To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

...and suddenly the screams of a baby born in Hell!

"Father Michael" (Christopher Lee) is an excommunicated priest who has established a devil worship cult under the guise of a Christian church. His goal is to provide the devil with a daughter who will be his representative on Earth. A young nun named Catherine (Nastassja Kinski) is to become this "daughter" (more specifically the avatar of Astaroth) as of her 18th birthday.

But as her birthday approaches, her biological father has second thoughts about selling his daughters soul, and he seeks the help of a occult novelist in an effort to save her.

To the Devil a Daughter has probably two main claims to fame. For one thing, it is the second to last film to have been released by Hammer prior to its 2008 revival. Christopher Lee, a Hammer Film stalwart, again plays a starring role in this film. His line "It is not heresy... and I will not recant!" was sampled by White Zombie in the song "Super-Charger Heaven" from their well known Astro Creep 2000 album.

Like many other late Hammer films, it clearly made an effort to keep up with the increasingly graphic horror films of the day. In this case this meant more in the way of gratuitous nudity and sexual content rather than violence. This generated some controversy at the time although nothing particularly explicit is actually shown.

The film was actually an adaptation of the 1953 Dennis Wheatley novel by the same name. It was the second such adaptation by Hammer, the first being The Devil Rides Out, which was released in 1968.

To the Devil a Daughter is well acted and well casted, and as with other Hammer films it does well in terms of sets, locations, and (in this case quite weird) imagery given what they were working with. While campy and, sadly, one of Hammer's last dying breaths in the 1970's, this is ultimately an enjoyable if somewhat melodramatic film.

3 devil cults out of 5
Contains nudity, sexual content, violence.

Puppetmaster (1989)

Evil comes in all sizes!

A generally unpleasant gentleman by the name of Neil Gallagher finds the secret of Andre Toulon, a man who had the ability to bring puppets to life and use them to do his bidding.

Now Gallagher has been reported dead as the result of suicide. But when his friends, a group of psychics, are summoned to his house by his grieving widow, they soon grow to suspect that something is not as it seems.

Soon, one by one, they face horrible deaths at the hands of Gallagher's puppets, which include such features as a knife for a hand, a drill for a head, and the ability to vomit leeches.

Puppetmaster is not a rare or little-known film. In fact, it is quite well known within the horror genre and as I prepared to watch it I reflected on this fact and felt somewhat surprised that I had not done so previously. That was before I watched it.

As it turns out, I wasn't missing much. Puppetmaster is campy in the extreme. The musical score is goofy and sounds misplaced, as though it was written for a Disney film set in some mystical land of wonderment. The special effects are cheesy; at least as cheesy as the acting and the haircuts of those performing it.

A few thoughts on the puppets themselves; why and how do they breath, if they are inanimate objects controlled by a master who can bring them to life then how is it that they can react based on emotion, where on earth do all those leeches come from?

Puppetmaster is a mediocre film. It's slow moving and is full of meaningless and repetitive scenes which do nothing to further what little plot there is. On top of this the action, which is sparse to start with, doesn't really begin till towards the end of the film. Even then it is relatively brief and tame. Despite it all, Puppetmaster is part of a ten film franchise and may possibly be converted to 3D. My advice; if you're looking for a film about killed puppets or toys, you're better off to stick to Childs Play, and leave this one on the shelf.

1 drill head out of 5
Contains violence, language.

Se7en (1995)

Seven deadly sins. Seven ways to die.

Detective David Mills (Brad Pitt) and Detective Lt. William Somerset (Morgan Freeman) are two unlikely partners on a mission to find and stop a disturbed serial killer whose crimes are inspired by the seven deadly sins.

One sin after another is punished through the killers' series of grisly and twisted murders. Meanwhile the detectives are strung along by a series of clues that lead them to each of the next attacks. Finally the killer is captured, but his delusional mission is not yet complete. There is still one final, chilling act remaining which he hopes will strike at the heart of a world he believes to be rotten to the core with sin.

Kevin Spacey plays the maniacal "John Doe" in this cult classic. His character is convincingly troubled and troubling all at once. But Spacey isn't the only highlight of the film. The movie is excellently acted all around and Freeman and Pitt are at the top of their games.

The films horrible crimes are described in graphic detail and you are left wondering after each one which sin will be next and in what creatively insane manner the killer will strike. But there is no way to predict the shocking twist ending which undoubtedly played a large role in catapulting the film in to cult status.

4 boxes out of 5
Contains violence, gore, language, disturbing scenes.