The Devil’s Rain (First viewing; YouTube) – 6/10
A reincarnated satanic priest (Ernest Borgnine) and his eyeless disciples (one of them is John Travolta!) terrorize a small family whose ancestors had caused the priest to be burned alive at the stake hundreds of years earlier. Searching for a book of power that lists the names of damned souls, which has come into the possession of the family, the devil worshippers transform the mother and one of her two sons (William Shatner) into their minions. Knowing that his family has been destroyed, the only surviving member (Tom Skeritt) and his wife, together with an expert in occultism (Eddie Albert), must battle the Devil himself and put an end to the Devil’s reign!
Unfortunately the film is far from interesting, let alone terrifying. The best things to see are Ernest Borgnine’s excellent make-up when he transforms into the demonic goat-man
and the special effects of the melting faces and bodies. Unless you are a ten-year-old, seeing the jolly-faced Borgnine with his make-up, complete with goat horns, will evoke a chuckle!
Robert Fuest (
The Abominable Doctor Phibes and its sequel) directs.