User Reviews

Two of the most acclaimed occult horror films of the 1970s—William Friedkin's notorious shocker The Exorcist and Richard Donner's biblical prophecy classic The Omen—succeeded in terrifying audiences by treating their supernatural subject matter with absolute realism. For his 1975 Satanic horror The Devil's Rain, Robert Fuest (director of the absurdly enjoyable Dr. Phibes movies) employed Anton LaVey, founder of the Church of Satan, as technical adviser, presumably to lend his film a similar sense of credibility and level of authenticity.

Despite this, however, Fuest still managed to turn out one hell of a cheesy film, one rife with trite occult stereotypes and embarrassingly creaky old-school horror trappings. Hooded eyeless acolytes, a raging thunder storm, an ancient tome written in blood, a centuries old curse, a deserted church in a ghost town decorated with Satanic symbology: it's all there, along with tinted flashbacks to 'ye olde days' and a demon with curly horns and a goat-like face.

For audiences still reeling from Linda Blair's rotating head, this approach proved less than thrilling, but for today's cult movie fans, for whom a high level of kitsch can only be considered a bonus, Fuest's seriously daft slice of diabolical horror should still prove a reasonably entertaining oddity. The Devil's Rain is by no means a good film, but it conjures up a strange hallucinatory atmosphere (largely due to the sheer incoherence of the script), offers some impressively gloopy special effects during the film's melt-tastic finalé, and delivers plenty of unintentional hilarity at the expense of its usually reliable cast (any film that features John Travolta in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it role as a blind devil worshipper, sees Ernest Borgnine sporting hilarious demonic makeup, and has William Shatner reciting the Lord's prayer in his trademark staccato style has surely got to be worth a look for curiosity's sake).

Say whatever you want about "The Devil's Rain", but it undeniable has one of the coolest and absolute creepiest opening credit sequences in the history of horror cinema! Whilst the camera extendedly shows freaky images of Hieronymus Bosch's grim paintings, agonizing screams of people that are seemingly trapped somewhere can be heard. They're screaming: "Let me out of here" and those same voices play an important part later in the film as well. The eerie images, mixed with the even eerier screams, result in a truly scary intro and it sets a very promising & atmospheric tone. Too bad the film continues after the credits and the quality level immediately sinks and keeps on sinking until the end credits roll over the screen. "The Devil's Rain" probably has the most incoherent and muddled script any director ever had to work with. Poor Robert Fuest! None of the characters are properly introduced; we're literally dropped in the middle of satanic events and it's up to each viewer's personal intelligence to figure out the connection between the different players, their backgrounds and whether or not they're good or evil. For a good half hour, we're presented to a series of grotesque and cheesy events that don't make the slightest bit of sense, but hey, at least they're entertaining. Ernest Borgnine is the leader of a devil-worshiping coven and he's desperately trying to recover a book that is in the hands of the Preston family since more than 300 years. Mark Preston (William Shatner) refuses to hand over the mysterious book and thus evil Borgnine takes possession of his eyes and soul. Meanwhile, Mark's younger brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) comes to the rescue and he tries to defeat the forces of Satan by stealing the Devil's Rain; a glass urn containing the restless souls of all the people who joined the cult during the past 300 years. An overlong flashback – taking us back to a genuine 17th Century witch burning - finally explains the motivations and fury of each and every character, but the plot only gets dumber and less menacing as it approaches the finale. The story soon plunges into ludicrous occult ceremonies where Borgnine transforms into a hideous goat (!) and particularly the infamous climax needs to be seen in order to be believed, as it's one gigantic slimy and gooey melting-orgy. The make-up effects are pretty damn amusing and over-the-top disgusting, especially when the eyeless faces start turning into sticky puddles of green hodgepodge. "The Devil's Rain" has an impressive cast and one can't help but wonder how all these stars ended up in a trash-masterwork like this. Their performances, however, range from uninterested (Eddie Albert) to downright hammy (Tom Skerritt) and Ernest Borgnine overacts like as if he's possessed by the devil for real. Apparently, Anton LaVey, the founder and high-priest of the actual Church of Satan, made some extra money as the 'technical adviser' of the film. What did he do? Give instructions on how to sacrifice virgins to Satan without spilling too much blood on your garment? Advise Borgnine how to comb over his hair in order to look more like a goat? Either way you look at it, "The Devil's Rain" is an incredibly strange and curious little film. Even in its decade of release, when horror was an experimental genre and boundaries kept on getting crossed, "The Devil's Rain" is somewhat of an outsider. I strongly suggest every open-minded horror fanatic to check it out, if only to experience suspense, laughter, disbelief and utter camp all in one film!

