THE DEVIL RIDES OUT [1968 / 2012] [Blu-ray + DVD] [UK Release]
Top Masterpiece of Black Magic from HAMMER Films!
The debonair Duc de Richleau [Christopher Lee] has been trusted with the care of his deceased friend’s son, Simon Aron [Patrick Mower]. The Duc de Richleau discovers that the young man has been seduced into joining a Satanic cult headed by the diabolic Mocata [Charles Gray], who is intent on making Simon Aron one of the Devil’s disciples. Having rescued Simon Aron from a bloodied ritual, Duc de Richleau is pursued by Mocata, who will stop at nothing to destroy Duc de Richleau and his friends, even summoning the Angel of Death itself.
Starring Christopher Lee in one of his personal favourite roles and based on the celebrated novel by Dennis Wheatley. ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ is one of HAMMER’s most accomplished and thrilling mystery horrors.
FILM FACT: First proposed in 1963, the film eventually went ahead four years later once censorship worries over Satanism had eased. Production began on 7th August, 1967, and the film starred Christopher Lee (in a rare heroic role), Charles Gray, Niké Arrighi and Leon Greene. The screenplay was adapted by Richard Matheson from Dennis Wheatley's novel. Christopher Lee had often stated that of all his vast back catalogue of films, this was his favourite and the one he would have liked to have seen remade with modern special effects and with someone playing a mature Duc de Richleau. The A-side of British rock band Icarus's debut single “The Devil Rides Out” was inspired by the advance publicity for the film of the same title. Though the song does not appear in the film, the single's release was timed to coincide with the film's premiere and the band was invited to the premiere. It is considered one of Terence Fisher's best film. Unlike other HAMMER films, ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ has little sexual or violent content. The film's tone is more serious than many other HAMMER titles. It is the final film to be produced by Seven Arts Productions after the company was merged with Warner Bros. to become Warner Bros.-Seven Arts on the 15th July, 1967.
Cast: Christopher Lee, Charles Gray, Niké Arrighi, Leon Greene, Patrick Mower, Gwen Ffrangcon Davies, Sarah Lawson, Paul Eddington, Rosalyn Landor, Russell Waters, Yemi Goodman Ajibade (African) (uncredited), Patrick Allen (Rex Van Ryn voice) (uncredited), Liane Aukin (Satanist) (uncredited), John Bown (Receptionist) (uncredited), Peter Brace (Satanist) (uncredited), John Brown (uncredited), John Falconer (Satanist) (uncredited), Anne Godley (Satanist) (uncredited), Richard Huggett (uncredited), Ahmed Khalil (Indian) (uncredited), Willie Payne (Servant) (uncredited), Eddie Powell (The Goat of Mendes) (uncredited), Keith Pyott (Max) (uncredited), Richard Scott (Satanist) (uncredited), Jeff Silk (Chauffeur) (uncredited), Mohan Singh (Mocata's Servant) (uncredited), Zoe Starr (Indian Girl) (uncredited), Fred Stroud (Satanist) (uncredited), Peter Swanwick (Satanist) (uncredited), John Tatum (Satanist) (uncredited) and Bert Vivian (Satanist) (uncredited)
Director: Terence Fisher
Producers: Anthony Nelson Keys, Michael Stainer-Hitchens (uncredited) and Peter Daw (uncredited)
Screenplay: Richard Matheson (screenplay) and Dennis Wheatley (novel)
Composer: James Bernard
Wardrobe Supervisor: Rosemary Burrows
Wardrobe Mistress: Janet Lucas
Special Effects: Michael Stainer-Hutchins
Cinematography: Arthur Grant, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: Blu-ray: 1080p + DVD: 1080i (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Blu-ray Audio: English: 1.0 LPCM Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
DVD Audio: English: 1.0 Digital Mono Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: Blu-ray: 96 minutes + DVD: 92 minutes
Region: Blu-ray: Region B/2 + DVD: PAL
Number of discs: 2
Studio: Associated British-Pathe Ltd / HAMMER Film Productions / StudioCanal
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [1968] is classed as a grand occult film, which has long been something of a firm favourite among Hammer Horror fans, and especially me. Now it's back, looking more sumptuous than ever in this extensive new upgraded STUDIOCANAL Blu-ray restoration.
Duc de Richleau [Christopher Lee] meets up for a back-slapping reunion with his old pal Rex Van Ryn [Leon Greene], but their young friend Simon Aron [Patrick Mower] is nowhere to be seen. Where can he be? They eventually track him down to his home, but Simon Aron is unwilling to talk, as he has a number of strange guests, among them the smoothly sinister Mocata [Charles Gray]. Upstairs, they find a chicken in a basket. No, Simon Aron isn't opening a gastropub; but instead he has joined the coven of Mocata and is dabbling in black magic!
So the race is on to save Simon Aron’s soul before he is baptised by Satan, which will happen at a big gathering on the eve of May Day. But with Richard Matheson's screenplay, everything moves at a fairly stately pace, giving Rex Van Ryn [Leon Greene], plenty of time to raise a quizzical eyebrow and the viewer ample opportunity to take in the lavish, highly polished sets and it's certainly one of the best looking of all Hammer Horror films.
