Sunday, June 9, 2013

Enter The Devil 1972


"Then it's Too Late For Exorcism !"


   Creepy little Texas shot regional horror film from 1972, which is part of the "Texas devil worshipping" sub genre of the 70's including Race With The Devil (1975) & The Devil's Rain (1975) and was directed by veteran TV producer/director & Texas film legend Frank Q. Dobbs.


   Ominously starting out with a car traveling down a desolate stretch of desert highway whose tire is then blown out by a rifle shot and the stranded motorist is picked up by an unseen man in a pick-up truck (with a rifle visible in the window rack). Later we see the mororist being dragged screaming into a cave. Called into to investigate the missing person is Deputy Sheriff Jason Brooks (stuntman David S. Cass Sr.) who arrives at a Hunting Lodge owned by Glenn (Josh Bryant). Also arriving soon after at the lodge are a group of hunters (and devil worship fodder) who proceed to drink a lot of beer, make inappropriate remarks to the female staff and to add some exploitation material to the plot, there's even an attempted rape.
  One of the hunters falls prey to an attacker who turns out is a member of a bunch of hooded devil worshippers who hang out in a large cave with an altar and sacrifice people by various ways - slicing & stabbing, thrown in a rattlesnake pit and tied up with barbed wire and burned at the stake.



   Local devil cult expert & college professor Dr. Leslie Culver (Irene Kelly) soon shows up to investigate the weird goings on and to start a romance with lodge owner Glenn (who puts the moves on her in his cool sunken den complete with really ugly shag carpeting and stone fireplace).
    There is something about this film - It's slow as hell at some points and you can see the ending coming for miles (but it does throw in a little downbeat twist). Some of the characters who die are a bit of a surprise and there's something kinda weird and off-kilter about the whole thing that holds your interest. The photography is above average for a low budget film and director Dobbs knows how to compose shots that really capture the eeriness and desolation of the desert. The film doesn't stick to usual horror movie cliches and cuts away from a lot of the blood & gore, but leaves just enough graphic stuff in to make it startling. A pretty cool, creepy little film. Josh Bryant later had a recurring role in TV's M.A.S.H as Sgt Scully.








 
 

5 comments:

  1. Looks good to me! Is there any official release - or do you just have to "go looking for it?"

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  2. It's available from Sinister & Something Weird, however those are cut. It is "out there" uncut from an old Dutch VHS release. Thanks !

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  3. Texas Devil Worshipping!? That sounds awesome. I'd never heard of that subgenre until today. I'm quite the fan of southploitation films, being a hellbilly myself.

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  4. Hey Rob,

    If you've never seen it check out Race With The devil. Great movie.

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