This has got to be one of the strangest movies ever made, yet somehow I still find myself revisiting it at least once a year despite the fact that it's seriously flawed. I will attempt to explain why that is. Let's begin with trying to decipher some sort of "plot" out of this mess: From what I can surmise here after multiple viewings, Mark Preston (William Shatner) has possession of an important book which has been hidden by the Preston family for some 300 years. It contains signatures written in blood of the scores of people who have sold their souls to the devil over the years. There is also an immortal disciple of Satan named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) who has spanned these centuries terrorizing the Prestons in a failed attempt to obtain the book, which is required to deliver these souls to Lucifer. In the meantime, the tortured victims wait and moan in eternal limbo trapped inside a large vessel called "The Devil's Rain" until Corbis can locate the book he seeks. Corbis has succeeded in seizing Mark and his mother (Ida Lupino) and turning them into brainwashed cult members, and it's up to Tom Preston (Tom Skerrit) and Dr. Samuel Richards (GREEN ACRES' own Eddie Albert, looking totally lost) to join forces in foiling Corbis' plan.

At least that's what I think is going on. Director Robert Fuest (1970's WUTHERING HEIGHTS, the two DR. PHIBES films) does a horrible job in trying to tell a linear story, and there are more holes in the plot here than you would find on 42nd Street back in the 1970's. Just about everything going on in this movie may be pointed out as not being adequately explained. And yet -- and yet -- the film is still not without some things to enjoy for fans of cheesy horror... It's a treat getting to watch Ernest Borgnine (Marty himself) really getting into his diabolical role, and it's an added kick seeing him in monster makeup whenever he summons up a goat-demon from the pits of hell, emerging with huge ram horns! Eddie Albert seems to be as confused as we are, and this is most obvious in an outside sequence late in the film where he and Skerrit are arguing over the meaning of The Devil's Rain; it's hilarious watching them stepping over each other's words, and you get the impression they just winged all their dialogue for that scene. William Shatner gets his moments to shine where he goes over the top as we've come to love from him ("Corbissss!!!! Goddamn you!!!"). You also gotta love seeing Ida Lupino sink further in her later years to the point of walking around as a mindless zombie with her eyeballs blackened out, which is the preferred manner of initiation for the souls of Satan. And then there is John Travolta -- this was his first movie, but it's nearly impossible to spot him as one of the black-eyed cultists in his few very brief appearances. Real-life member of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, was an "adviser" on the film, and appears wearing a mask as one of the devil's servants.

The climax of the movie is worth waiting for, and it was touted highly as the main selling point back in its day... we get to see the results of The Devil's Rain on the minions of cult worshipers when the skies open up and pour down upon them. There are some good effects there, even if it's obvious how the sequence was being milked for all it's worth. THE DEVIL'S RAIN is not a good movie, but all the same it's one of those weird horror pictures that may appeal to fans of "so bad they're good" flicks. **1/2 out of ****

In mainstream American 1970s horror land 'The Devil's Rain' lies half way between the silly but still pretty good chills of 'The Car' or 'The Sentinel' and the so bad it's hilarious fun of 'The Eyes Of Lara Mars'. The main attraction here is the cast of familiar TV faces, which includes William Shatner and Tom Skerritt as brothers (which along with the presence of Joan Prather, makes this a 'Big Bad Mama' reunion!), Ernest Borgnine as a leering Satanic cult leader, 'Green Acres' Eddie Albert, veteran Ida Lupino, and a blink and you'll miss it cameo from a pre-superstar John Travolta. The plot concerns a much sought after book and devil worship, but really who cares? Sit back and enjoy the (unintentional) laughs, some classic emoting from Shatner, and the overly long face-melting scenes, which according to the video box is "absolutely the most incredible ending of any motion picture"! And dig that Borgnine goat face!

