The Devil’s Rain Review

Minor spoilers for a 51-year-old movie follow.

Fun story: Many years agone erstwhile I was exertion of a comics and collectibles publishing company, I concisely worked with writer Gabe Essoe, who wanted america to people his Tarzan collecting guide. We yet passed connected it, but flash guardant to now, and I’m reviewing a movie co-written by nary different than Gabe Essoe! Small world, huh? Well, I thought it was a amusive story. Anyway…

The trailer for The Devil’s Rain hailed it arsenic featuring “…absolutely the astir incredible, unforgettable ending of immoderate question representation ever!” Hyperbole? Sure. But volition I retrieve that ending (a veritable solemnisation of applicable effects) for the remainder of my life? Also yes. The movie has appropriately capable built a pursuing implicit the years, but it ne'er rather joined the pantheon of genuinely beloved classics. That’s understandable erstwhile you ticker it successful this awesome caller 4K Severin Films release, due to the fact that though it has a batch going for it — a large cast, immoderate beauteous cinematography, and that ending — the movie falls abbreviated of greatness. There’s inactive a lot to appreciate, though, truthful let’s get into this chaotic clip capsule of ’70s paranormal kitsch from ESP to Satanism to Shatner!

The Devils’ Rein

The Preston household has been cursed by Satanist person Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) for centuries. A household subordinate who was erstwhile 1 of his disciples betrayed him mode backmost erstwhile and stole his registry of followers, who present reside arsenic tortured souls wrong an ornate receptacle called the Devil’s Rain. He tin gully those souls retired and implant them successful big bodies oregon waxy facsimiles thereof (it’s not precisely clear, but they look similar surviving Voodoo dolls), but helium can’t crook them implicit to Satan himself and fulfill his infernal pact without the book. When the Preston matriarch Emma (Ida Lupino) and lad Mark (William Shatner) spell missing, it’s up to younger member Dr. Tom Preston (Tom Skerritt), his ESP-sensitive woman Julie (Joan Prather), and their workfellow Dr. Sam Richards (Eddie Albert) to find retired what happened to the different Prestons and halt Corbis forever. But it’s the ’70s, remember, truthful who volition you bet connected winning successful the end?

William Shatner arsenic Mark Preston successful The Devil’s Rain, oregon a glimpse of his negotiations with Paramount to instrumentality for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)? You decide.

Opening with discordant music, disturbing Hieronymus Bosch paintings, and an quality by Woody Chambliss from 1972’s Gargoyles, the movie loses immoderate of this aboriginal bully volition by trying to person america that then-44 Shatner could beryllium the lad of 57-year-old Lupino. It truly drops you successful and demands you portion things together, often without important information. One mightiness telephone that a failing of the film, but there’s a satisfying bleakness here. Despite feeling similar a TV movie that lone occasionally pushes the boundaries beyond what the tiny surface would allow, it has immoderate perfectly beauteous acheronian and desolate vistas. A windswept occidental shade municipality inhabited by eyeless Omega Man-like black-robed minions is simply a genuinely arresting image, adjacent if 1 well-placed tumbleweed feels a spot excessively connected the nose. At slightest they didn’t sanction the municipality Purgatory, opting alternatively for Redstone.

Borgnine glowers done each country with a palpable consciousness of menace, and his confrontations with Shatner and Albert person a satisfying Bond villain dynamic. Al De Lory’s people is often reminiscent of Leonard Rosenman’s for Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and determination are valiant attempts to execute immoderate thematic resonance, including literal rainfall falling from the heavens arsenic portion of a Raiders-esque transportation of God’s judgment. But the existent prima of this movie is the constitution effects enactment by Tom Burman and member Ellis Jr., from Borgnine’s horned goat-like incarnation to the climactic melting series with multi-colored goop leaking from the eyes (and each different part) of the cultists. The eyeless look of Corbis’ disciples does endure successful the HD era, with the achromatic plugs covering the actors’ eyes disposable successful this amazing-looking transfer, but it inactive looks beauteous damn cool.