As the plot thickens, the story moves from one splendid English country house to another, and everyone is swanning around the countryside in bright shiny classic cars, but Christopher Lee and Leon Greene are both tall gentlemen, so they tended to rather struggle to squeeze into the back of Duc de Richleau's yellow Rolls. Plus the film adds a class actor to the film with a very nice turn from the reliable Charles Gray as the literally mesmerizing spooky villain of the film.
Under director Terence Fisher’s guidance, the film is filled with a series of totally on the edge of your seat gripping scenes, like the car chase as Tanith Carlisle [Niké Arrighi] attempts to escape as Mocata creates a mist to make Rex Van Ryn lose the way; or Duc de Richleau and Rex Van Ryn bursting upon a Satanic orgy and rescuing Simon Aron and Tanith Carlisle on the running board of the car. There is a superb scene where Charles Gray as Mocata comes to visit the house and director Terence Fisher subtly focuses on the hypnotic effect of his mesmerizing spooky eyes as he sits in the drawing room bending Marie Eaton [Sarah Lawson] will with the calmness of his voice, while upstairs Mocata is at the same time influencing Simon Aron to strangle Richard Eaton [Paul Eddington] and Tanith Carlisle to retrieve a sword from the wall, all of which is broken the moment young Peggy Eaton [Rosalyn Landor] innocently enters the room. The scene ends with Charles Gray departing, leaving the wonderfully ominous threat: “I won’t be returning – but something else will.”
The finest scene in the film, is one that has been much imitated, and is the stunning extended climax of the film set in the magic protective circle as Mocata tries to break in, preying on them psychologically – through Richard Eaton’s scepticism and irrational dislike of the water, and an illusion of young Rosalyn Landor being attacked by a giant spider, and Rex Van Ryn’s voice calling to them and finally the appearance of the Angel of Death entering on a horse, is real edge of your seat experience.
For once, Christopher Lee’s role is as the hero and Christopher Lee became very enamoured towards the Dennis Wheatley novel and personally persuaded Hammer Film Productions to make the film. The Christopher Lee character Duc de Richleau is the part that Peter Cushing would usually of played with a Hammer Horror film and Christopher Lee’s presence gives the role an unusually dark intensity that the actor really pulls off with great style.
Director Terence Fisher was the inspiration behind previous Hammer Horror early monster films like ‘The Curse of Frankenstein,’ ‘Dracula’ and ‘The Mummy,’ but arguably Terence Fisher did his best work with this thrilling adaptation of the Dennis Wheatley's 1920s novel of the story set against good v satanic evil. Whereas Christopher Lee, who this time is on the side of the angels for a change, and upgraded from the Count Dracula character featuring fangs and a cloak to this performance wearing a goatee beard, especially as the debonair Duc de Richelieu, who is forced into drastic action to save a friend's soul from Charles Gray's coven of devil worshippers.
Richard Matheson’s screenplay was able to tap into the 1960s fad for all occult film genre, and conjures up an intelligent and pacey script to match the menacing, shiver-inducing atmosphere of the film, while Christopher Lee, who I have previously informed you that this was one of his favourite Hammer Horror film roles, gives his most powerfully performance in the face of Charles Gray's creepy evil villain. In a refreshing change from using monsters as instruments of terror, this Hammer Horror classic film harnesses unearthly forces and hellish entities like the Goat of Mendes and the Angel of Death to chill the blood, and the final result is a totally riveting heart stopping film, and I suspect some people of a nervous disposition will hide behind the sofa with the climax of the film, and definitely a film I know will get repeat viewing, because the film is that good.
