One Minute to Widnight
To the Devil a Daughter (1976)
directed by Peter Sykes
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
If there's a film corollary to the create-your-own Traveling Wilburys game, it might be the less intellectually demanding "My Three Stooges," aka "3 Amigos Más." So before the Farrelly brothers beat me to it, allow me to introduce Denholm Elliott, Christopher Lee, and Richard Widmark. If you follow the parlor trick to its natural Curse of Soul Men conclusion, Christopher Lee's number is most definitely up in 2009.
It's no secret that Hammer's remakes of Universal monster movies do nothing for me, but if the studio's willingness to exploit popular movie trends eventually leads occultist oddities like this one to my windy doorstep, I'll always be happy to lend my half-hearted endorsement. Most of the time, the production just takes it too far: physical Satanic babies, Widmark screaming at a window, silly shock and titillation. The closest comparison is the Columbia-enforced monster that ruins the otherwise evocative Night of the Demon, which in some ways would make a good double-bill. But you can't keep a good performance down, not in old-people reading glasses (Richard), devil-induced shock (Denholm), or the 98th priest's frock of your career (Chris).
directed by Peter Sykes
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
If there's a film corollary to the create-your-own Traveling Wilburys game, it might be the less intellectually demanding "My Three Stooges," aka "3 Amigos Más." So before the Farrelly brothers beat me to it, allow me to introduce Denholm Elliott, Christopher Lee, and Richard Widmark. If you follow the parlor trick to its natural Curse of Soul Men conclusion, Christopher Lee's number is most definitely up in 2009.
It's no secret that Hammer's remakes of Universal monster movies do nothing for me, but if the studio's willingness to exploit popular movie trends eventually leads occultist oddities like this one to my windy doorstep, I'll always be happy to lend my half-hearted endorsement. Most of the time, the production just takes it too far: physical Satanic babies, Widmark screaming at a window, silly shock and titillation. The closest comparison is the Columbia-enforced monster that ruins the otherwise evocative Night of the Demon, which in some ways would make a good double-bill. But you can't keep a good performance down, not in old-people reading glasses (Richard), devil-induced shock (Denholm), or the 98th priest's frock of your career (Chris).
posted by NPK at 10:34 AM
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