The Devil Rides Out

THE DEVIL RIDES OUT

(A.K.A THE DEVIL'S BRIDE)

Director : Terence Fisher

Year : 1963

Genre : Horror

Rating : ***1/2

'The Devil Rides Out' is one of the more famous and critically acclaimed horror movies released by the great British horror studio Hammer, whose adaptations of classic horror stories such as Frankenstein, Dracula and The Wolfman are all considered to be some of the greatest horror movies ever made. While not up in the pantheons of movies such as 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' or 'The Horror Of Dracula', 'The Devil Rides Out' is one of the more intriguing and imaginative movies released by this once unparallelled British institution. With the help of a good cast, a stirring score and a first rate director, 'The Devil Rides Out' is much better than most of the horror movies released today. If you are a die - hard horror fan, this movie is a definite must see.

'The Devil Rides Out' tells the story of a small group of people who have to try and protect their friends from an evil satanic cult, who have the intention of initiating them into the dark arts and gaining power over their souls. Unlike most other Hammer films which are adaptations of classic horror novels or original concepts, 'The Devil Rides Out' is an adaptation of a famous Dennis Wheatley novel of the same name and the screenplay is written by Richard Matheson who is most famous for writing 'I Am Legend' and many 'Twilight Zone' episodes such as the now iconic 'Nightmare At 20,000 Feet' which gives the screenplay more depth and substance than most other horror movies released at this time. Another difference between this and most other Hammer films is that 'The Devil Rides Out' is actually set during the present day, not centuries ago like a large majority of Hammer's productions. This gives the movie a more modern realism which is not present in the regular vampire or cult movies that the studio is most famous for. All of these elements combine to create a story which is very engrossing, hugely entertaining and showcases what British horror does best.

The movie is directed by Hammer favourite Terence Fisher and stars 'everyone's favourite Dracula', Christopher Lee. These two men both worked on 'The Curse Of Frankenstein' and 'The Horror Of Dracula' and many of the elements that made these two fantastic films work so well are also seen in 'The Devil Rides Out'. Adding to this, Charles Gray, who is now most famous for playing Ernst Blofeld (the archenemy of James Bond), as the evil leader of the cult as well as an early appearance by Patrick Mower who will be best known to British audiences as Rodney Blackstock from the hugely successful soap opera 'Emmerdale' as the impressionable young man who the satanic cult wants to initiate.

'The Devil Rides Out' has a number of scenes which are some of the best that Hammer has ever produced, most memorably a scene where 4 people are stalked by a giant tarantula. While the special effects may look primitive and crude compared to todays SFX, for the time and the budget this scene is surprisingly effective. Also, scenes involving protection from evil spirits and the actual initiation scene are all fantastic set pieces. However, while scenes like these are really entertaining, some of the film does seem slow and pondering. The narrative grinds to a halt and very little happens in the plot development. While I admire the movie, I do realise that a third is very slow and quite boring, which unfortunately is the case with a lot of Hammer movies. Another problem I have is that evil isn't portrayed in a very convincing way, unlike a lot of the Peter Cushing witch-hunting movies such as 'Twins Of Evil'. Charles Gray isn't very captivating as the lead antagonist and many of his scenes consist of him staring into peoples eyes, very much in the way Bela Lugosi did in the 1931 'Dracula'. This is a shame because Christopher Lee is very good and captivating as portraying a man desperately trying to save his friends' soul from darkness.

Christopher Lee has stated that throughout his hugely successful back log of movies that 'The Devil Rides Out' is his favourite. While it isn't mine ('The Horror Of Dracula' is my personal favourite), 'The Devil Rides Out' does contain a large number of scenes which are some of the best that Hammer has ever produced. I just wish the movie had the strength of it's convictions and took the satanic elements more seriously and Gray had put more into his performance. However, I can see why people love this movie, it is well directed, well acted and most of the story is hugely entertaining and fans of classic horror or Hammer itself should watch 'The Devil Rides Out'