Very well executed

Admirable film.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, another Hammer adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel, is one of the most maligned films put out by the studio. It's well known as their final horror film, one which flopped and helped to sink them, but at the same time I find it unusually effective. Sure, the storyline is a little garbled here and there and there are issues with THAT ending, but for the most part this is a neat little '70s devil worship thriller.You have to feel sorry for Hammer. For decades they'd ruled the box office at home and abroad with their full-blooded Gothic horror movies, but by the '70s audiences were turning to the likes of THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN for their scares. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER imitates those films only semi-successfully, but it does have plenty of good stuff going for it.There's Christopher Lee, playing one of his sleaziest villains as a defrocked priest dedicated to bringing Satan back to this world, alongside Denholm Elliott who does the "going out of his mind" schtick like few others. Richard Widmark's tough protagonist adds a slice of Hollywood talent to the mix, and a youthful Natassja Kinski shows she's inherited her father's skill for the acting craft. There's also a wonderful supporting cast that incorporates the likes of Anthony Valentine, the ever-lovely Honor Blackman, Michael Goodliffe in his last film appearance, and even TV's Brian Wilde into the mix.Director Peter Sykes was a seasoned Hammer veteran by this stage and he invests his production with plenty of eerie and creepy moments which don't disappoint. Yes, those scenes with the "demon baby" might be bad taste, but then so is a lot of stuff both from this genre and this decade. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is an oddity indeed, a Hammer Horror film that actually feels like a tough, contemporary Hollywood thriller and is all the better for it.

To the Devil a Daughter was an effort by legendary Hammer Films to update their Gothic horror formula for the contemporary 1970s. As such, it is mostly successful but lacks the confident dramatic touch that earmarked most of Hammer's better movies. The story is based on a novel by Dennis Wheatley and is more than creepy enough, revolving around an excommunicated priest (Christopher Lee) and his cult, who want to bring the devil into the world via a young and naive nun (Natassia Kinski). Richard Widmark is our protagonist, an occult writer who takes Kinski's character under his wing in an effort to protect her from Lee's machinations.The cast is terrific. Lee, as usual, delivers a standout turn as the defrocked priest, while Widmark is a very human and fallible but likable hero who soon learns he and his friends are in over their heads but can't bring himself to stand by and do nothing. Kinski is charismatic as the young nun who has no idea what the cult has in store for her, and her natural beauty certainly enhances the picture.The actual story, however, is unfortunately very up and down. I haven't read the source novel yet so I can't compare, but it seems like the scriptwriters didn't know for sure what direction to take with the various plot threads. This is especially apparent in the film's conclusion, which is terribly anti-climactic and left this viewer scratching his head bemusedly. At least it avoids the cheap "jump" non-ending of many modern horror films. There is also a rather unfortunate devil-baby which is too obviously fake to produce anything but wry smiles. Sometimes it's best not to show everything.Pacing isn't great either, and some of the subplots are quite boring. I think this is due, at least in part, to the very naturalistic tone the director adopts from the outset. It was probably hoped this would lend the picture authenticity, but it also negates excitement and tension. Altogether the movie plays rather more like a weird documentary than a horror film.To the Devil a Daughter isn't the worst of films, but it's not nearly as good as it should have been, either. Its interesting plot isn't developed with the necessary suspense and while the cast is outstanding, the script and direction let them down. Worth watching once for Hammer fans, as long as expectations are tempered accordingly...Curse of Frankenstein this is not.

An American occult novelist (Richard Widmark) battles to save the soul of a young nun (Nastassja Kinski) from a group of Satanists, led by an excommunicated priest (Christopher Lee), who plan on using her as the representative of the Devil on Earth.As a White Zombie fan, I was thrilled to hear the Latin of the excommunication scene and finally know where one of their best songs took its clips from. That alone makes the movie satisfying (though it hardly carries the entire film).Despite being a Hammer film and featuring Christopher Lee, the film does not seem well-liked by many people. IMDb rates it below a 6 and Rotten Tomatoes has it holding a 17% approval rating. I feel obligated to defend it, if even just a little bit. I mean, wow, what a truly creepy and disturbing birthing ritual -- the blood, the bondage, Lee's diabolical grin... Oh, and that other ritual...I would say this film is a winner, despite the harsh criticism people seem to have for it. Some parts are a bit slow or bland, but the overall story is interesting and the imagery is fascinating. A lot of work was put into this one.

To the Devil a Daughter (1976) *** (out of 4)At a book signing, occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) is asked by a father (Denholm Elliott) to track down his daughter Catherine Nastassja Kinski). At first John thinks that the father is mixed up with the occult but it turns out that a Catholic priest (Christopher Lee) is wanting to use the girl in order to become Astaroth.TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER would turn out to be Hammer's final movie (for a time) and it was a notorious flop that pretty much ruined the studio. I first watched this movie around a decade ago and I really thought it was bad. I thought it was a poor imitation of ROSEMARY'S BABY and that it was trying to cash in on countless Satanic films that were popular throughout the decade. There were elements to it that I liked so that's the reason I decided to revisit the film and this second time around I must admit that it worked on me.With that being said, it's easy to see why so many people have such mixed reactions to the picture. Some call it a stellar horror film while others see it as a botched effort for the studio to try and do something serious. I think all of the elements are here for a classic film but it does fall a bit short of that. Having said that, there are still a lot of very good elements here including the fact that it's a very good looking film that manages to hold your attention throughout.The Satanic elements have been done countless times before and there's not too many new things here but I think the film succeeds because of the atmosphere and the slow-burn pacing. It's funny but the first time I watched the picture I attacked it for its pacing but this second viewing had it working a lot better and I'm guessing it was because I was expecting it. I thought the film was rather brave at being slow-paced because by 1976 people were expecting things a lot faster so to have a film that takes its time was unique.I also thought that the performances were wonderful with Widmark, Lee, Kinski and Elliott delivering extremely work. I thought Widmark did a really good job playing the type of tough guy that he was known for. Kinksi also deserves a lot of credit for her performance and Elliott steals the picture every time he's on the screen. Many people attack the ending, although experts in the field will tell you that the happenings would be destroyed so easily. That's fine but I think for the film it needed something a bit better.TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is a film that stirs a lot of debate and I can understand why as I've both hated it and grew to enjoy it.