Review by Peter Syslo
BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW (1971) is another obscure film from Shocking Videos (www.revengeismydestiny.com). Like I said in my review of RAPE SQUAD, these DVDs are very straightforward, meaning that you get the film on DVD-R (with a very basic menu) and you get nicely-printed cover artwork. Once again, don't be dissuaded by the minimalist packaging; the DVDs work as smoothly as manufactured, etched DVDs and any fan looking to watch these films should rest assured that they are getting quality and that they will be pleased. Also, rest assured that none of these films are cut-off at the beginning or the end, as sometimes happens when films are transferred to DVD (like some of those movies in the T.V. advertised 50 HORROR CLASSICS collections – a few of those are pretty rough transfers). But, getting back to BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW, the film was in the spirit of the Satanic or the occult-inspired horror films of the 1970s. I loved the atmosphere and I did enjoy the Satanic/occult elements of it, but for some reason the story didn't draw me in as much as I would have liked.
BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW is directed by Piers Haggard and is written by Robert Wynne-Simmons and Haggard. The film stars Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice, and James Hayter.
The picture is about an English village in the year 1670. One day, while the fields are being plowed, a young man comes across a decaying face and bones, in the soil. The remains look like a cross between animal and human and the young man races to tell The Judge (Wymark). This Judge happens to be the leader of the village. When The Judge and the young man return to the field, they fail to find the remains in question. Later that night, a young woman is sleeping alone in a room, when all of a sudden she starts screaming. After becoming violent, the possessed young woman is led away by law enforcement and is held for everyone's safety. In fact, strange things begin happening throughout the village. A group of students find a claw from those earlier remains and it starts to affect their behavior. One girl, Angel (Hayden), starts to exhibit very dramatic changes in her behavior. Pretty soon, half of the people in the village start acting violently towards one another, and some are even growing patches of furry skin on their bodies, which the doctor recognizes as “devil's skin”. In the end, the evil grows and it becomes a battle of good against evil as The Judge tries to save the town from the clutches of Satan and his followers.
BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW was enjoyable, though it didn't hit me as much as some other occult-based films in this sub-genre. I loved the rural setting; the set design and the costumes were excellent and they made you feel like you were in an agrarian society in the year 1670. That was a great foundation for the film and it was a good backdrop for the Satan story. However, I felt that there was a little too much going on in the film and it broke the continuity of it all. What I mean is that it didn't seem like there was a logical or gradual progression of events. First, the young man uncovers the remains, then a young woman goes mad from Satan, then the students find the claw which turns them “bad”, then a man cuts off his own hand, then a young lady bares her body to a priest, then people are growing patches of Satan skin, etc. I figured that once they were unearthed, the remains affected the whole village in different ways, but I felt that if the film concentrated on maybe one or two of those ways, it would have been a little more coherent. It just felt diffused in places and if it focused on (for instance) the growing cult in the village, with each person growing new parts of Satan, it would have been more compelling. Also, I didn't quite understand the role of The Judge in all of it. All this chaos is breaking out in the village, yet he still goes through with his London trip and lets the villagers deal with it? I guess he may be like most politicians, making a grand show and actually doing none of the hard work. Perhaps he wanted to make that grand appearance at the end, to save everyone and become a hero. Anyway, The Judge was a strange character but he was also one of the most interesting ones in the film.
Speaking of the acting, everyone did a great job; they made very convincing villagers. As I previously suggested, Wymark (as The Judge), gave the best performance. Also, Hayden (as Angel) was very effective as the leader of the cult of Satan – she seemed partly possessed and her face actually began to look Satanic as the film progressed. All in all, everyone gave the village the textures which were necessary for the atmosphere. Aside from the acting, I also want to take a moment to mention the Satanic elements. There are a few bloody scenes, such as: a man cuts off his own hand; the doctor removes a patch of Devil's skin; and a few people are killed in a ritualistic manner. Also, you have doses of nudity in a few places, which always seem to go hand-in-hand with the Satanic theme – not to mention, you have a rape that is committed in honor of the dark lord. It is some pretty racy stuff for the time period, but it is very effective. It is not necessarily exploitative because it does support the point of the film, but it is just the right amount of shock to add some “color”, in order to keep things moving along. Another strong point of the film was that the look of Satan was awesome; sort of a goat-human with black fur, horns, and claws. The filmmakers used the “less-is-more” approach to filming Satan and that worked extremely well, in a surreal fashion (kind of like the glimpses you get of the demon in THE EXORCIST).
Gnawing through the flesh: BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW was an enjoyable film which had a cool premise, some racy scenes, and some excellent historically-based atmosphere. Though, the film didn't “gel” as much as it could have at certain points, because there were several diverse scenes which involved the Satanic influence. Some of those scenes didn't seem to relate to one another and that is why I felt the continuity and logical progression of the story lacked a bit. But, the cinematography was great, the acting was very good, the effects were strong, and the Satanic aspects (blood, kills, nudity, occult) were all like they should be in this type of film. If you like occult horror, such as some of the Hammer films, THE EXORCIST, any Jean Rollin picture, or THE WICKER MAN, then you would probably enjoy and appreciate this film. I give BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW a 6/10.