Film Reviews: The Lesser Known Films of the 'Satanic Panic' Era

Photo courtesy of IMDb, from the anthology series Journey to the Unknown. #film #horror #movies #writing

Yesterday, I wrote about the "Satanic Panic" movie and television era that was launched by the success of the Roman Polanski film, Rosemary's Baby (1968). Most horror fans are familiar with the "Satanic Big Three" of the era: Rosemary, The Omen (1976), and The Exorcist (1973). There were, many, many others. Below, I offer some capsule reviews of some of the most notable:

The New People (1968), directed by Peter Sasdy; starring Robert Reed, Jennifer Hilary, Patrick Allen, and Milo O'Shea. One of the best dramas from the Satanic Panic era wasn’t a film at all, but an hour-long episode of a short-lived anthology television series called Journey to the Unknown. Journey to the Unknown was an excellent British-based, Anglo-American joint production of 20th Century Fox's and Hammer’s television units. It featured weekly macabre and paranormal dramas that starred an established America television actor in the lead role, supported by well-known British actors of the era.

The New People, which trods a path similar to Rosemary’s Baby, actually premiered a few months before that film, but was probably inspired by the best-selling novel of Rosemary written by Ira Levin. The episode opens with a scene that’s so jaw-droppingly creepy, it’s one of the most memorable I have ever witnessed in my lifetime. And no wonder; the script was written by Charles Beaumont, who penned so many great episodes of the original Twilight Zone series.

The lead is played by Robert Reed (soon to achieve television immortality as Mike Brady from The Brady Bunch) as Hank Prentiss, a young American advertising executive in London, who's married to a British wife (Jennifer Hilary). The couple buys a house in a quiet country town to escape the hustle and bustle of London; Reed commutes to his job by train.

As “the new people” the Prentisses are embraced by the local “party set”, which revolves around a wealthy and domineering man named “Luther.” (A name that is very close to a certain other, more notorious name...hmmmm.) As the couple is drawn further into the party set, Hank begins to discover disturbing facts about Luther and his group of friends, as well as about the man who owned their house before them.

Look for a crackerjack performance by Milo O’Shea, the great Irish stage actor, as a character who plays an important role in the final, nail-biting “twist” ending. Sadly, Journey to the Unknown doesn’t seem to be on official disc in the US. There are a few episodes posted on YouTube, although as of this writing, they don’t include The New People. You may be able to find a disc on a bootleg DVD site.

The Mephisto Waltz (1971), a theatrical film released by 20th Century-Fox, directed by TV movie veteran Paul Wendtkos (The Legend of Lizzie Borden) from a script written by Ben Maddow (The Asphalt Jungle), based on the book by Paul Mustard Stewart. Starring Alan Alda, Jacqueline Bisset, Curt Jurgens, Barbara Parkins, and Bradford Dillman. This early 70s Satanic thriller was clearly aimed at the Rosemary’s Baby audience, but received only ho-hum reviews from critics and moviegoers at the time, possibly because the protagonists aren’t as sympathetic as Rosemary Woodhouse; plus the twisty plot is hard to follow without close attention.

Alan Alda (from the MASH TV series) and Jacqueline Bisset (The Deep) play Myles and Paula Clarkson, an affluent Los Angeles couple with one child, Abby, played by prolific 70s child star Pamelyn Ferdyn (The Beguiled). A failed concert pianist, Myles writes for a music journal while Paula runs a fashionable antique store. Their comfortable life changes when Myles is granted an interview by Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens, The Spy Who Loved Me), the world’s most famous concert pianist.

It turns out that Duncan is a dying Satanist, well-versed in the black arts, and his plans for Myles include more than just a press interview. After drawing the couple into their decadent world, Duncan and his beautiful daughter, Roxanne (Barbara Parkins, The Valley of the Dolls) perform a ritual that infuses Duncan’s soul into Myles’ unsuspecting body. Suddenly Myles can play like a demon (pun intended), and is granted the successful concert career that eluded him before.

Paula, meanwhile, becomes increasingly suspicious at the sudden change in her husband’s aptitude and personality, but later realizes that she actually prefers the new, devilishly charming model of Myles to the boring nice guy he was before. She then takes a dramatic, jolting step to keep him out of the clutches of the scheming, incestuous Roxanne. A weak performance by Alda as Myles mars an otherwise strong cast, and Bisset never looked better than here in her 70s haute couture. Stunning compositions, a strong ending twist and a kick-ass score by Jerry Goldsmith (who won an Oscar for scoring The Omen, 1976) make it well worth viewing. The DVD is available on both U.K. and U.S. Amazon sites; it’s also streaming on Amazon and other pay sites.

