Other movies in this series:
None

The tyranist's thoughts
Imagine settling back for a night of television in 1977. The family is gathered around, there's a new Robert Culp movie coming on. It was written by the guy who created Star Trek, it promises to be a night to remember. And then . . .
A man who is missing his heart due to a previous pact with a demon, conscripts his old doctor friend to help him solve a case of alleged devil worshipping in England. Before they even leave, strange things happen, evil things, and by the time they get to the heart of what is going on, Hell itself seems to have found a home on earth.
Between some of the disturbing imagery, creepy characters, and the massive devil-worshipping orgy/sacrificial rite at the end of the movie, I don't suppose too many people saw what they were expecting. Lucky me, I knew what I was getting into, and I really enjoyed it.
Robert Culp is about the same as always, almost too even-keeled to believe. John Hurt is pretty good for his part. There are a few others that I suspect I should recognize but didn't. The script was good and the production values high for something made for TV in the '70s. I really liked the locations and I thought that the ambience of the movie was pretty much dead on.
If I had to compare it to another movie, it reminded me most of Wicker Man, but even that comparison is sort of sketchy. This was a fine piece of filmmaking and deserves better than the oblivion it seems to have sunk into.
If you can find this one, watch it. I'm glad I caught it when I did.
Posted: November 9, 2004

Total Skulls: 5

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?