The Devil's Rain (1975)

How sad is this?

Crappy film

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

The Devil's Rain! is a movie that could only have been made in 1975, uniting old Hollywood royalty, television stars, the visionary director of The Abominable Dr. Phibes and the Church of Satan in the Mexican desert.It is not a perfect movie. You can't even say that it has plot holes, as that would require something of a coherent plot — a fact director Robert Fuest was all too aware of. On the sparkling commentary track which accompanies the new blu-ray release from Severin (picked up from the Dark Sky DVD release), he speaks about discussions with the writers (Gabe Essoe, James Ashton and Gerald Hopman, whose only credit is co-producing Evilspeak, so one assumes that he is Satan) where they assured him that the script made perfect sense. While Fuest claims that he did what he could to clear up his issues with the film, what emerged was a movie that effectively decimated his promising directorial career.But you know what? I embrace plot holes the way some critics hold dearly onto their Criterion collection films and back issues of Premiere. There's no way I can be objective about The Devil's Rain! The only box it doesn't check for me is a disclaimer stating that it's based on a true story.The film begins with close-ups of Bosch's painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, along with the wails of the damned as they gnash their teeth in Hell. Then, we're dropped into the lives of the Preston family, who have suffered under a curse for hundreds of years.Turns out that at some point in the 18th century, the family screwed over Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine, Escape from New York), a Satanist who was eventually burned at the stake. He had a book containing the souls of all he had damned, which was stolen by Martin Fyfe (William Shatner, who I don't need to tell you anything else about). Before he dies, Corbis vows revenge on the Fyfe family, which changes its name to Preston. He's been stealing them one by one, selling their souls to Satan and trapping them in the devil's rain. They then become living wax figures with melting eyes and black robes.That's how we meet Steve Preston, the leader of the family, who has escaped Corbis to warn his wife (Ida Lupino, an actress (and director) known for noir classics like The Bigamist and On Dangerous Ground. She often referred to herself as the poor man's Bette Davis, as she was often offered the parts that Davis had turned down. She refused those parts so many times that Warner Brothers suspended her, so she used that time to learn the craft of directing on set. As roles for her slowed, she became the second female director admitted to the Director's Guild, following Dorothy Arzner, the sole woman director of Hollywood's "Golden Age.") and son, Mark (also Shatner). As the old man tells them to give the book of souls back, he melts in the rain.So what does Mark do? Well, he takes the book directly to Corbis, challenging him to a battle of faith in the desert. That battle quickly turns into Mark trying to escape, but Corbis' disciples are too much for him. He shows a cross to the priest, who transforms it into a snake before using a ritual to erase Mark's memory in preparation for a major ceremony.Oh the 1970's — when your main character gets wiped out minutes into a movie because he has to leave town for a three day Star Trek convention in New York. That really happened and I have no idea if that was the reason why Shatner goes from hero to geek in such record time.Read more at http://bit.ly/2gOUUFw

The Devil's Rain is one of many satanic themed horror films that were popular and churned out in great regularity in the late 60's/early 70's. It is far from the best movie and not one of the top entries in the genre, but is good for what it is and is a cool little flick in my book. This cult classic has the benefits of a real good cast that has William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert as well as early appearances by future stars Tom Skerrit and John Travolta. Ernest Borgnine is in top form here as a satanic priest who is after a book that has the signatures of people who sold their souls to Satan. Shatner is Shatner and Shatner is awesome. Shatner camps it up big time and The Devil's Rain never fails to entertain. Anton Lavey founder of The Church Of Satan is on set here as technical adviser and even makes a cameo in the film. However, this does not put The Devil's Rain in the same league as genre classics such as Rosemary's Baby. But The Devil's Rain is B movie gold and good, campy old school drive in horror that unfortunately is not made anymore. Fans of the genre will love The Devil's Rain, I can dig it and had a great time watching this.

I don't know what the hell this film was all about. It started out pretty good and I though the low score on IMDb was going to turn out to he some kind of error.The first 15 minutes were pretty good, though I noticed the pacing was a bit slow already. Basically Shatner, his mum and some old man who is also in the house (though I couldn't gather why) are waiting for the husband/dad to return. Then someone turns up at the front door with their eyes missing, then they start to melt, oozing out green, blue and pink puss. It was a very unexpected turn of events and I liked the gore.Then the house is broker into and the old man beaten up and the mother kidnapped. Shatner goes looking for a Warlock called Corvus, who is after a sacred book that Shatner's family have hid for years.So then it goes to the desert. The pace becomes unbearably slow, uneventful scenes go on for ages. Shatner gets taken into the cult (BTW, they all have missing eyes bar Corvus). Then Shatner's brother comes along to save the day. But scenes go on for ages with nothing happening. This film was really dull.In the end we get treated to 10 minutes of all the cult members melting. God it just went on forever.Shame that this film was so dull and badly paced because it seemed to have a lot of potential. The make up and gore effects were pretty good and some elements were a bit spooky. The idea was an interesting one but executed poorly.

A Satanist hounds a wayward cult member's family over the centuries for possession of a book in which the townspeople had signed off their eternity in blood to the Dark Side; in the meantime, their despairing souls reside in a glass receptacle dubbed "The Devil's Rain". Disappointing, yet mildly diverting and starrily-cast, diabolical chiller: altogether rather quaint, despite a fashionable downbeat ending (following a spectacularly gooey, but absurdly elongated, climax) and the surprising endorsement of Anton Le Vey. The film was not only director Fuest's last theatrical foray into the Fantasy genre – he would make just one more obscure piece of erotica in France called APHRODITE (1982) before bowing out of the movie game – but also John Travolta's inauspicious acting debut as a young member of the Satanic cult. On the side of Good, we find occult expert Eddie Albert and Tom Skerritt and, initially, the latter's kinsmen Ida Lupino and William Shatner (before eventually both being taken over), as well as Claudio Brook (in a fun period flashback); apart from the aforementioned Travolta, the Evil side is represented by a cowboy hat-sporting Ernest Borgnine (when he is not decked-out in the ceremonial red cassock or a full-blown demonic goat's head!) and sheriff Keenan Wynn.