Demon Rage (1980)

... aka: Dark Eyes
... aka: Demon Seed
... aka: Fury of the Succubus
... aka: Satan's Mistress

Directed by:
James Polakof

Originally filmed as Satan's Mistress, this was re-titled Fury of the Succubus for its theatrical release, then re-titled Demon Rage for its initial U.S. video release and then renamed a fourth time as Dark Eyes for cable TV broadcasts. As if that didn't cause enough confusion already, the title I got my hands on had the superimposed new title of Demon Seed. To avoid mixing this up with the 1977 evil computer film with that same title, I'm going to go ahead and list this under the Rage moniker since that's probably what this is best known as anyway. By any title, it sucks. They really should have just called it "Excuse To Get Plenty O'Toole Naked" since that's what the true agenda seems to be from the very first scene of Lana Wood running down the beach in slow-motion with her breast popping out of her nightgown. The well-endowed Ms. Wood was, of course, the sister of actress Natalie Wood. And just like in real-life where she was always in the shadow of her much more famous sister, Lana even has to play second banana to someone else in her own starring vehicle. Despite the fact she's the clear lead and this was obvioulsy made to showcase her talent(s), she still gets billed behind Swedish sexpot Britt Ekland, who only plays a supporting role here.

Things open with a nightmare sequence and then title cards letting us know that lonely people may be more in touch with the supernatural than anyone else. Lisa (Wood) is one such lonely person. She's stuck in a bad marriage with successful, busy architect Burt (Tom Hallick), who not only ignores her sexually, but is distant, emotionally abusive ("Bitch!") and may be having an affair behind her back. Lisa, Burt and their teenage daughter Michelle (Sherry Scott) have recently moved into a nice, secluded beach house but it has failed to inject any life into the failed marriage. In fact, since it's haunted by a sex-starved demon it ends up making things much worse. One evening while Lisa and Burt are entertaining another couple; Ann-Marie (Ekland), a psychic, and Carl (Dan Galloway), a classy fellow who refers to the hostess as a "Goddess of sensuality" and says he wants to "ravage" her, a black cat shows up from out of nowhere. When Michelle tries to grab it, it scratches her and runs off. Michelle realizes something bizarre is afoot, picks up a strange aura from the home and has visions of a statue crying blood. Burt also starts picking up signs that the place may be haunted and starts having nightmares of his own.

Though Lisa's husband isn't all that interested in her any more, there's a horny, bearded demon / ghost who is and he (Kabir Bedi) starts paying Lisa nightly visits to ravish her in her sleep. Eventually, Lisa moves into a spare bedroom, keeps the door locked at all times, starts ignoring her family and paints evil faces when she isn't being molested. Her hubby decides that he wants to reconcile and the two start to get back on track, but the demon returns to take possession of her again. Meanwhile, Michelle encounters a mysterious woman named Belline (Elyse-Anne) on the beach who informs her that she shares the name with an angel who left God to be with Lucifer. Michelle then keeps hearing Belline's voice telling her "You WILL help us!" She also has a nightmare which is distorted so badly through a wavy effect that I couldn't tell just what was happening. It appears that a cat is killed and people drown in quicksand on the beach but it was too difficult to make it out.

Blood appears on people's hands but disappears, the black cat keeps showing up (accompanied by a hilarious synthesized hiss) and the water in a hot tub suddenly becomes so hot it starts smoking. After her husband gets decapitated with a guillotine conveniently located in the basement, Ann-Marie urges the family to leave, but they don't. Burt is finally convinced to try to get them out and they get advice from priest and supernatural expert Father Stratten (John Carradine, who has just one scene in this one) beforehand. The ending is a complete anti-climactic mess with the gates of hell having been apparently opened in the basement, demons cackling, someone holding a severed head and everything being enveloped in fire.

Despite the frequency of nudity from Wood and about a hundred picturesque shots of the beach, this is a dreary, poorly made bore. I have to say though, that I think this movie is based on the same "true story" as THE ENTITY (filmed in 1981; released in '83) and beat it to the punch by at least a year (the copyright date for Demon Rage is 1980). The two films have a near identical premise, though The Entity - which isn't very good either - had the luxury of a big budget, an actual marketing campaign and respected actress Barbara Hershey in the lead role. This one's much lower budgeted, the acting is uneven, the photography is too dark and it becomes annoyingly repetitive after a short while.

The director also made the dull getting-back-to-nature pacifist hippie drama SLASHED DREAMS (1974), which was falsely marketed as a horror film because it featured Robert Englund in an early role.

★1/2

Endless Night (1972)

... aka: Agatha Christie's Endless Night

Directed by:
Sidney Gilliat

Michael Rogers (Hywel Bennett) isn't too happy with his lot in life. From humble beginnings and currently working as a hired driver to chauffeur around rich people all over Europe, Michael gets such a big taste of the high life on a daily basis that he wants it for himself. Not content with visiting art auctions (and pretending to have the means to actually purchase the pieces) and passing off his borrowed Rolls Royce as his own, Michael's biggest dream in life is to build a beautiful modern home on a picturesque plot of land called Gypsy's Acre, which has the luxury of beautiful pastoral fields and an ocean view not far off in the distance. It's an obsession of his and he's determined to get it at all costs. One of his clients, a wealthy, world-famous architect named Santonix (Per Oscarsson), who has only a few years left to live, tells him not to give up on his dreams because, "If the wish can be willed, then perhaps the means will follow." And to a sociopathic social climber like Michael, the "means" are soon found in a sweet, pretty, nubile young woman... who happens to come from a very wealthy family.

