Blood on Satan's Claw (1971 film)
Blood on Satan's Claw, AKA Satan's Cult, Satan's Skin, The Devil's Skin, The Devil's Touch (1971)
Summary
"A living nightmare of black magic... and unspeakable evil!" Horror thriller set in 17th century England about the children of a village slowly converting into a coven of devil worshipers.
Details
- Release Date: 1971
- Country/Language: UK, English
- Genres/Technical: Horror (folk horror), Thriller
- Runtime: 1 hr 37 min
- Starring: Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews
- Director: Piers Haggard
- Writer: Robert Wynne-Simmons (screenplay), Piers Haggard (additional material)
- Producer/Production Co: Tigon British Film Productions, Chilton Films
- View Trailer: (link)
Ratings
MPAA Ratings
- Rated: R (Violence, Sexual Content, and violent sexual content)
The film was rated X in the UK for a violent rape scene, said to be so repulsive that even the director wishes he's filmed it differently.
Tentacle Ratings
A rough measure of how "Lovecraftian" the work is:
- S____ (One Tentacle: Debateably Lovecraftian; has almost no direct connection to Lovecraft's work)
This didn't seem like an especially "Lovecraftian" film, but according to the NY Times, "Although The Blood on Satan's Claw is based on an original screenplay by Robert Wynne-Simmons, it has a good deal of the quality of an H.P. Lovecraft work, in the vulnerability of even its heroic characters, as well as in its pastoral landscape that contains the threat of "eeveel" within every sun-dappled glade. Most particularly, it contains Lovecraft's perfectly straightfaced acceptance of a universe whose natural order may, at any time, be overturned by supernatural disorder."
Note: This rating is not intended as a measure of quality, merely of how closely related to Lovecraftian "Weird" fiction the work is.
Reviews
Review Links:
- (review needed)
Synopsis
Spoiler Section (Highlight to Read)
When a mysterious corpse is accidentally dug up by a boy in a small town, a group of local teens starts acting very strangely. The adolescents, led by a girl named Angel, are convinced the corpse was once possessed. Hoping to get in touch with the devil through the body, the teens act out a series of demonic rituals that causes a stir among the townspeople. When word of the satanic activity spreads, certain parents start trying to lock up the kids behind the spooky stunts.
Notes
Comments, Trivia, Dedication
Associated Mythos Elements
- TO DO
