Wow, this is a REALLY bad movie!

best movie i've ever seen.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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.

The Preston family find themselves being tormented by a centuries old curse brought upon them by a lethal Satanic sect led by the evil and powerful Corbis (robustly played with deliciously wicked lip-smacking relish by Ernest Borgnine). It's up to occult expert Dr. Sam Richards (an amiably befuddled Eddie Albert) and the courageous Tom Preston (a sturdy portrayal by the always reliable Tom Skerritt) to stop Corbis and his minions from getting their vile hands on a precious secret book.Director Robert Fuest, working from an incoherent and nonsensical script by James Ashton, Gabe Essoe, and Gerald Hopman, does an ace job of crafting a supremely spooky'n'surreal anything-can-happen nightmarish atmosphere, makes fine use of the desolate Mexican desert landscape (Alex Phillips Jr.'s expressive widescreen cinematography helps a lot here), and treats the hopelessly muddled material with commendable (albeit totally misguided) seriousness. The once in a lifetime cast of big name stars gives this honey an extra wacky lift: Besides Albert, Skerritt, and Borgnine, we've also got William Shatner in full-blown hambone histrionic mode, Ida Lupino, a delightfully grouchy Keenan Wynn, comely "Eight is Enough" TV series regular Joan Prather, and even John Travolta in his ignominious film debut. The luscious Lisa Todd has a memorably sexy bit as seductive succubus Lilith while legendary real-life Satanist Anton LeVay briefly appears as a high priest (and also served as a technical adviser!). Al De Lory's shuddery score hits the spirited spine-tingling spot. The extraordinary sight of Borgnine sporting grotesque goat's head make-up complete with ram's horns (!) and the ridiculously protracted grand scale goopy climax greatly enhance this beautifully berserk baby's considerable kitschy charm.

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.

A curse hovers over the Preston family for generations. They betrayed their former cult leader Satanic priest John Corbis (Oscar-Winner:Ernest Borgnine). Corbis wants the Satanic book that holds great power. Mrs. Preston (The late Ida Lupino) is kidnapped by Corbis' followers. Now, it is up to Mark Preston (William Snatner) is to find his kidnapped mother and the followers lives in a Ghost Town in the desert. But these cult followers tricked Mark and they turned his mother into one of Corbis' followers. While Mark keeps the book hidden from Corbis. Now Mark's brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) and his wife (Joan Prather) are searching for his brother and his mother along with Dr. Sam Richards (The late Eddie Albert), a psychic researcher. While these satanists truly want the book. Tom has to find a way to his family before it is too late.Directed by Robert Fuest (And Soon the Darkness) made an offbeat approach to a story about Satanists. At times, "The Devil's Rain" is effective at times but also, it has some moments of unintentional laughter. Especially when Satan appears in his goat-like appearance. Some strong performances from Borgnine, Snatner and Skerritt makes this movie watchable. The movie does have good make-up effects and it is well shot in Widescreen by Alex Phillips Jr. (Born in East L.A., Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia). But the problem with "The Devil's Rain", the premise is not coherent enough and this picture could have been really scary.But still, it is fairly entertaining with an early-role for John Travolta in a bit part. As one Australian film critic called "The Devil's Rain", "The ultimate cult movie", "It's about a cult, has a cult following, was devised with input from a cult leader, and saw a future superstar indoctrinated into a cult he'd help popularize". That what's pretty sums it's all for "The Devil's Rain". Todd-AO 35. (*** ½/*****).