While out at Gypsy's Acre taking photographs and dreaming of his future home, Michael bumps into a young American girl named Fenella Thomsen (an emaciated and bony-looking Hayley Mills), who prefers to be called Ellie and is studying singing at a conservatory. There's an instant connection between the two and they part ways with a kiss, with an agreement to meet up again soon. One thing leads to another and the two quickly get become hitched. As it turns out, Ellie is a filthy-rich heiress who has just come into a considerable fortune. The union quickly gets Michael and Ellie into all of the newspapers, with the "World's 6th richest girl" marrying a lowly chauffeur and all. Though her parents are dead, Ellie's extended family, including icy stepmother Cora (Lois Maxwell) and family lawyer Andrew Lippincott (George Sanders), try to pay him a considerable sum for him to quietly divorce Ellie. Being in love, he refuses the offer. The new couple purchase Gypsy's Acre and construction is immediately underway on their dream home. Or at least Michael's dream home...

Once everything is complete, the happy couple are finally able to move into their new digs; an elaborate monstrosity with huge pictures windows, a floor that moves to unveil a pool underneath, walls that flip around to unveil a music chamber, a bar and other things, conveyor belts and remote-controlled everything. With a flip of a button, even the seasonal ambience can be altered. Ellie and Michael open an antique shop in town and settle into what should be nice, wonderful life together. However, everyone seems to be getting ample warnings from just about every place possible. For starters, Miss Townsend (Patience Collier), a local psychic lady who family used to own the property, tells Ellie she's doomed if she stays there. Then there's the attractive Greta (Britt Ekland), Ellie's former tutor, who was let go by the family for lying to help facilitate Michael and Ellie's relationship during the early stages. Both Ellie's family lawyer and Santonix warn Michael not to get too close to her. Regardless, Greta comes to their home for a protracted stay.

Problems arise in the marriage, many caused by Greta's overbearing presence, nosiness and the fact she seems to be trying to take over the home. Several of Ellie's family members move to their town to keep tabs on things and are constantly spying on them. And the creepy old psychic lady and her Siamese cat lurk around outside. One strange thing after another happens until numerous people end up dead. One character may or may not be a ghost, there's a relatively easy-to-spot twist at the end and we get brief glimpses into Michael's childhood, which unveil bickering parents, possible sexual molestation from his stepfather and witnessing a childhood friend drown.

I really liked the chemistry between Bennett and Mills in the underrated psycho-thriller TWISTED NERVE (1968), so I was looking forward to seeing them paired here again. Unfortunately, this "thriller" (often listed as a horror film though it barely even qualifies) is lacking in both originality and dramatic punch. Bennett tries his best to give an intense, tortured performance and most of the supporting cast is solid, but the two primary female leads could have been better. British actress Mills' attempt at a countrified American accent is laughable and after awhile she stops even trying and sounds British again, though otherwise she gives an OK performance. Ekland never was much of an actress and does nothing to change anyone's perception of her here with her usual wooden, pouty-lipped line delivery and empty, deer-caught-in-headlights facial expressions.

It's based on a novel by Agatha Christie. Christie herself apparently didn't like this adaptation, and apparently neither did British critics or audiences of its day. The film flopped and was never released theatrically in the U.S. The cast includes Aubrey Richards as a friendly doctor, Madge Ryan as Michael's disapproving mother, Walter Gotell and an uncredited Leo Genn as a shrink in the final scene. Bernard Herrmann (with assist from Howard Blake on the Moog Synthesizer) did the eerie score and Shirley Jones dubbed Mills' singing. The title comes from the William Blake poem "Auguries of Innocence."

★★

Asylum (1972)

...aka: House of Crazies
...aka: House on the Strand

Directed by:
Roy Ward Baker

The fourth of eight horror omnibus' from Amicus, and an above average one which benefits primarily from an excellent cast. The inmates of an insane asylum tell a visiting young psychiatrist (Robert Powell) three tales of horrifying madness and revenge, most of which deal with the supernatural. It's his job to then decide which of the inmates is actually a former doctor who has gone off the deep end to impress potential employer Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee). The first story - "Frozen Fear" concerns a man (Richard Todd) and his mistress (Barbara Parkins) who off his wife (Sylvia Syms), chop of the body and put the severed (but wrapped up) limbs in a freezer. Incredibly, the parts return to life to exact revenge. A severed head rolling around and breathing through the wrapping are creepy, memorable images. It's like the disembodied hand segment in Amicus' first anthology DR. TERROR'S HOUSE OF HORRORS (1965), only amplified. The second story - "The Weird Tailor" finds financially strapped tailor Barry Morse assigned to construct a glowing suit made out of special fabric by elderly customer Peter Cushing, who is grief stricken over the recent death of his son. You can see just where this one's going, but excellent performances from the two lead actors make it worthwhile. Next up is "Lucy Comes to Stay;" which involves mentally unstable Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), who has just been released from an asylum, supposedly cursed of her schizophrenia. Her sneaky blonde "friend" (Britt Ekland), who was responsible for her getting put away to begin with, shows up and leads her back down a path or mayhem and murder.

The stories (all written by Robert Bloch) are fairly predictable but entertaining nonetheless and everything is neatly linked together by the framing segments, which themselves turn into a fourth story (titled "Mannikins of Horror") that features Herbert Lom as a doll maker dabbling in voodoo and soul transference. The cast includes James Villiers, Megs Jenkins (The Innocents) and Geoffrey Bayldon. House of Crazies is an alternate version to avoid with a running time of 86 minutes (6 minutes missing).

★★★