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"The film is well made, grandly acted, with an ever-escalating mood of menace. The problem, I believe, stems from 10 minutes of missing footage..."
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A made-in-England gothic horror film, filled with authentic period details, some good performances, a chilling plot, and a few flashes of nudity, all done in the Hammer tradition, would be worthy of note under any circumstances. And the under-viewed and under-appreciated Blood On Satan's Claw is certainly all that. But, largely thanks to the censor's scissors, it's not all there and that's why we must point out...
By HARVEY F. CHARTRAND A living nightmare of black magic... and unspeakable evil! In 1690, young English farmer Ralph Gower is plowing his fields when he unearths an eye and part of a skull. The eye is being devoured by worms, but is alive and quite malevolent. Gower doesn’t realize it, but he has set a devil free. He notifies a visiting chief magistrate, only to discover that the odd remains have vanished from the ploughed furrows.
Later that same day, a young lady is driven mad in an attic by a creature lurking under the floorboards. As she is carted off to Bedlam, her hand is revealed to be a claw. The girl’s despondent fiancée, intent on finding out what happened to her, spends the next night in the attic. He too is attacked by the creature. In his panic to destroy the evil entity, the man hacks off his own hand. So begins the creepy yet ultimately disappointing Blood On Satan’s Claw (1970). The film is well made, grandly acted, with an ever-escalating mood of menace. The problem, I believe, stems from 10 minutes of missing footage. (I saw the 90-minute version on VHS. The original 100-minute version titled Satan’s Skin was shown briefly in theatres in the United Kingdom in 1970. The 10 minutes were chopped by the time the film was re-released in 1973, and this truncated version is the one now most commonly available.)
The excision of several scenes of violence and eroticism affects the film’s tone and tempo, as the ending feels a bit rushed (despite extensive use of slow-motion). Perhaps these scenes vital to the film’s structure will someday be found and restored in a director’s cut. (Anchor Bay Entertainment is now working on a deluxe DVD re-issue that will include audio commentary with director Piers Haggard, star Linda Hayden and writer Robert Wynne Simmons. Whether the running time will be extended with new footage or previously deleted scenes has yet to be confirmed. And there is still no mention of a release date on Anchor Bay’s Web site.)
Back to the storyline. Dreadful things soon become commonplace in the village; children murder one another in satanic rituals overseen by Angel Blake (Hayden), a sexy farmgirl turned high priestess and devil worshiper. One by one, the devil infects the young people of the area. Patches of the devil’s skin appear on various parts of their bodies, which they offer to Satan as he reconstitutes himself in human form — the only way he can return to Planet Earth.
We never get a really good look at the devil’s face, except for an illustration from a French dictionary of the occult: La Vision de Saint-Amand shows a hairy demon with a sly smile. The village Doctor (referring to the devils’ dictionary) observes that: "These ancient sages had access to much wisdom." To which the Judge replies: "Witchcraft is dead and discredited. Are you bent on reviving forgotten horrors?"
The Doctor asks: "How do we know what is dead? You come from the city. You cannot know the ways of the country. Did Ralph not describe such a countenance (pointing to the illustration of the devil’s head)?" The Judge admits: "Perhaps some such thing." Deciding the book might merit further study, the Judge asks to borrow it from the doctor while he is in London on "affairs of state."
As the Judge prepares to leave on his stagecoach, he warns Squire Middleton and Ralph Gower: "You must have patience, even while people die. Only thus can the whole evil be destroyed. You must let it grow." Indeed, the evil becomes ever more palpable. Reverend Fallowfield scolds his sparsely-attended religious studies class: "There is growing amongst you all an insolent ungodliness, which I will not tolerate!"
One evening, the gorgeous Angel pays the Reverend a visit, disrobing before him in a vain attempt to seduce the clergyman to her evil cause. This glimpse of an almost full-frontal Linda Hayden is the one nude scene that seems to have survived uncut. Angel falsely accuses Reverend Fallowfield of molesting her and murdering a stableboy, but the man of the cloth is exonerated when another mutilated body is discovered in the woods — the real murderers having been identified by an eyewitness.