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.

What a waste of talented Actors. I fell asleep twice and the whole time I was asleep I didn't miss much apparently. I couldn't wait for this movie to end. Don't waste your time.

The plot of The Devil's Rain is very simple. It concerns the Preston family and a book their ancestors stole decades ago from a devil worshiper named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine). Corbis has spent centuries trying to locate the book and will stop at nothing to obtain it and use its power.

What Works:

• What a Cast! The Devil's Rain is the Airport (or at least The Love Boat) of horror movies. Just take a look at the cast - Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, Eddie Albert, Ida Lupino, William Shatner, Keenan Wynn, and, although very brief, John Travolta. I'm amazed that the producers could get all of these people to appear in what is essentially a low budget horror film.

• Borgnine the Goat. This is where a lot of people seem to have problems with The Devil's Rain. They seem to find the sight of Borgnine with goat horns too funny to take seriously. I look at it just the opposite. I've always found it a disturbing, well-done visage. The whole idea that someone could literally transform into a demon is frightening to me. And the make-up is very nicely done. I've seen a lot of big budget films that didn't have special effects half as convincing as what's found here.

• Melting Bodies. Another special effects moment that is a winner as far as I'm concerned. Sure, the bodies look like they are spewing forth melted orange and lime sherbet, but I still find it effective. I've seen any number of melting body scenes over the years, but the ones in The Devil's Rain are among my favorite.

What Doesn't Work:

• Did I Miss Something? The movie gives no introduction as to what is taking place at the beginning of the movie. The viewer is literally dropped into a scene with people and actions that are a mystery. It's almost like the first half of the movie is missing.

• Silly Story. If you try to think too hard about what's going on with the plot, it can make your head hurt. My suggestion is to just enjoy the cheese and forget about trying to make sense of it all. Don't over-analyze it, just go with the flow.

In the end, I realize that The Devil's Rain really isn't that good of a movie, but it's just so much cheesy fun that I can't help but rate it as high as I do. It's a movie that could have only been made in the 70s. It seems to me that anyone with a half-baked idea and enough money could see their vision on the big screen. Many of today's horror movies are so glossy and over-produced that all the fun has been sucked out of them. And, for me, much of the appeal of horror movies is having fun.

After the success of Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist Hollywood put out a whole slew of films dealing with the black arts and Satan worship. This one even had a consultant from the Church of Satan. Several players who ought to know better did this one for a paycheck.

Ernest Borgnine hams it up big and broad as the leader of Satan church, a church that he converted from a Congregationalist puritan church to one swearing allegiance to old Scratch. Somebody in the congregation stole the book with the members sworn in blood to the devil and that's held things up with Satan claims in limbo. Been that way for 300 years or so and the church is now out in Kanasas somewhere

William Shatner, Ida Lupino, Keenan Wynn and Eddie Albert are all in this together and it's a camp hoot. That last and very soggy climax is one for the books.

Are there folks out there besides Satanists who like these films?

This is what I call a fun film. It's so bad, its good.

It's not supposed to be funny, but you cannot help but laugh. William Shatner kicks royal butt in this for his performance is the funniest...well, I'll be honest, he's running neck and neck with Ernest Borgnine. Early, early performance of John Travolta is to die for. This is a film that you rent, get a big bowl of buttered popcorn with lots of water/soda and just enjoy it for schlock's sake. You know this film was about nothing but a paycheck for everyone in it.

But I must give credit where credit is due. I love watching the 'melting' scene. Loads of fun. This is good entertainment from the "who green lighted this mess?" area of your brain. This was no "The Exorcist" but remember around this time, everyone wanted to do a "devil" film. This one is just funny and in a not supposed to be funny way!

