One of Hammer's last films, I am sad to say that they went out with a whimper. To the Devil...a Daughter is a mess and was just trying to be another Exorcist/The Omen clone. Too bad too because it started off promising.
The first half of the film isn't bad and held my interest. A satanic priest (Christopher Lee) is going to use a nun (Nastassja Kinski) in some sick satanic pact with the devil but her father blackmails the priest and is trying to save his daughter. He enlists an American author (Richard Widmark, who looks embarrased being in this) who has written books on satanism to help him protect his daughter.
What I enjoyed about the first half was that the film plays out like a mystery. Sure, it borrows a little from Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist but the film doesn't tell you exactly what is going on and you start to piece together what is happening. Ah! A thinking person's horror film! This I like and the slow pacing doesn't bother me and it's always great to see actors I like in an interesting but yet vauge story.
Then suddenly, the film falls apart completely. With bizarre flashbacks and scenes of orgies and some bloody baby monster which may be the worst puppet I have ever seen in a film, the To the Devil... a Daughter turns laughably bad and just down right cheap. The suspense and mystery gets completely wiped out and confusion and boredom take over. When we finally get the climax, it literally makes no sense at all and ends abruptly. Apparently, the original ending was scrapped and the writers were asked to end the film this way. Christopher Lee was furious, the author to the novel this was based on was also furious and Richard Widmark walked off set numerous times because of issues with the production. I don't think the original ending could have saved the film since it started to go downhill at the 1 hour mark. Shame too since the first half was promising.
And for those that did see this, that was not Christopher Lee nude. To you the viewer...a stunt double.
Man of a Thousand Faces
The great Lon Chaney from London After Midnight
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