Race with the Devil (1975), a feature film originally released by 20th Century Fox, helmed by actor/ director Jack Starret (Cleopatra Jones), from a script by Lee Frost and Wes Bishop (Chain Gang Women). Starring Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Loretta Swit, Lara Parker and R. G. Armstrong. Now a cult classic, Race with the Devil was a B-movie of the type that, in its era, would have been released in North American drive-in theaters, or as the bottom half of a double-feature in a conventional theater. Unlike most such offerings, however, it’s far from a schlockfest.

Starring the iconic Easy Rider himself, Peter Fonda, and frequent co-star Warren Oates (Dirty Mary, Crazy Larry), Race With the Devil blends three different cinema genres – Satanic thriller, car chase movie, and road trip film – into one fairly gripping tale. Fonda, Oates, and their respective wives, Lara Parker (Dark Shadows TV series) and Loretta Swit (MASH TV series), set off for a vacation drive across the rural American Southwest in a well-equipped, top-of-the line motorhome.

Unfortunately, they choose the wrong, remote camp site one dark night, and inadvertently witness a human sacrifice by Satan-worshipping locals. The devil-worshippers see the two couples gawking at the bloody ritual, and from there, the chase is on. Faceless drivers repeatedly try to push the motorhome off the road, battering the vehicle during deftly directed car chase scenes.

When the two couples stop to get their vehicle fixed in a rural town, they attract hostile stares and cold shoulders from the locals – not to mention a couple of deadly rattlesnakes shoved into an overhead cabinet inside the motorhome when they weren’t looking. Can they trust the weather-beaten, aw-shucks local sheriff (played by veteran character actor R. G. Armstrong) to whom they eventually turn for help? Of course not! The film ends with a twist that not everyone can see coming. Standard and Blue-Ray DVDs are both available on both U.S. and U.K. Amazon, as well as on Amazon streaming video.

The Sentinel (1977), a theatrical film released by Universal; directed by Michael Winner (Death Wish) from his own script, based on a novel by Jerry Konvitz. Starring Christina Raines, Chris Sarandon, Ava Gardner and Burgess Meredith.

With the success of The Omen the year before this film was released, the Satanic thriller genre got another shot in the arm; however, this much-hyped follow-up barely made back its budget in first release. Today, it’s a cult classic and well-known for its large cast of stalwart character actors and soon-to-be-A-List stars. The film follows the story of Alison Parker, (real-life top 70s model Christina Raines) a reigning Manhattan supermodel with a suicidal past and a pushy fiance (Chris Sarandon, Fright Night - 1985) whom she’s in no hurry to marry.

Alison decides to move out of Sarandon’s Manhattan apartment and ends up renting a large flat in a desirable Brooklyn brownstone for a relative pittance, from a mysterious rental agent played by 50s bombshell Ava Gardner (The Barefoot Contessa). After moving in, Alison discovers that the building is mostly empty, and that the only occupants appear to be a blind, elderly priest named Father Halliran, (veteran horror actor John Carradine); a couple of creepy lesbians, played by Silvia Miles (Midnight Cowboy) and Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation); and an eccentric old man, Charles Chazen (Burgess Meredith, Burnt Offerings), who dotes excessively on a cat named Jezebel. (In a particularly memorable scene, Alison attends a bizarre birthday party for Jezebel).

Meanwhile, a couple of New York cops, played by Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) and Christoper Walken (The Dead Zone), are tailing Alison and her boyfriend, suspecting one or both of them of being involved in the unsolved death of Sarandon’s former wife. In the course of their investigation, the cops discover some disturbing facts about the Brooklyn building and its occupants. On top of all of this, we find out that the brownstone is owned by a secret Catholic society that has future, secret plans for Alison.

There are some memorable scenes in this film (especially the birthday party, and an indescribably weird vignette involving Beverly D’Angelo), but there’s too many tangents and characters, and, unlike Rosemary’s Baby or The Exorcist, the plot hangs perilously from the lowest rung of the believability ladder – which is probably why it wasn’t a hit. Worth watching for Meredith in one of his best, creepy-old-man roles, and for all those Hollywood names: in addition to those mentioned before, the cast includes Martin Balsam (Psycho), Jose Ferrer (Lawrence of Arabia), Jerry Orbach (Dirty Dancing), Tom Berenger (Platoon), Jeff Goldblum (Jurassic Park), William Hickey (Prizzi’s Honor), Arthur Kennedy (Lawrence of Arabia), and Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws).

The disc is available in standard DVD format from both the U.S. and U.K. Amazon sites, as well as on Amazon streaming video; a Blu-Ray version can be purchased from Shout Factory.

I wrote about several other notable "Satanic Panic" efforts in my "DVD Wish List" post from a couple of weeks ago. These are well worth checking out if you can find them:

Black Noon (1971)

Something Evil (1972)

Satan's Triangle (1975)