The Devil Rides Out (1968)

Devil worshipers plan to convert two new victims.

Director:

Terence Fisher

Writers:

Richard Matheson (screenplay), Dennis Wheatley (novel)

Stars:

Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Nike Arrighi

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Christopher Lee	...	Duc de Richleau
Charles Gray	...	Mocata
Nike Arrighi	...	Tanith Carlisle (as Niké Arrighi)
Leon Greene	...	Rex Van Ryn
Patrick Mower	...	Simon Aron
Gwen Ffrangcon Davies	...	Countess
Sarah Lawson	...	Marie Eaton
Paul Eddington	...	Richard Eaton
Rosalyn Landor	...	Peggy Eaton
Russell Waters	...	Malin

Storyline

In the countryside of England, the Duc de Richleau a.k.a Nicholas welcomes his old friend Rex Van Ryn that has flown to meet him and Simon Aron, who is the son of an old friend of them that had passed away but charged them the task of watching the youngster. Nicholas and Rex unexpectedly visit Simon that is receiving twelve mysterious friends. Sooner Nicholas, who is proficient in black magic, learns that the guests are member of a satanic cult and Simon and his friend Tanith Carlisle will be baptized by the powerful leader Mocata to serve the devil. The two friends abduct Simon and Tanith expecting to save their souls but Mocata summons the Angel of Death and the Goat of Mendes to help him in a battle between the good and the forces of evil.

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Plot Keywords:

satanic goat | damsel in distress | butler | kidnapping | fog | 

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Taglines:

The beauty of woman... the demon of darkness... the unholy union of "The Devil's Bride"!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 July 1968 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Devil Rides Out

Filming Locations:

Black Park Country Park, Wexham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British-Pathé,Hammer Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patrick Allen also did the voice-over for the U.K. trailer.

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Goofs

When Rex and Tanith are riding in the green convertible sports car, there is a part where Mocata's face appears in the rear-view mirror and "communicates" with Tanith. In close-up, this mirror is shown to be mounted on the lower center of the windshield, but in subsequent shots from different angles, no such rear-view mirror can be seen anywhere on the center windshield.

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Quotes

Duc de Richleau: [Mocata is about to sacrifice a child] In the name of God, you dare not!
Mocata: Scarcely in the name of God, Monsieur le Duc.

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Alternate Versions

The 2012 UK Blu-ray Disc released by Studio Canal features digitally enhanced special effects. The makers of the Blu-ray claim to complete shots which had never been finished due to budget reasons:

• Matte shot of Simon's mansion with the Observatory dome has been replaced with a CGI background.
• During the ritual at the climax of the movie a lightning has been replaced with a new CGI lightning.
• Spider sequence: Shadow for the spider has been added, some matte shots enhanced, and digital smoke added when the spider is sprayed with holy water.
• The Angel of Death sequence: A light effect is illuminating the door to cover the poor original optical effect when the angel rides through the door. The close up of the Angel of Death has a new background with flames as the original intended shot was never finished.
• The matte shots of Charley Grey's death in the fire have been digitally corrected as there were optical errors in the layers of the matte shots.
• Several other matte shots have been improved by removing matte lines.

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Connections

Featured in The Many Faces of Christopher Lee (1996)

User Reviews

The devil rides out

The Devil Rides Out (1968) The Devil Rides Out is one of the most beautiful color films from 1960s Europe. An impeccable series of images has been welded together here by assured hands with all the confidence of the builders of a new church. This is a stained-glass window – made to honor the god of cinema.

Because it is also a Hammer Film Production, there is much here for the not-so-aesthetically inclined. Fast cars, a black mass, giant spiders: A Wimsey novel for the horror fan. The Dennis Wheatley novel that inspired it is a hymn to social snobbery and political reaction, but the movie throws the offal of the novel away; from the bare superstructure of plot comes an infernal pageant of crises.

Christopher Lee is very strong here, as he is in The Wicker Man; we see the often-typecast man exploring a character of wit and determination. Lee's Dracula is usually all guile and glowering insolence; here Lee's Duc DE Richleau is the lordly savior the British Empire always dreamed it could produce.

The Devil Rides Out doesn't have any points to make. This makes its point about the false consciousness bred by all religion all the more powerful.