Robert Fuerst's "The Devil's Rain" of 1975 is a rather cheesy, but at times also quite creepy little horror flick whose terrible reputation is certainly not completely justified. Sure, the movie has a lot of extremely cheesy moments, and it is certainly disappointing for a director like Fuerst, who had previously directed the cult masterpiece "The Abominable Dr. Phibes" of 1971 starring the great Vincent Price. The movie's wide reputation as an awful film is unfair, however, since "The Devil's Rain" delivers in many aspects. The great Ernest Borgnine alone is a reason to like this film, and the many creepy moments make it entertaining enough and certainly worth watching.
Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), a man of terrible demonic powers, is the leader of a Satanic Cult set in the desert of the American West. The Satanists, whose leader Corbis has the power of possessing people with his evil spirit, have for some reason targeted the Preston brothers, Mark (William Shatner) and Tom (Tom Skerritt), and their family...
The plot is admittedly thin and some parts of the movie become quite boring, although it is only 86 minutes long. It is also incredibly cheesy in many parts. In a flashback to the 17th century, for example, settlers address each other with "thou" and "thee", but talk in American English at the same time, when their language should clearly be British and more old-fashioned. As mentioned above, however, the movie also has some very creepy little moments. The movie already begins with a very eerie sequence, when the opening credits come along with hellish details from the sinister work of Hieronymus Bosch. This, and a bunch of further creepy sequences, as well as some undeniable originality make "The Devil's Rain" worth watching.
This movie has often been mocked for the acting. William Shatner is a great actor, but he obviously didn't take his role here too seriously. Not that his performance was bad, but he seems to take the movie as a joke, which, of course, doesn't make him very convincing. On the other hand, Ernest Borgnine fits greatly in his role of the Satanic Johanathan Corbis, and although this is certainly not one of Borgnine's highlights, his performance makes the movie twice as interesting. Eddie Albert is also very good in his role, and John Travolta plays a bit part, one of his first roles.
All things considered, "Te Devil's Rain" may bee a cheesy, cheaply made movie, but it is certainly not as terrible as some folks say, as it delivers a certain amount of creepiness and some memorable moments. Lovers of low-budget horror should have a good time watching it. I had.
Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), a man of terrible demonic powers, is the leader of a Satanic Cult set in the desert of the American West. The Satanists, whose leader Corbis has the power of possessing people with his evil spirit, have for some reason targeted the Preston brothers, Mark (William Shatner) and Tom (Tom Skerritt), and their family...
The plot is admittedly thin and some parts of the movie become quite boring, although it is only 86 minutes long. It is also incredibly cheesy in many parts. In a flashback to the 17th century, for example, settlers address each other with "thou" and "thee", but talk in American English at the same time, when their language should clearly be British and more old-fashioned. As mentioned above, however, the movie also has some very creepy little moments. The movie already begins with a very eerie sequence, when the opening credits come along with hellish details from the sinister work of Hieronymus Bosch. This, and a bunch of further creepy sequences, as well as some undeniable originality make "The Devil's Rain" worth watching.
This movie has often been mocked for the acting. William Shatner is a great actor, but he obviously didn't take his role here too seriously. Not that his performance was bad, but he seems to take the movie as a joke, which, of course, doesn't make him very convincing. On the other hand, Ernest Borgnine fits greatly in his role of the Satanic Johanathan Corbis, and although this is certainly not one of Borgnine's highlights, his performance makes the movie twice as interesting. Eddie Albert is also very good in his role, and John Travolta plays a bit part, one of his first roles.
All things considered, "Te Devil's Rain" may bee a cheesy, cheaply made movie, but it is certainly not as terrible as some folks say, as it delivers a certain amount of creepiness and some memorable moments. Lovers of low-budget horror should have a good time watching it. I had.