"The Devil's Rain" is a trash film with a poor screenplay. The story begins without any introduction or development of the characters, giving the sensation that the beginning is missing. The plot and special effects are also not good, despite the good cast, and the conclusion is absolutely disappointing. Maybe in the 70´s this film worked as cult but in the present days is absolutely trash and disappointing. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "A Chuva do Diabo" ("The Devil's Rain")

"The Devil's Rain" was released in 1975 to overwhelmingly negative reviews - but then, aren't reviewers usually hostile to low-budget horror flicks? There's no denying that the plot is incoherent, but in this case I think that the "incoherence" actually works, better allowing the viewer to enjoy the unsettling atmosphere and spectacularly disgusting imagery which are the highlights of this film (the nod to H. Bosch at the opening is apropos). An added bonus, as many have already pointed out, is the all-star cast: Shatner, Borgnine and Ida Lupino (one of my favorites) all ham it up with entertaining results. I was pleased to see from the reviews on this site that there are actually many fans of this unique and strangely poetic film, and that the elitist reviewers have not had the final say.

Two good brothers,(first William Shatner and after Tom Skerritt) and the evil warlock Corvus(Ernest Borgnine) battle each other in order to take a diabolic book in possession by damned family Preston. Tom Preston(Tom Skerritt) helped by a doctor(Eddie Albert) front for satanic cult leader Corvus who need blood sacrifices and he's willing to fight for his life against the masked, robed and blinded cult members. Corvus in a desperate bid to take over the ancient book, orders his minions to kidnap the Tom Preston's wife(Prather). Only one man can prevent the hellmaster from succeeding, though may be too late.

The picture displays lots of creepy moments. Bizarre, tense, controversial and with eerie scenes about practices of devil worship and satanism ritual .Production values and set design are highlighted by the usual cool scenarios, as exterior in a wood village, as colorful interior. Make-up and visual effects provide some much needed jolts. Some of the effects are little dated now, but director Robert Fuest builds intrigue and tension through a stately pace. Top-notch casting, in this otherwise average production. Ernerst Borgnine as Corvus relishes his showy role. Borgnine's acting, assisted by a witchcraft expert, is one of his strongest in an unconventionally nasty role. Furthermore, extraordinary secondary casting, Keenan Wynn as the sheriff, Ida Lupino as Mrs Preston and John Travolta film debut. Film editing by Michael Khan, Spielberg's usual editor. Rare musical score and dark and luxurious cinematography by Alex Philips Jr.

The picture is professionally directed and gruesomely related by Robert Fuest. He's a nice horror movies filmmaker, such as proved in 'Abominable Dr Phibes(71) and Dr Phibes rises again'(72); 'Soon the darkness and Final programme' among them. Rating : Passable and acceptable. The tale will like to horror pictures enthusiastic and William Shatner fans.

Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), a servant of Satan, is seeking a book stolen from him by the Prescott family. It has a list of all the people who sold their souls to the Devil. Why he needs this book is never made clear. He finally tracks them down and sets out to destroy them to get the book.

What a shambles! The plot makes little sense and the "twist" ending comes out of nowhere. We have a great cast here (William Shatner, Eddie Albert, Tom Skerritt, Ida Lupino and Keenan Wynn) giving their all time worst performances. Supposedly the book makes more sense but I don't think I should have to read a book to understand a movie. It starts off OK (on a dark and stormy night no less) but gets confusing and, by the end, I was totally lost. Lousy special effects too. This only gets two stars for a good performance by Borgnine and a cool finale where most of the cast melts away. This is also John Travolta's first film--whether that's a plus or minus is up to the viewer. All in all though this is a confusing mess of a movie.

This is a prime example of the type of film that haunted and disturbed me greatly when I saw it as a child. I had nightmares about a demonic Ernest Borgnine for months. Viewing it now I find it still holds up relatively well as a fairly well done 'satanic 70's horror' escapade. A disturbing nightmare of imagery and sound to invade your dreams...forever. And very impressive make-up Fx for the time. Who else grew up in the 70's haunted by the strange and dreamy horror films of the time? How does that "shape" childhood? I suppose one is influenced by whatever time they grew up in, but there was no other time like the 70's.