At a ceremony in fog-shrouded church ruins, Angel now has thick, slanting eyebrows, accentuating her evil, erotic allure. Having studied the book on demonology, the Judge decides it is time to purge the village of Satan’s influence. "I am ready to return, but understand, I shall use undreamed-of measures (to conquer the evil)." When told that innocent people might be hurt in the purge, the stern Judge declares: "Leave me to judge who is innocent."
One of the film’s most harrowing moments is a gruesome operating scene in which the Doctor surgically removes the devil’s skin from the captured acolyte Margaret (Michele Dotrice), while she is fully conscious. Yet the evil is tenacious. Margaret still claims she is the devil’s mistress, even after his mark is removed from her flank. The Doctor informs the Judge that "a fiend has been seen hereabouts, hobbling on one leg." The leg that the infected Ralph Gower must now offer Satan in the final ceremony, which is interrupted by the arrival of the Judge, his cross-bearing assistant and a mob of villagers carrying torches. The matter is hastily resolved as the cowled, limping demon is impaled on a huge cross and his disciples are put to the torch.
This atmospheric horror yarn is highly recommended. It’s a classy exercise in the style of Matthew Hopkins: Witchfinder General, although not quite as grim or nihilistic. (Blood On Satan’s Claw was produced by Tigon British Film Productions Ltd., the same little studio that made Witchfinder General (1968), Curse Of The Crimson Altar (1968), Horror House (1969), The Beast In The Cellar (1971) and Doomwatch (1972). Claw’s executive producer was the colorful Tony Tenser, who eventually left moviemaking to pursue a career in real estate.) Claw’s sinister atmosphere is captured perfectly through accurate set design and genuine period dialogue; one senses the isolation of these farm folk, their tenuous grasp of Christianity and the pull exerted by the old pagan ways, how easy it would be for these simple folk to be lured by the satanic rituals of fire and dancing, with their erotic overtones.
The opening credits consist of close-ups of plants used in pagan rites, set to a thunderous score by the obscure composer Marc Wilkinson, who--judging by this effort--was every bit the equal of Hammer’s legendary composer-in-residence James Bernard. In this single effort, director Piers Haggard shows a mastery of the horror genre, although he spent the rest of his career doing journeyman work, mainly in series television. Haggard returned to horror in the post- apocalyptic The Quatermass Conclusion (1978) and the snake scarefest Venom (1982), neither of which came close to matching the success he achieved with Blood On Satan’s Claw.
Sadly, the fine character actor Patrick Wymark died shortly after playing the Judge--and a magnificent performance it was. Wymark’s other horror work includes The Skull (1965), Repulsion (1966) [as a lecherous, doomed landlord], The Psychopath (1966), Witchfinder General (in a cameo as Oliver Cromwell) and Doppelganger/Journey To The Far Side Of The Sun (1969). Stunning Linda Hayden developed a cult following, despite--or maybe because of--appearances in blue movies (Confessions of a Window Cleaner, Confessions from a Holiday Camp, Let’s Get Laid) and on TV game shows.
However, HORROR-WOOD readers will always remember Hayden for her erotically-charged performances in such horror classics as Taste The Blood Of Dracula (1970), Madhouse (1974), Exposé (1976) and Black Carrion (1984). Hayden also did fine work in unworthy horror vehicles such as Night Watch (1973) and Old Dracula (1974). To sum up, Blood On Satan’s Claw is an unsettling film that is well worth checking out. Let’s hope that Anchor Bay does it justice in its DVD repackaging. Thanks, Harv! Despite the cuts, Blood On Satan's Claw is an artfully rendered gothic horror, fully in the Hammer tradition, and deserves more attention than it usually gets. Hopefully, once it makes it to DVD, a lot more horror fans will experience its mix of genuine mystery, period authenticity, and witchy chills. Not to mention the charms of Linda Hayden. Article copyright © Harvey Chartrand |
