Great Film overall

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Devils of Darkness is directed by Lance Comfort and written by Lyn Fairhurst. It stars William Sylvester, Hubert Noel, Carole Gray, Tracy Reed, Dianna Decker and Rona Anderson. Music is by Bernie Fenton and cinematography by Reg Wyer.It's modern day and a secret vampire cult thrives beneath the town cemetery. Led by Count Sinistre (Noel), they search for human victims to sacrifice at their rituals."These people. This village. There's something they're afraid of."Probably afraid of being known for being in this film me thinks! OK, that's a little unfair, for Devils of Darkness is not without some merit. The production design is very nice, filmed in Eastman Colour there's a garish hue to the reds and greens that befits the narrative, even if it doesn't quite marry up to the modern day setting! The problem in the main is that nothing really happens of interest, the film is rather bloodless and devoid of mystery and peril. A plot thread involving an amulet goes nowhere, though we are led to believe it is crucial to the sinister Count Sinistre's (get it?) very being, while salaciousness is only hinted at and never expanded upon for filmic wallop.Elsewhere the problems continue with the acting. Noel is no bad actor, but his villainous Count is, well, rather wimpy, he may well charm with a touch of class about him, but he doesn't look like he could fight his way out of a paper bag. Sylvester's Paul Baxter, our hero, kind of bluffs his way through the plot, in fact he doesn't go mano mano with the Count, leaving the film desperately reaching out for some good versus evil thrust. The ladies of the piece fare better, with Decker, Reed and Gray adding some characterisations and sexiness that deserve a better movie. It's dialogue heavy, we get a rubber bat thrown in for good measure, and even though there's some nice visual touches, it is, all told, a failed attempt by Planet Films to take a bite on the horror coat tails of Hammer and Anglo-Amalgamated. 4/10

"Devils of Darkness" is a semi-decent Gothic entry that has a couple flaws to it.**SPOILERS**Going out rock-climbing, Paul Baxter, (William Sylvester) and Madeline, (Diana Decker) find that the trip is about to be canceled by a neighboring gypsy ceremony. When an accidental death nearly puts an end to the ceremony, she becomes fearful of a curse from the gypsies, which is soon confirmed by a series of strange events happening around them. Getting evidence that a secret cult rather than the gypsies are involved with trying to prevent him from finding the truth, he goes out to investigate and sees that Count Sinistre, (Hubert Noel) is the head of the cult and is responsible for the actions going on. Learning of their intentions with her, he races to stop them from going through with their plans.The Good News: This here wasn't that bad. It's best elements from the it's Gothic undertones. This one, when it tries to, is really Gothic at times, most notably in the opening assaults on the gypsies. The sight of the bat forcing the coffin open, which slowly opens to reveal a hand emerging from the darkness in a long, drawn-out style as oblivious gypsies party away at a camp nearby. The later attack, where the bat attacks the fleeing members in a heavily wooded area is a marvelous Gothic sequence. The catacomb hideout is fantastic, with long, dark hallways, plenty of twists and turns and the fact that it needs candle-lights to illuminate them allows for some creepy atmosphere. The scenes of the cult at the end are it's best, since there's plenty of cheesy fun to be had from these scenes. The chants, the sacrificial ceremony and the rituals that come into play are purely fun and really entertaining, and there's even some rather fun moments to be had throughout, including the preparations for the ceremony and the fight to get free, which ends on it's lone moment of violence but remains effective nonetheless. These points offer up the film's good points.The Bad News: There isn't a whole lot wrong with it. The film's main factor against it is that it's just deadly boring. It starts off great with the awakening in the coffin followed by the gypsy attack, but all that occurs from there until the end is absolutely nothing of interest. The film decides to have absolutely everything talked out, and that leads to a never-ending series of scenes where he converses with absolutely everybody about what's going on, and it leads to deadly boredom for most of these scenes. These are mostly taken out of the unending scenes of conversing with the police. It's obvious these are merely time-wasters in the plot sense, being merely answers to keep the protagonist away from the truth. That also severely limits the action as well, making it seem even duller by comparison. The fact that this one also features a vampire that rarely gets to do any sort of vampiric activities is another marginal factor. The vampire comes out here and there but on the whole doesn't do a whole lot to justify the inclusion, as the powers demonstrated seem more suited to a black magic follower over a vampire. These, though, are what really keep the film down.The Final Verdict: A somewhat decent Gothic entry, there's enough in this one to make it watchable but it's still flawed. Give this one a shot if you're into this kind of film or if there's something about that appeals to you, otherwise then just skip this one altogether.Today's Rating-PG: Violence

Writer Paul Baxter (likable William Sylvestor) and his newfound model girlfriend Karin (ravishing redhead beauty Tracy Reed) meet elegant French aristocrat Arman du Moliere (a supremely suave and sinister portrayal by Hubert Noel) while vacationing in rural Brittany. Moliere turns out to be a vampire who abducts Karin so she can be a human sacrifice for the Satanic cult that he's the leader of. Director Lance Comfort, working from a nifty and inspired script by Lyn Fairhurst, relates the compelling story at a steady pace, ably creates a creepy atmosphere, and offers a strong evocation of the remote rustic region. The solid acting from a sturdy cast rates as another substantial plus: Sylvestor and Noel are fine in the leads, with good support from Carole Gray as lusty gypsy Tania, Diana Decker as perky socialite Madeleine Braun, Peter Illing as the huffy, yet laid-back Inspector Illing, and Victor Brooks as the helpful, hard-nosed Inspector Hardwick. Reginald H. Wyer's vibrant cinematography, Bernie Fenton's spooky'n'shuddery score, and the rousing conclusion all further enhance the entertainment value of this enjoyable 60's fright feature.

this movie was shown on the b.b.c.last night immediately after clint eastwoods brilliant ESCAPE FROM ALCATRAZ, it was late ,eyes were drooping,thought a bit of horror would go down well,what a shocker (in the worse sense), with it being filmed in 1965 you automatically expect A HAMMER PRODUCTION*****THIS IS NOT A HAMMER PRODUCTION******* and boy can you tell, the acting is wooden,the women are not bad but certainly not the seductive,voluptuous type were are use to in HAMMER FILMS and the plot basically just silly and to be frank nothing really happens, needless to say it was the longest hour and a half of my life, well,tiredness got the better of me, if it was a good film i would have stuck it out, but, the awfulness took its toll and the off button swiftly was pressed.did this film give me nightmares ? YES but once i fell asleep i was o.k.watch this at your peril.............. as my mum would say "wouldn,t frighten the cat"