Academy Award victor Ernest Borgnine understood the duty erstwhile helium agreed to chew the scenery arsenic Corbis successful The Devil’s Rain.

The Devils Reign

Let’s woody with the Shatner successful the room; the antheral truly curbs his excesses successful what amounts to a tiny portion that lone lasts astir the archetypal 3rd of the movie and a spot of the end. He besides performs a unsmooth draught of his Star Trek II “Khannnnnn” with a akin shriek to the entity astatine “Corbissssss,” and adjacent replicates an uncomfortable shirtless Chuck Heston infinitesimal from the aforementioned Omega Man. Many popular civilization aficionados cognize that a lifecast made of Shatner’s look for this accumulation was obtained by Don Post to make the 1975 Kirk mask, a transcript of which was yet bought by the Halloween unit and turned into Michael Myers’ distinctive visage (Shatner disputes immoderate of this, but he’s not precisely a trustworthy source). What I’ve ne'er seen radical constituent out, however, is that Shatner really originates the Myers caput tilt! I’m not kidding; ticker the country precocious successful the movie wherever eyeless Shatner looks quizzically astatine his brother, trying to admit him done a Satanic haze, and there’s the Shape tilt 3 years earlier Nick Castle gazed astatine ol’ pinned-up Bob!

I similar The Devil’s Rain for each the things it did well, and for the movie it wanted to be.“

Ultimately, 1 of the movie’s biggest missed opportunities is simply a effect of immoderate misogynistic myopia. Instead of Skerritt’s alternatively bland and mostly clueless character, the protagonist should person been Julie, the implicit outsider who would beryllium learning it each on with the assemblage portion facing her destiny. The sepia-toned psychic flashback to 1680 would besides person acceptable up the ending adjacent much powerfully if Corbis had really noticed her determination while she sits and watches the past taking spot astir her. That mentation of Devil’s Rain mightiness person risen from mid-level cult movie to all-time fearfulness classic, though it astir apt would person taken idiosyncratic different than Prather successful the relation to marque that work, and a 2nd enactment that featured astatine slightest 1 bully acceptable portion to transportation america into the genuinely spectacular ending that astir makes up for the remainder of the movie.

Nevertheless, genre fans coming to The Devil’s Rain present mightiness beryllium intrigued by each the connections to movies that preceded oregon followed, specified arsenic The Haunted Palace, The Touch of Satan, The Beyond, and adjacent Return of the Jedi and A Nightmare connected Elm Street! I could ideate this being a regular rewatch for maine contiguous if I had seen this erstwhile I was younger; arsenic it is, I similar The Devil’s Rain for each the things it did well, and for the movie it wanted to be. There’s capable of that movie determination to enjoy, adjacent if the remainder is frustrating.

Ida Lupino (backseat) gets driven to The Devil’s Rain acceptable by co-star Joan Prather (at the wheel). OK, not really, but it is Lupino arsenic Emma Preston and Prather arsenic Julie Preston successful a country from the movie.

Bonus Features:

There are a lot of bonus features included successful this 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo release, astir brought implicit from Severin’s 2017 Blu-ray release. Many of them are lone a fewer minutes long; possibly champion of each is simply a chat with constitution creator Tom Burman, who confirms the movie was made with Mafia wealth and describes Shatner arsenic loving himself “more than you could ever emotion yourself.” Star Tom Skerritt wishes they’d made it a campy comedy, portion the past and contiguous enactment of the Church of Satan stock that the film’s method advisor, Church laminitis Anton LaVey, struck up a precise adjacent relationship with young histrion John Travolta, who makes his movie debut present (it’s creepier erstwhile you find retired that co-star Prather introduced Travolta to Dianetics, truthful I conjecture aliens bushed the Devil connected that one). There are besides plentifulness of ocular galleries, vigor and TV spots, the theatrical trailer, and not 1 but 2 audio commentaries — 1 with manager Robert Fuest (which is beauteous informative) and the 1 2026 addition, a commentary by “film historian” Stephen R. Bissette who comes close retired of the gross mispronouncing accumulation institution Bryanston arsenic “Bryanstone;” bash with that what you will.