Satan's Slave

Satan's Slave
Directed by Norman J. Warren
Produced by Richard Crafter
Written by David McGillivray
Starring Michael Gough
Martin Potter
Candace Glendenning
Barbara Kellerman
Music by John Scott
Cinematography Dennis Balkin
Production
company
Monumental Pictures Ltd.
Distributed by Crown International Pictures
Release dates
 December 1976 (UK)
Running time
 86 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Satan's Slave (alternatively titled Evil Heritage) is a 1976 British erotic supernatural horror film written by David McGillivray, directed by Norman J. Warren and starring Michael Gough and Candace Glendenning.

Plot

A young girl, Catherine Yorke (Candace Glendenning), shares a ride with her parents to visit her uncle Alexander (Michael Gough), that no one had met before. But the drive ends in tragedy when Catherine's parents die in a car accident.

The girl is then hosted by the mysterious Alexander, who lives in a beautiful house with his son Stephen (Martin Potter) and the faithful Frances (Barbara Kellerman). Catherine takes a taste for life and notices that Stephen is far from being insensitive to her charms. But Catherine is soon the victim of terrible hallucinations. As time passes on, Frances then informs her of what her uncle and cousin are planning to do to her. She tells them they plan to sacrifice her in order to avenge an ancient ancestor of hers named Camilla York (because the only way to resurrect the dead is through the body of a descendant) who was said to possess evil powers, she tells her that they plan to use Camilla's powers for Alexander's own evil.

Frances then offers to help her escape this terrible fate and run away from them. When Stephen finds out he kills Frances by slashing her with glass and stabbing her through her mouth. When Catherine discovers her dead body Stephen locks Catherine in her bedroom until the morning of the ritual. When they take her in the woods and prepare her, Catherine kills Stephen by stabbing him in the eye with a blade. She temporarily gets away then is tricked back into the clutches of her evil uncle by an illusion. When she is trapped by the cultists and the film ends on a neat suspense note.

Cast

Production

The film was made in Pirbright, Surrey from December 1975 to January 1976. The house belonged to the Baron And Baroness DeVeuce. It had previously appeared in Tigon's production Virgin Witch. It would later be used for another Norman J. Warren film, Terror.

The score composed by John Scott uses a small chamber ensemble as the film's budget would not stretch to a full orchestra.

Critical reception

Bill Gibron of DVD Talk gives the film a mixed review. Awarding a rating of three stars out of five, he considers the script "silly" and the film's atmosphere "often wasted" but praises the performances of Michael Gough and Candace Glendenning. He comments: "... if you can get past the endless conversations, [the] lack of real suspense, the flawed feeling of familiarity and the dearth of any or all plot twists toward the end ... then – by all means – saddle up and strap in".[1]

Home media

The film has had home video releases in the UK and US on VHS in PAL and NTSC formats. It has also had a DVD release as part of Anchor Bay Entertainment's Norman J. Warren Collection, which also contained special edition releases of Prey, Inseminoid and Terror.

References

  1. ↑ Gibron, Bill (12 May 2012). "Satan's Slave: Katarina's Nightmare Theater – DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVD Talk. El Segundo, California: Internet Brands. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2016.

Further reading

External links

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