Devils of Darkness (1965)

User Rating:

4.0/10   

Director:

Lance Comfort

Writer:

Lyn Fairhurst (original story and screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

He's a Vampire with a Cult Following.

Plot:

A secret vampire cult, which has its headquarters beneath the town cemetery, searches for victims for its human sacrifice rituals. |

Plot Keywords:

Vampire Cult | Vampire | Cemetery | Supernatural | Holiday Horror

Cast

William Sylvester	...	Paul Baxter
Hubert Noël	...	Count Sinistre aka Armond du Moliere (as Hubert Noel)
Carole Gray	...	Tania
Tracy Reed	...	Karen Steele
Diana Decker	...	Madeleine Braun
Rona Anderson	...	Anne Forest
Peter Illing	...	Inspector Malin
Gerard Heinz	...	Bouvier - the Hotel Manager
Brian Oulton	...	The Colonel
Walter Brown	...	Bruno
Eddie Byrne	...	Dr. Robert Kelsey
Victor Brooks	...	Inspector Hardwick
Marie Burke	...	Old Gypsy Woman
Marianne Stone	...	The Duchess
Avril Angers	...	Midge

Also Known As:

Talisman (Europe: English title) (video box title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolour)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex) (uncredited)

Certification:

UK:PG | UK:X (original rating) | USA:Approved (certificate number not listed) | USA:Not Rated (DVD release) | Norway:15 (video premiere)

Filming Locations:

Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Planet Film Productions

Atmospheric at times...but overall weak and uninteresting.

Devils of Darkness has a promising sounding title, it's British and it has the typical 60's gothic theme. Yet, it quickly got ignored over the years and it's rarely ever mentioned. Probably because it wasn't made by either of the 3 biggest production companies in that time. The Brit horror industry was ruled by Hammer, Amicus or Tigon and (almost) all their production received cult followings and critics attention. Of course, that can't be the only reason because a good film would be remembered no matter who produced it. Devils of Darkness is anonymous in all fields… Not one aspect in the entire film is worth remembering. It mixes vampirism with other occult elements. A satanic cult, led by Count Sinistre, kidnaps innocent people in order to sacrifice them. An author tries to reveal the secrets and comes into contact with the leader. Devils of Darkness has an extremely promising opening sequence (even before the credits are presented) and the hope you'll see a intriguing occult horror film is falsely raised. After the atmospheric opening, the film quickly falls into boredom with endless speeches and tedious characters. The tension is pretty much non-existent and the few promising horror sequences are too succinct. The beautifully shot cult rites seem to be inspired by Roger Corman's the Masque of the Red Death, but still they're the only sequences worth mentioning. The cast isn't very spectacular, neither. Carol Gray is worth a mention since her beauty reminded me about the typical Hammer sirens. Hubert Noël, the bad guy with a dreadful French accent, is too untalented to make the film memorable and so is director Lance Comfort.