Terence Fisher, 1961) and Tigon’s Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan’s Claw depicted the crime unrelentingly. Also a Tigon film, neither The Blood on Satan’s Claw nor Witchfinder General share the camp gothic or fun entertainment value of Hammer’s output; they are dark, heavy films, and their sexual elements are likewise not the titillating bodice-heaving of Hammer horror. Cathy’s grim fate is watched by leering, aroused kids and also, unsettlingly, a pair of gleeful old folk. We the viewers are made to feel like voyeurs to this cruel event, and it feels disturbing. It is meant to feel disturbing – that is the whole point. The Blood on Satan's Claw Limited Edition Blu-ray". Blu-ray.com. 27 March 2019. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Undying Loyalty: Margaret, to Angel. Even after the latter leaves her in a bear trap to be torn apart by dogs.The Dragon: Angel Blake to Behemoth. She appears to have one herself in Margaret, who's loyal to her (or at least their cause) beyond all reason, although she's never shown to do much beyond read an invocation from a book. Too bad for her Angel is a very cruel taskmaster. I’m under contract to write a book for The Devil’s Advocates series. This set of brief books is focused on horror films. This particular volume is on the lesser known British film, The Blood on Satan’s Claw. I’ve reacted to both the film and the book on my blog ( Sects and Violence in the Ancient World). This book is a great introduction to the movie and it brings out several aspects of it that I had missed watching it on my own.

Seventeenth-century England, and a plough uncovers a grisly skull in the furrows of a farmer's field. The skull disappears, but its malefic influence begins to work in insidious ways upon the nearby village of Hexbridge. First, the cows stop milking and the fruit turns rotten on the trees. Then, an insolent ungodliness takes hold of the local children, mysterious fur patches appear on limbs and people start disappearing.... The story is a simple one of the devil coming to the town of Hexbridge in the 1700s. The discovery of a grotesque relic begins corrupting the youth, and before long strange mutilations and hysteria break out among the townsfolk. Actress Roberta Tovey has an uncredited role as the coven member who lures Padbury's character to her death. Guaranteed to make you unsettled every time you go past a hedgerow in the British countryside, The Blood on Satan’s Claw is a great introduction to folk horror. Something evil is stirring in the woods. Something that is corrupting the village youth, who retreat to the woodland deeps to play their pernicious games. Hysteria spreads as it becomes clear that the devil has come to Hexbridge, to incarnate himself on earth. Can the villagers, led by the Squire Middleton (Mark Gatiss) and Reverend Fallowfield (Reece Shearsmith), prevent the devil gaining human form?Yandere: Angel Blake tries to seduce Reverend Fallowfield. When he denies her, she lies to her father and the squire, claiming that he molested her. This nearly results in his lynching.

Ignore the Fanservice: Reverend Fallowfield refuses to be tempted by Angel’s nakedness, much to her disappointment. Ralph has a moment like this later on, when a naked woman dances in front of him during the assault on the coven, although he's a little more enticed than the reverend. Card-Carrying Villain: Margaret identifies herself as "the devil's child", and Angel's other minions aren't much more subtle about their dark allegiance. Angel herself maintains an ingenuous charade. With the younger cast, Haggard dedicated two weeks prior to the shoot to hold rehearsals. [12] Filming [ edit ] The ruined Saint James Church in Bix Bottom was the setting for some of the film's most dramatic sequences

Fields and furrows

The story is a rare example of diving headlong into the action done right. It spends little time establishing the status quo prior to its disruption, but instead gives a general impression of what it might have been prior to the supernatural horrors which stalk the land. While in many cases this could have been abrupt, the audio drama uses a strong cast and a building sense of dread to hook the listener very early on. Anthony Ainley, who plays a curate who Linda Hayden's character attempted to seduce, once said in an interview, "When it came to doing the nude scene where Angel comes into the rectory at night and disrobes this was done at least three times and Linda was spot on with every take...she was a total professional with a refined sense of the erotic unusual for her age...I believe she was only 17 at the time." [22] Musical score [ edit ] Blood on Satan’s Claw reigns as one of the Unholy Trinity films of the folk-horror genre, and for good reason. It engraved the genre’s key components in stone for all who wanted to wander its forbidden and supernatural powers that continue to terrorize audiences 50 years after its release. Unlike the fictional creatures and growling monsters, the movie reveals the evil existent in humanity. Now that is terrifying. This adaptation stars Mark Gatiss and Reece Shearsmith, alongside the original film's Angel Blake, Linda Hayden. Gatiss and Shearsmith are both huge fans of the original film, even recording a commentary for the DVD release. Several of the younger cast members, particularly Hayden, Ustinov, and Richard Williams, recalled that Haggard's direction was concise and that the shoot operated smoothly. [18]