Evil Heritage (1976)

A young girl is caught up in a devil cult run by her evil uncle and cousin. She can trust no one and even people she thought were dead comes back to haunt her.

Director:

Norman J. Warren

Writer:

David McGillivray (screenplay)

Stars:

Michael Gough, Martin Potter, Candace Glendenning

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Michael Gough	...	Uncle Alexander Yorke
Martin Potter	...	Stephen Yorke
Candace Glendenning	...	Catherine Yorke
Barbara Kellerman	...	Frances
Michael Craze	...	John
Gloria Maley	...	Janice (as Gloria Walker)
James Bree	...	Malcolm Yorke
Celia Hewitt	...	Elizabeth Yorke
David McGillivray	...	Priest

Storyline

A young girl is caught up in a devil cult run by her evil uncle and cousin. She can trust no one and even people she thought were dead comes back to haunt her.

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Plot Keywords:

sexual assault | cult | devil | character's point of view camera shot | suicide by jumping | 

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Taglines:

It's Catherine's birthday. You're invited to her torture party.

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

Crown International Pictures Scorpion Releasing [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Evil Heritage

Filming Locations:

Admiral's Walk, Mill Lane, Pirbright, Surrey, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£35,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monumental Pictures (II)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

David McGillivray: a priest.

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Quotes

Uncle Alexander Yorke: [both impressed and enraged] You stabbed him right in the eye which went right through into his brain you clearly have some of Camilla in you already

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Alternate Versions

The original UK cinema version was heavily cut by the BBFC with edits to all stabbing scenes, the nude sacrifice, an eye gouging and shots of John's mutilated body. The 1997 Satanica video featured an alternate print which was pre-edited by the director to remove a scene where scissors are traced over a woman and restored many of the original cinema cuts, although the film was then cut by 1 minute 4 secs by the BBFC to edit a whipping scene and much of the bedroom assault. The 2004 Anchor Bay DVD restored all previous BBFC cuts.

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Connections

Featured in Evil Heritage: Independent Film-Making & the Films of Norman J. Warren (1999)

User Reviews

Not a Bad Film Regardless of the Title

On her way to a nice, relaxing vacation at her uncle's isolated country mansion, Catherine (Candace Glendenning) is instead tortured and terrorized by her uncle Alexander (Michael Gough) and cousin Stephen (Martin Potter), who -- unbeknownst to her -- are disciples of Satan.

Michael Gough is here pre-"Batman", Michael Craze, who plays John, also appeared in other films by director Norman Warren. The cast in general is pretty good.

The picture a little shaky on the Mill Creek copy, and the sound is somewhat muffled, but there are plenty of hairy nude women getting sacrificed, if that's your thing. And decent kills, like a head slammed in a door.

Apparently, there exists a version with an audio commentary. I know nothing about that, but it would be an improvement. If the sound and picture are cleaned up on there, too, it might actually be a decent film.