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Pretty Good

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

EVIL HERITAGE, also known as SATAN'S SLAVE, is low budget horror. Catherine Yorke(Candace Glendenning)travels with her parents to visit a recluse Uncle Alexander(Michael Grough). Upon arrival they have a mysterious flaming car crash that kills Catherine's parents. The young woman is taken in by her uncle and some cousins. She has no idea of the role she will be taking in the house. Soon she will start having strange nightmares. Catherine will have visions that she doesn't trust as being real. Unbeknownst to her, Catherine's Uncle Alexander is the head of a coven of witches needing the young woman for a sacrifice. No stress, nothing of a frightening nature and any horror is minimal. Norman J. Warren directs. Rounding out the cast: Barbara Kellerman, Martin Potter, Celia Hewitt and Michael Craze. This is no winner.

The strange atmosphere of this film seems to lead many to find it boring, but I disagree and in fact find it unsettling and, well, really absorbing. Some of the over the top T and A (I wonder if the rest of the cast was there at the same time as the nudie cuties, these scenes feel like awkward inserts) but at any rate the acting is very good overall. I like the sicko relationship between Francis and the brother. The fact that the mystery has been given away before the final double reverse is actually quite interesting, and puts you in the place of Candice. I wish they had done a final reversal at the end and had Gough get it, but still, I like this sick little film quite a bit.

Perhaps because of the success of ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) and THE EXORCIST (1973) and, to a lesser extent, THE OMEN (1976), the 1970's were a time in which the genre of horror in film was saturated with movies about evil Satanic cults, demonic possession, and incarnations of the big cheese Satan himself. Dozens, if not hundreds, of very low-budget movies revolving around this theme were made in the western world during this era, some with more success than others. It is within this period that SATAN'S SLAVE (1976) was made as a pleasant little contribution from England. While the budget is not as microscopic as that of some of its peers, this flick did not have the sort of funding possessed by the more successful examples of the genre.This movie is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the worst of its type. It has a reasonably interesting story, attractive characters, at least one sleazy psycho guy, and plenty of nakedness and blood. Since its about an evil Satanic cult, there's also a few cool ritual scenes with daggers and baphomets and robes, along with an attractive young blonde being offered up to the dark lord. What more can a viewer ask for, right?One of the coolest parts of this movie is the opening sequence, if only because of the eerie off-key piano music and bizarre artwork--there was a certain look attributed to Satanism in the 1970's, and this movie definitely gives the audience that feel. It then transitions to an outdoor scene with a bunch of goat-headed cultists performing the sacrifice of a naked blonde woman upon the altar for the generic reasons that Satanic cults typically do such things in movies of this nature.From there, we are introduced to Patrick Bateman's wealthy British counterpart, Stephen Yorke (Martin Potter), who romances a young woman. Things are going well for our anti-heroic psycho and it looks like he's about to score a bit of crumpet (if you know what I mean) when suddenly his companion changes her mind for some inexplicable reason. He isn't about to give it up, however, and suddenly clothes are torn and rape seems almost imminent. She does flee the immediate scene, only to have Stephen smash her skull in the doorway before she can exit the manor.Finally, we meet our heroine, pretty Catherine Yorke (Candice Glendenning), who has spent the night with her long-term lover John (Michael Craze). The two discuss the trip she is about to make out into the country for a week with her parents, to visit a long unknown uncle. Oh yes, and we also find out that Catherine is psychic. No specific psychic powers, mind you--just the generic extra-sensory perception that operates as the plot deems necessary.Catherine leaves London with her mother and father and they travel by car into the countryside. As they approach her uncle's estate, her father has a flash headache and steers the car directly into a tree. When Catherine is sent for help, the car explodes into a fireball, incinerating her parents and leaving her in the care of her uncle Alexander (Michael Gough).From there, things go from bad to just plain weird. While Uncle Alexander remains the cool center around which everyone else revolves, his "secretary," a young woman named Francis, does everything she can to maintain Stephen's affection and attention despite the fact that he only has eyes for his cousin. Catherine, meanwhile, has repeated psychic flashes of witchcraft and other assorted Satanic activity around the area, only to end up falling in love with the cold-hearted Stephen and having incestuous relations with him.Eventually the secrets of the evil cult are revealed, much to the surprise of Catherine but not so much to the surprise of the audience. There are a few twists, but given the age of this movie, expect numerous clichés.This is a super-cheap movie and there's absolutely no reason you should be paying full price for it. I personally got mine with one of those Mill Creek boxed sets in the dump bin at a local department store. It's not too bad for what it is, all things considered.

Satan's Slave (1976)* 1/2 (out of 4) A young and naïve Catherine (Candace Glendenning) travels with her parents to the countryside to visit her Uncle's house. As soon as they arrive, the parents are killed in a strange accident, which leaves Catherine in the care of her uncle who she believes is a doctor but the truth is that he runs a sect for Satan worshipers. A cousin tries to warn Catherine that she's in danger because the sect is looking for a new victim to sacrifice.Director Norman J. Warren (Terror) tries to make a U.K. exploitation and from what I've read, the BBFC cut this to shreds before allowing it to be released. Apparently these cuts were done without the director knowing but it still hampers the film since it's apparent that the director was going for a more violent spin on the witchcraft genre. Even without the gore however, there's really not much to recommend in this film, which like many others, does nothing but talk and talk.The screenplay is very weak and it's one of those where everything has to be explained by one of the characters. We get long scenes where nothing happens and the viewer doesn't know what's happening and then we get a dialogue scene that tries to tell us what was going on. This gets very boring and tedious quickly. Another problem is that the film was shot in a deliberate slow pace, which doesn't benefit anyone. Glendenning is decent in the lead but isn't oo interesting but we do have Michael Gould (Alfred in the Batman films) to keep some interest going.