Daughters of Satan (1972)

User Rating:

3.7/10   

Director:

Hollingsworth Morse

Writers:

John A. Bushelman (story)
John C. Higgins (writer)

Release Date:

17 November 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

A secret cult of lust-craved witches torturing with fire and desire!

Plot:

James Robertson buys a painting depicting witches being burned at the stake, one of whom bears an uncanny resemblance to his wife...

Plot Keywords:

Painting | Burned At The Stake | Dog | Attempted Murder | Torture

Cast

Tom Selleck	...	James Robertson
Barra Grant	...	Chris Robertson
Tani Guthrie	...	Kitty Duarte
Paraluman	...	Juana Rios
Vic Silayan	...	Doctor Dangal
Vic Diaz	...	Carlos Ching
Gina Laforteza	...	Andrea
Ben Rubio	...	Tommy Tantulco
Paquito Salcedo	...	Mortician
Chito Reyes	...	Guerilla
Bobby Greenwood	...	Mrs. Postlewaite

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Philippines

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

A & S Productions

Trivia:

Just after Robertson is chased from the antique shop, a poster for the Bond film You Only Live Twice (1967) can be glimpsed for the briefest of moments on an exterior wall.

Quotes:

Chris Robertson: Put that away, it won't do any good.
James Robertson: What do you mean? It's a 357 magnum, it will go through the engine block of a car.

Neglected slice of scariness

A very rarely seen little oddity this but I like it. The unusual location of the Philippines is pleasing and there a couple of very creepy sequences. The Robertsons seem positively crazy about each other which is a sure sign she'll end up doing very nasty things to him, but they were both quite believeable and the supporting cast were all adequate. The painting that is the centre of the whole mystery is very chilling, especially in the scenes where Jim meets the new housekeeper and then glances at the picture and sees her in it. The death of the Doctor is very eerie but best of all has to be the very simple scene of Chris lying in bed and hearing a voice in the night calling out "Christina..." Very creepy especially if you are watching this movie for the first time on late night television and wonder if the sound is on the screen or not! There is also an extraordinary sequence where Jim sees movement outside the house at night and investigates only to be attacked. When he returns to the house the incident is almost forgotten in his bemusement..just like a sort of "was it a dream?" sleepy kind of unreality. My main reason for liking this movie is that compared to what Hammer were churning out it is different and scary, unlike most of Hammer's films, and doesn't need to rely on gore. It also predates The Omen and The Exorcist and yet deals with the subject matter intelligently, so in a sense it is ahead of it's time. Good stuff...not exactly the greatest movie ever made but effective and successful in its clearly limited ambitions.