Christopher Lee as Father Michael RaynerĬonclusion: To The Devil A Daughter (1976) Film Review.
Christopher Lee is simply sensational in the role and raises the film way above many of the others in the genre. Lee really does make To The Devil A Daughter feel genuinely unsettling, it’s a film about black magic and satanic rituals and they don’t come much darker than this. Quite simply I think the role of Father Michael Rayner is by far the most disconcerting and terrifying of all his Hammer roles. I’ve saved the real star of the film until last, I’m of course referring to the Hammer legend Christopher Lee. There are some genuinely fun scenes between the two which just lifts the disquieting mood if only for a moment. They are friends and colleagues of writer John Verney. Then there’s the films light relief with Honor Blackman as Anna Fountain and Anthony Valentine as David Kennedy. Nastassja Kinski as Catherine Beddows plays her role well as a young nun approaching her eighteenth birthday unaware of what awaits her.
He really plays his part to perfection and in doing so makes the film all the more terrifying. Then there’s Denholm Elliott as Henry Beddows, he is a broken man having made a pact with someone you really should stay clear of. He is the main character that drives the film, he does this very well putting in a very powerful performance which certainly makes the film more believable. Richard Widmark plays an American occult writer that is living in London. The music is provided by Paul Glass and its a very dark and disturbing score perfect for a film about satanic rituals.įirst off I should just say that the cast assembled for this film by Hammer is exceptional.
The camera work is exceptionally good giving a genuinely terrifying feel. Shot on location starting in Germany then moving on to London, this is unusual for Hammer who normally rely almost entirely on sets or the grounds of their film studio to provide all the locations. The film is directed by Peter Sykes with the cinematography handled by David Watkin. With Catherine’s 18th birthday imminent Father Michael seems to have something rather special lined up for her. Rayner has been by the excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church for practising black magic. Catherine is nun and has grown up in a church called the Children of the Lord which is run by Father Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee). When an American occult writer John Verney (Richard Widmark) is asked by Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) to collect his daughter Catherine from the airport in London he agrees. It’s time for my To The Devil A Daughter blu-ray review. I’m continuing on with my look at the recently released classic Hammer films by Studiocanal, the Blu-ray I’m reviewing here features Christopher Lee and is based on a Dennis Wheatley novel.
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