A hidden gem of a movie from the 1970's (d. Robert Fuest) with a plot twist at the end. This isn't as much a horror film as it is an Occult/Fantasy film - there are elements of horror but the film was done at a time when Satan worshipping was in the news and people were afraid of what they didn't understand.

As the title sequence suggests this film has William (Cpt James T. Kirk) Shatner and Ernest (Dutch Engstrom from "The Wild Bunch" or Dominic Santini from "AirWolf") Borgnine facing off against each other, Shatner is the God loving Mark Preston while Borgnine is the reincarnated leader of a Satanic cult, Jonathan Corbis. John (Danny "Grease lightening" Zucco) Travolta makes a brief appearance as 'Danny', a brain washed occultist (this is Travolta's feature film debut). The opening credits confirm that Anton LeVay (the Church of Satan himself, who also has a cameo later as a Minister at the Church) was drafted in to act as Technical Adviser. It was this fact that sparked interest in the movie for me; I know of LeVay's work so I figured this movie would either be crammed full of relevant references or a vehicle to his churches glamorisation.

The Movie: Straight from the off you are thrown into the action without explanation or a lead up to events - while this was confusing it grew on me as it saved a lot of unnecessary spiel. We learn straight away that Shatner's parents in the film are being held hostage in exchange for a book which Shatner is hiding. A fake version of Shatner's father attempts to convince him to bring the book to Corbis (Borgnine) but the wax-fake creation soon melts in the rain (There's a lot more 'melting people' action later on in the film). Shatner goes to confront Borgnine's church which is situated in a run-down rural town. Shatner states that his God will protect him from any temptations that Borgnine's could offer and sets a challenge that if he visits the church and is unaffected he can take his kidnapped parents, if not he has to hand over the book and his soul.

The Book: Written in human blood it dates back to simpler times when Corbis was trying to separate settlers and convince them to join his Satanic cult. Anyone joined Corbis signed their name in the book in blood and are thus linked to the cult/book forever. Corbis is found out as a Satanist/Witch and burned at the stake, before being enveloped by flames he curses Shatner's family line as it was his wife that sold out the cult. The book is the final piece of a jigsaw that Corbis needs to gain his full powers and to unleash the "devil's rain".

Back to the Movie: Shatner fails at his challenge (even with his amulet of protection) and is turned into a Satanist. This means it's left to his brother (Tom Preston AKA Tom "Top Gun" Skerrit) and sister-in-law (Julie Preston AKA Julie Prather) to rescue him, low and behold they have brought a doctors with them too (Dr Sam Richards AKA Eddie "Pod Clock from the Borrowers" Albert). By coincidence Julie has had dreams about the impending events so she tries (but fails) to be a navigator through the chaos. Brother Tom is pretty poor at his rescue attempts too and ultimately fails and is almost turned into a Satanist too. Dr Richards is the saviour, while it seems that he has dropped a clanger in bringing the book with him and leaving it on the floor of the alter while stealing an urn of souls. In actuality it's the urn that has the power rather than the book by itself; by getting Preston to smash it he is able to save the day.

__________

The movie is dated - when you see how young the starring cast is you'll realise. There is a lack of gore but I can only surmise that this was on purpose to get an already risky satanic film past censors. The Satanists are easy to spot; they have blackened eyes and wear black robes. When they are killed instead of bleeding good old claret they ooze a mix of yellow, green and blue blood. This was confusing at first, the Satanists already lumber around like alien zombies so when I first saw the multi- coloured life liquid spill out of them I wasn't sure if it was a statement about Satanists or if it was for the censors. As well as the multi coloured blood, the Satanists melt when they die. It isn't mentioned whether the people were melting because the Satanical spell had been broken or because God (other Deity's are available) was washing away evil from the lands much like a Noah (and the Arc) scenario. The melting and the colourful blood are good FX for the era (1970's) but look a little old now.

