Night 19: ‘The Devil Rides Out’ (1968)
This is part of the ‘31 Nights of Horror Classics’ series, which I’ll be doing for Halloween 2017. Every night of this month, I’ll be watching a horror film made before the 90s and I’ll be posting a short review here.
Most of us would do a lot for our friends. But how far would you go to save yours from the claws of Evil itself?
After meeting up, Rex (Leon Greene) and his friend Richleau (Christopher Lee) decide to pay a visit to their friend Simon (Patrick Mower), from whom they haven’t heard in a while. Once they do, they discover that his friend is now part of what seems to be a pagan cult. As his initiation ceremony approaches, both decide to take matters into their own hands and risk their own lives in order to save him from the Devil.
Well, I confess! As soon as Christopher Lee was on screen, and not knowing a single thing about the film, I thought: “That’s probably our Devil!”. Surprise, surprise: it is not. In fact, Lee’s character is the real hero of the story. Knowledgeable and decisive, he’s a stable and strong presence across the entire movie. And as always: incredibly charming!
The Devil Rides Out plays out as a surprisingly fun and eerie ‘scavenger hunt’-kind of film. We see the characters arrange the pieces of the puzzle progressively as they follow their friend through multiple locations. What’s more, what seem to be throwaway lines or purely stylistic choices, end up paying off inside the narrative. Like the decoration with multiple snakes, or the goat imagery seen in various locations.
The film also has some very interesting sequences, being the final ritual arguably the best and most unnerving. It has the perfect amount of tension and scary events to take you out of your comfort zone, and it is wonderfully achieved in terms of effects and composition.
It also helps that you actually want to root for the ‘good guys’. They’re regular, selfless people trying to battle against inhuman forces that are quite superior to theirs. There is something about them that made me think of Spielberg’s Poltergeist (1982): a family that must follow a set of instructions in order to vanquish Evil and rescue a person from it.
The film also lends itself to an interesting analysis regarding its female characters. Although they do carry some of the characteristics of the typical damsel in distress, it’s women of three different age groups (a child, a young girl and a more mature woman) working together who end up defeating the cult behind the entire thing. Thus, those that would be considered the ‘weaker’ members of the group in any other tale, end up saving the day.
Another interesting aspect is the use of a wide variety of non-Christian symbols and elements to create the pagan cult. In many ways, the members resemble Dionysus worshippers, with their strange and passionate frenzies. Yet we also get to hear the names of Egyptian gods, while the first encounter with a version of a demon is somewhat reminiscent of an Arabian djinn.
This last one is perhaps one of the negatives of the movie. This use of elements from other cultures, while also placing non-white characters inside the cult, but not against it, could easily be read as a latent racism.
On the other hand, the demonic entities are less intimidating than cult leader Mocata (Charles Gray). This is particularly evident in the scene in which a goat-like creature is summoned. Regrettably, the design makes it look friendly instead of disturbing. This makes the menace of the supernatural monsters lose its power.
Other elements that needed more work were the character of Rex and the finale. The former is easily overpowered by Lee, and his storyline becomes less interesting as the film goes on. I caught myself yearning for Richleau as soon as he was gone. And for the latter, although the role of the women is interesting, it’s also quite an anticlimactic end for the sect.
Overall, it was very enjoyable, and had some good frightening moments that made me look away. Considering it’s Christopher Lee’s favorite Hammer film, it’s worth a watch!
Grade: 7/10. Devilishly fun.
Scare Factor: a few scary images. Not good for those with arachnophobia.
Gore/Violence: depiction of violence towards animals. (Can’t comment on how graphic it is, since I looked away)
Nudity/Sexual Situations: some grinding, but nothing too graphic.
Previous Night: ‘The Horror of Dracula’ (‘58)
Next up: ‘The Raven’ (‘35)
