Satan was hot in the 70s (hmm, isn’t he technically hot all the time?) and the success of the Exorcist brought many movies about Ole’ Mr. Scratch to the theaters. This one has been unfairly maligned in my opinion and fans will be glad to see it in pristine condition on DVD from Dark Sky Films.
It’s a dark and stormy night (isn’t it always that way in these movies) and Mrs. Preston (Ida Lupino), her son Mark (William Shatner), and John (Woody Chambliss),the family servant, are awaiting Mr. Preston’s return. When dear old Dad does return he’s eyeless and demands that they return the book to Corbis, who’s in the abandoned mining town of Red Stone, before liquefying into a puddle of goop. Mrs. Preston gives Mark an amulet that is supposed to protect him from Corbis.
While he’s out checking on the truck, Corbis’ minions arrive and kidnap Mrs. Preston. So now it’s up to Mark to go to Red Stone and confront Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) and get his mother back. Seems the book in question has been in the pocession of the Preston family for centuries. It contains the names of all the souls that Corbis has collected for Satan and Corbis can’t go to his Satanic paradise unless he has the book. Mark confronts Corbis and challenges him, but ends up losing the battle and becomes one of his eyeless minions.
Meanwhile, Mark’s brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) and his wife Julie (Joan Prather) are doing a presentation on ESP with Dr. Sam Richards (Eddie Albert). They receive word that the Prestons are missing and go to the homestead to look for them. They’re warned by the sheriff (Keenan Wynn) not to go to Red Stone but they don’t heed him and head off to Red Stone. They arrive in the mining town and discover that Corbis keeps all his collected souls in an orb with a ram’s head on top of it. They also find in the book that if they release those soul’s that the resulting conflagration will release the Devil’s rain and destroy Cobris.
The Devil’s Rain is a movie with a bad reputation. However, I think that it is somewhat undeserved. True, it can’t hold a candle to films like the Exorcist, but it’s just good, low budget fun. The highlight has to be the final confrontation where Corbis and his followers melt into piles of smoking goo. In other words, turn off your brain, pop some corn, and enjoy. The thing that keeps the movie on the shelves is that it features a very young John Travolta in a minor role.
John Travolta is revolta when he turns into Grease (insert rimshot here)
In fact, I recall seeing a copy on the shelf from some fly-by-night video release company that had a Travolta headshot (from another movie) on the cover. I bet folks renting it thinking that he had a starring role were very disappointed.
Speaking of casting, the devil is in the details and the cast is quite a nice one. We’ve got Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, Ida Lupino, Eddie Albert, Tom Skerritt, and even Keenan Wynn. That’s quite a roster (not to mention the aforementioned Travolta). The devil’s right hand man, Anton LaVey (High Priest of the Church of Satan), even acted as an advisor during all those black magic scenes.
The Devil’s Rain is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. This new version is a revelation since it was remastered from 35mm vault materials. The movie has never looked as good. Fans of the show will want to buy it for that reason alone.
Dark Sky only sweetens the deal by adding some special features. The first and most exciting is a commentary by director Robert Fuest moderated by author Marcus Hearn. The commentary spans Fuest’s career and fans of the director’s work will definitely want to check it out. There’s also the theatrical trailer, 3 radio spots, still gallery, and a 35 second newsreel of Anton LaVey conducting a Satanic marriage (did it last I wonder?).
Mark arrives for his showdown in Corbis in Red Stone
No need for umbrellas when the Devil’s rain arrives because Dark Sky has done the Devil proud with this new DVD. The picture has never looked better and fans will want to pick it up for that reason alone. Robert Fuest fans will want to get it for the wonderful commentary that covers his career. Whatever the case, you should be glad to find it in your Halloween stocking (marked To You, from El Diablo).
The Devil’s Rain is now available at Amazon . As of yet, this version of the DVD is not available in the UK. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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