Borgnine's character is inherently a bad guy (or baaaaad guy) and he is the main vehicle for the film, his delivery is top class (even as a half-man/ half-goat Baphomet!) and is as convincing as a lot of the other top films he's been in. Shatner is no lame duck, but then again he's no acting phenomena, Shatner plays the role like only Shatner can - Shatneresque. The rest of the cast are good, a little over hammy in parts but not enough to detract from the performance. As well as Borgnine, Shatner, Travolta, Skerrit, Albert, Prather and LeVay you will also find Ida Lupino playing Mrs Preston, Keenan Owens playing Sheriff Owens and Diane Le Vay (Mrs Church of Satan) playing Priscilla Corbis. With LeVay pulling the strings as a Technical specialist ask yourself, do you really think good will triumph here?

Thanks for reading :)

The Devil's Rain! is a movie that could only have been made in 1975, uniting old Hollywood royalty, television stars, the visionary director of The Abominable Dr. Phibes and the Church of Satan in the Mexican desert.

It is not a perfect movie. You can't even say that it has plot holes, as that would require something of a coherent plot — a fact director Robert Fuest was all too aware of. On the sparkling commentary track which accompanies the new blu-ray release from Severin (picked up from the Dark Sky DVD release), he speaks about discussions with the writers (Gabe Essoe, James Ashton and Gerald Hopman, whose only credit is co-producing Evilspeak, so one assumes that he is Satan) where they assured him that the script made perfect sense. While Fuest claims that he did what he could to clear up his issues with the film, what emerged was a movie that effectively decimated his promising directorial career.

But you know what? I embrace plot holes the way some critics hold dearly onto their Criterion collection films and back issues of Premiere. There's no way I can be objective about The Devil's Rain! The only box it doesn't check for me is a disclaimer stating that it's based on a true story.

The film begins with close-ups of Bosch's painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, along with the wails of the damned as they gnash their teeth in Hell. Then, we're dropped into the lives of the Preston family, who have suffered under a curse for hundreds of years.

Turns out that at some point in the 18th century, the family screwed over Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine, Escape from New York), a Satanist who was eventually burned at the stake. He had a book containing the souls of all he had damned, which was stolen by Martin Fyfe (William Shatner, who I don't need to tell you anything else about). Before he dies, Corbis vows revenge on the Fyfe family, which changes its name to Preston. He's been stealing them one by one, selling their souls to Satan and trapping them in the devil's rain. They then become living wax figures with melting eyes and black robes.

That's how we meet Steve Preston, the leader of the family, who has escaped Corbis to warn his wife (Ida Lupino, an actress (and director) known for noir classics like The Bigamist and On Dangerous Ground. She often referred to herself as the poor man's Bette Davis, as she was often offered the parts that Davis had turned down. She refused those parts so many times that Warner Brothers suspended her, so she used that time to learn the craft of directing on set. As roles for her slowed, she became the second female director admitted to the Director's Guild, following Dorothy Arzner, the sole woman director of Hollywood's "Golden Age.") and son, Mark (also Shatner). As the old man tells them to give the book of souls back, he melts in the rain.

So what does Mark do? Well, he takes the book directly to Corbis, challenging him to a battle of faith in the desert. That battle quickly turns into Mark trying to escape, but Corbis' disciples are too much for him. He shows a cross to the priest, who transforms it into a snake before using a ritual to erase Mark's memory in preparation for a major ceremony.

Oh the 1970's — when your main character gets wiped out minutes into a movie because he has to leave town for a three day Star Trek convention in New York. That really happened and I have no idea if that was the reason why Shatner goes from hero to geek in such record time.

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Volumes could be written about what this film lacks; plot, compelling diologue, catharsis, acting... But a quick synopsis of what the film does have should dissuade anyone wishing to view a real horror film from watching this wet sock of a movie.

Let's start with Ernest Borgnine. Yes, that lovable, teddy-bear of a man who has charmed us in TV's McChale's Navy, and Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch. When we first meet Borgnine's character, he's standing alone on the streets of a ghost town looking every bit the part of a western rancher. But before the film's over we see him dressed in the dark robes of a satanic priest, and in an unflattering spandex costume that makes him come off as an obese hermaphroditic version of Wonder Woman. Several times in the film, roused into a charismatic fever by his Satan-sermons, Ernie ads the final touch: he turns into a goat.

