The Devil's Bride
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The Devil's Bride |
| Original title | The Devil Rides Out |
| Country of production | United Kingdom |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1968 |
| length | 93 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Terence Fisher |
| script | Richard Matheson |
| production | Anthony Nelson Keys |
| music | James Bernard |
| camera | Arthur Grant |
| cut | Spencer Reeve |
| occupation | |
| |
The Devil's Bride is a 1967 British horror film produced by Hammer Films with Christopher Lee in the lead role. The film is based on the 1934 novel " The Devil Rides Out " by Dennis Wheatley .
action
In the south of England, in 1929. Nicholas, Duke of Richleau greets his friend Rex Van Ryn, who has come from the USA, at a small airport. Both men spontaneously drive on to Simon Aron's house, with whom the Duke has a paternal friendship. This time, Simon simply canceled an annual meeting with Richleau without making a statement. The Duc de Richleau is a little worried about the young man, because he has recently withdrawn more and more from the public. The slim, tall aristocrat, who is well versed in occultism, quickly notices that the twelve people who surround Simon all have something strange, almost sect-like about them. The Duke realizes that it is a matter of Satanists, who have drawn more and more Simon under their spell and call on the devil Baphomet in an occult session.
This sinister troop is led by a certain Mocata, a kind of high priest of evil. In order to save Simon, the Duc and his American friend decide to take Simon with them. Persecuted by the Satanists, one finds shelter in the house of the befriended Eaton family. Simon seems saved for the time being, but the suggestive and manipulative power of the devil worshipers is stronger for the time being. Again, the two befriended men succeed in freeing Simon again from the Satanist sect, and in doing so they can also save his girlfriend, the pretty Tanith Carlisle, who serves as the sect's medium, from the clutches of Mocata. Mocata, who wanted to sacrifice the souls of the two young people to Satan, does not give up and now, with the devil in league, begins to use his diabolical power by means of black magic. He now conjures up the “angel of death” who is supposed to steal the soul of a child so that it can be exchanged for Tanith's soul and thus inadvertently leads to his own downfall. Because of his invocation of the Angel of Death from the Prince of Hell himself, Mocata is in bloom in eternal damnation.
Production notes
The Devil's Bride premiered in London on July 20, 1968. In Germany, the film never ran in the cinema, but had its premiere on ZDF on September 22, 1990.
Bernard Robinson created the film structures .
Reviews
New York Times critic Howard Thompson found that The Devil's Bride "exudes taste and atmosphere in beautiful color photography", that Christopher Lee embodied his steely noblewoman with "worldly dignity" and that it "could hit superstitious moviegoers worse" than with this film.
Variety said that director Fisher "built an exciting film", "with some strong highlights." Christopher Lee was "once again on the credit side".
The Monthly Film Bulletin , on the other hand, was more disappointed and saw only routine at work, especially since the script was rambling and Terence Fisher's direction would never ignite.
“Routinely made horror film about Satanism and sectarianism; The story is rather poor, but staged with a sense of atmosphere and without any particular horror shocks. "
The Movie & Video Guide saw the film as a “tight film adaptation” of the novel.
Halliwell's Film Guide found the film to be a rather "cumbersome adaptation of a terrifying novel." After all, there are “moments of tension”.
“Terence Fisher's masterpiece is a dark tumult, a frenzy in Art Deco. The film starts quickly, quickly develops a powerful pull that pulls everything with it, deeper and deeper, into an eerie and exciting present, whose shimmer no one can escape. "
Individual evidence
- ^ The New York Times, December 19, 1968
- ^ Variety criticism
- ^ The Monthly Film Bulletin, July 1968
- ↑ The Devil's Bride in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed September 9, 2018
- ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 331
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 270
Web links
- The Devil in the Internet Movie Database (English)