Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)

Director:

Piers Haggard

Writers:

Robert Wynne-Simmons (written by)
Piers Haggard (additional material)

Release Date:

January 1971 (UK)

Genre:

Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

A CHILL-FILLED Festival of HORROR!

Plot:

Horror thriller set in 17th century England about the children of a village slowly converting into a coven of devil worshipers. |

Plot Keywords:

17th Century | England | Devil | False Accusation | Shed

Cast

Patrick Wymark	...	The Judge
Linda Hayden	...	Angel Blake
Barry Andrews	...	Ralph Gower
Michele Dotrice	...	Margaret
James Hayter	...	Squire Middleton (also as James Hoyter)
Anthony Ainley	...	Reverend Fallowfield
Howard Goorney	...	The Doctor
Avice Landone	...	Isobel Banham (as Avice Landon)
Charlotte Mitchell	...	Ellen Vespers
Wendy Padbury	...	Cathy Vespers
Tamara Ustinov	...	Rosalind Barton
Simon Williams	...	Peter Edmonton
Robin Davies	...	Mark Vespers

Also Known As:

Satan's Skin (UK) (working title)
The Devil's Skin (UK) (original script title)
The Devil's Touch (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:18 | UK:X (original rating) | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (1972) | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bix Bottom Valley, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England, UK

Company:

Tigon British Film Productions

Trivia:

The scene where 'Satan's skin' is cut off of Margaret was inspired by an actual event from screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons' childhood when a doctor performed an operation on him while he was laid out on a kitchen table.

Goofs:

Factual errors: There are two spelling errors in the opening titles: the production company is called Tigron instead of Tigon (in the copyright notice beneath the main title), and screen veteran James Hayter is billed as James Hoyter.

Quotes:

The Judge: I give you His Catholic Majesty King James III, may God bless him and keep him in exile

Movie Connections:

Featured in "TCM Underground: Blood on Satan's Claw/The Brotherhood of Satan (#1.36)" (2008)

Witches in the wild wood

Real English countryside locations that breath ancient history. Old stone built houses, wild forests and mysterious ruins. Folk beliefs and practice of witchcraft and mysticism of nature. Now here's an evil fairy tale that both looks and feels right. One of the best films in British horror genre with only a few others on the same line, like 'The Witchfinder General' and 'The Vicker Man'. This is no way an ordinary horror flick, but bears its claws deeply into historical core of the witchcraft in Britain and uses its influences most efficiently.

Piers Haggard's direction is not overwhelming, neither is it using loads of usual heavy horror gimmicks. It simply lets the story evolve more naturally with only a few necessary effects cleverly executed. The young actors are good and mostly unknown for me, except Linda Hayden disturbing the local priest and the whole farming community with her ways of black magic. She was also appearing in 'Taste the Blood of Dracula' as the figure of innocence corrupted by evil. A certain sense of innocence is present here too in nearly all the people, even when cruelty takes place. It's like simple minded children playing with something new and dangerous and not quite understanding the real state of madness until it's too late. The young are constantly pushed and ordered by their elders, which makes the seek for rebellion and trying the forbidden more tempting. And still they end up even more possessed and ordered by Angel (Hayden), who clearly enjoys her new found form of twisted strength. Patrick Wymark's firm judge, who tries to bring back the order through his stronger set of rules and valued formulas, may show up as the only savior. But in the end, is he really just the lesser of two evils? So a certain metaphoric message can be seen here if one so wishes. In a way by this kind of surroundings and people the whole story comes out as a bit more believable tale. All this doesn't mean that the film isn't enjoyably fun to watch too.