Then there's William Shatner. Dressed like an itinerant farm laborer in the most Hee-Hawish straw hat you ever saw, he shows up with a .45 in one hand and a sacred amulet in another, projecting a "get behind me, Satan" attitude. He lasts about five minutes. But in that time he manages to shoot a few of Ernest's goons (which apparently causes them to leak rainbow sherbet), get tied to a cross, branded like a cow, share a passionate kiss -tongue included- with his own mother, and get stuffed into a what looks like an old watermelon full of lost souls.

Then Tom Skerrit comes in with his girlfriend and Eddy 'GGGgrrrreeeeennnn Acres Is The Place To Be!' Albert. Together, they cause some more sherbet leaks, then break the watermelon. This does two things. It causes Borgnine to to yell, "SEIZE THEM!", which a high priest of Satan has to say at least once in such a movie. It also causes a cold front to inexplicably appear in that little Arizona ghost-town. It rains, and all the Satan-goons melt. Whether they melted because they are Goons-of-Hell deprived of their holy watermelon, or just because they live in Arizona and are unused to precipitation is not explained.

The movie ends with Tom Skerrit lovingly embracing, and crying on the shoulder of, Earnest Borgnine. If only Borgnine had been a goat in that scene, the movie would be priceless.

The Devil's Rain is one of many satanic themed horror films that were popular and churned out in great regularity in the late 60's/early 70's. It is far from the best movie and not one of the top entries in the genre, but is good for what it is and is a cool little flick in my book. This cult classic has the benefits of a real good cast that has William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine, Eddie Albert as well as early appearances by future stars Tom Skerrit and John Travolta. Ernest Borgnine is in top form here as a satanic priest who is after a book that has the signatures of people who sold their souls to Satan. Shatner is Shatner and Shatner is awesome. Shatner camps it up big time and The Devil's Rain never fails to entertain. Anton Lavey founder of The Church Of Satan is on set here as technical adviser and even makes a cameo in the film. However, this does not put The Devil's Rain in the same league as genre classics such as Rosemary's Baby. But The Devil's Rain is B movie gold and good, campy old school drive in horror that unfortunately is not made anymore. Fans of the genre will love The Devil's Rain, I can dig it and had a great time watching this.

Movies are made to take your imagination on a journey and play with your emotions . Hollywood is a magnetic for these talents . Hollywood Studios has recently been acquired by Scientology . The "John Travolta receiving his "magical" book of Dianetics during the making" story is part of a well thought out scheme . From this film onwards there is a very real concern that you are opening your mind to a constant barrage of pro Scientology propaganda mixed into the films . Hollywood is Dead to me now , this film was the fatal blow . Don't line the pockets of Scientology with your money , Boycott Hollywood until it goes bust , and sold cheap to someone a bit less sinister weird and creepy .

Context is everything for this type of film. This is a 1970's era Devil Worship film, which is a genre quite apart from other horror movies. The American public was in something of a 'Satanic-Panic' in the '70's, what with people listening to Black Sabbath and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In retrospect it was all relatively harmless and rather silly, as is this film.

That said, the actors do the very best job possible, with Bill Shatner being very, um, Shatnerian, and Borgnine being, well, Borgnine (compare his performance in Disney's "Black Hole" for contrast- hilarious). If you like anything either of these actors starred in you will probably like this as well (unless you're offended by the religious content). I actually though Borgnine looked *better* as a goat, at least until he melted!

The exposition/flashback portions of the plot reminded me of the "Reverend Kane" plot in "Poltergeist III: The Final Chapter". The presence of the actual priest and priestess of the official Satanic Church is rather telling. They obviously didn't take it all that seriously, so why should the viewer, or anyone else? I found the special effects towards the end to be quite spectacular, again for the era and genre. I was left with little sense of closure in this film however, as the fate of the main characters was left quite unclear. I suppose we're expected to go with "The good Lord will work it out" as an explanation, but something about the ending gives me the feeling that the good guys did *not* win out, which may again have something to do with Anton Lavey being around. At least it's not "Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby", or worst still, "The Touch of Satan"! As horror films go, I give it a 3 out of 10. But as 1970's Satan movies go, I give it an 8 out of 10. It really is a matter of context.