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Associated British-Pathe Ltd, HAMMER Film Productions and StudioCanal presents the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ with an outstanding 1080p image and viewed in the 1.66:1 aspect ratio and the restoration upgraded work was done by Cineimage and is consistently really excellent, and the increased image resolution offered by this Blu-ray, enables you to view the film with a far higher level of detail that was not previously viewed with the inferior 2000 Anchor Bay DVD that could deliver. The film grain varies slightly, but is not detrimental to the viewing experience, and you view an image that is perfect. So the result of restoration work has removed over one and a half million instances of dust and dirt. So making the contrast a very nice experience, but in some scenes there are some minor quality performance, but when it comes to the open-air satanic baptism, the blue robes are striking vivid colours, and the inky black colours are crisp in detail as a good example. So all in all, the image quality is absolutely excellent. So very well done HAMMER Film Productions and StudioCanal for giving us a Blu-ray that is a worthy honour to add to my ever increasing HAMMER Horror film collection. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Associated British-Pathe Ltd, HAMMER Film Productions and StudioCanal brings you the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ with just one 2.0 LPCM Mono Audio experience that to some people they might find it has a slightly restrictive audio range, but of course when the film was released in 1968, they did not feel the need to enhance the film soundtrack to at least have it heard it in Stereo, as the sound systems in the cinemas at the time were very basic for a film of this calibre. Sadly there are no punchy bass sounds here, but other than that, the sound is clear and free from any sort of distortion, even with the louder music and sound effects. But one other negative aspect of the audio is that you can hear a faint trace of a background hum, and you would have to crank up the volume to hear it. Despite this anomaly, HAMMER Film Productions and StudioCanal have done a really excellent job on the audio aspect of this Blu-ray disc.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Christopher Lee, Marcus Hearn and Sarah Lawson [Audio only] [2012] 1080p] [1.66:1] [95:38] With this featurette, we get to hear this very interesting and fascinating audio commentary with Christopher Lee, Sarah Lawson, and Hammer Films Historian Marcus Hearne. First to speak with audio commentary is Christopher Lee and sounds like he is in an echo chamber and says he is responsible for the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ being made, and finally convinced HAMMER Films to make a film about Black Magic, Satanism and Wizardry, and with the symbol at the start of the film, Christopher Lee explains its symbolism towards people who worship Satan and supernatural connections and feels it is all very accurate when it comes to witchcraft. Next up is Marcus Hearn who is a Co-author of the book “The HAMMER Story” and talks about the film credits that was designed by special effects supervisor Michael Staiver-Hutchins who had the rights to the story, on the recommendation of actor Christopher Lee. Next up is actress Sarah Lawson and really enjoyed being involved with the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ and the bit where they all lay on the floor in the white chalked circle; they thought it was a very funny experience, even though it looks in the film very frightening. They talk about the actor Leon Greene, whose voice was dubbed throughout the film by the British actor Patrick Allen, because Leon Greene was from Australia and maybe when the film was made in 1968 they did not feel an actor with an Aussie accent would have been appropriate for this English Devil worship film, but they say he did have a really beautiful singing voice. Christopher Lee says that the house we see them enter was a good friend to Christopher Lee and he did say the name of the owner but could not hear him properly say the name of the person. They talk about the other actors in the film and say a majority of them have appeared in other HAMMER films, and they talk specifically about the actress Gwen Ffrangcon Davies and how wonderful the actress was in the film, and they reckon in 2011 the lady turned 100 years old, but sadly they reckon that few month before they did this audio commentary she sadly passed away. Now they talk about the actor Charles Gray and also Niké Arrighi and felt this lady was very beautiful and also has a sister Luciana Arrighi who is an Australian-Brazilian-Italian production designer. They also say Charles Gray was not the first choice for the film. They now get back to the subject of the scene with all the actors in one room who were so varied and different, and Christopher Lee, Marcus Hearn and Sarah Lawson were very complimentary about all of the painting on the walls. They mention that there is a rumour of a modern remake of the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ because of the massive advances in CGI special effects and feels the film would be so ideal for modern audiences, but they also say that the HAMMER Films were very brave to make this film on Devil worship. They all praise the excellent screenplay by Richard Matheson and Christopher Lee met him in Los Angeles in 1964 and also did the screenplay for the film ‘I Am Legend.’ The next scene we get to see is Christopher Lee and Leon Greene in the observatory room with the massive goat symbol on the floor where we get to see smoke comes out of its nostrils and then it turns into the black devil where the two actors must not look into its eyes, and they comment it is a very good special effect, even though at the time of filming they were very limited on special effects. We see Leon Greene and Niké Arrighi in the old car, and they comment about the slightly crude back projection, which was filmed on location in Borehamwood and is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, 12 miles from Charing Cross, which is also the location for Elstree Studios for the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ and they talk about the actress Niké Arrighi and they do not know what happened to after filming had finished. When we get to chapter 5 we see all the amount of massive old very expensive cars with the Devil worshippers in them driving to a set location and they comment how beautiful the cars looked, but Christopher Lee says while filming at the certain location where all the Devil worshippers gathered, it was extremely cold, but when the goat is about to be sacrificed with its throat being cut, and of course we do not actually see that scene happening, but instead the next scene is fake blood was used and we see it being poured into a large bowl for the Devil worshippers. At chapter 7 we see Charles Gray turns up Sarah Lawson’s home to try to retrieve the actors Patrick Mower and Niké Arrighi and tries to hypnotise Sarah Lawson to take the two actors away for the Devil worship ceremony, and they say Charles Gray was such a charming, polite and really splendid, but as to his evil character in the film, they think he was totally masterful in being very menacing and evil personified. Now we are come to the scene in the big room where the big white chalk circle has been drawn on the wooden floor, where again get to see some evil special effects, and at 64 minutes you see the four actors, and that is Christopher Lee, Patrick Mower, Sarah Lawson and Paul Eddington and now sealed inside the magic white chalk circle and must not at any time step outside the magic white chalk circle when the evil apparitions appear, and the words inside the magic white chalk circle are actually from the Dennis Wheatley novel “The Devil Rides Out.” At around 69 minutes, we get the first evil visitation, but of course the four actors actually do not see anything when filming the scene because on the film we see the special effect, but the director Terrance Fisher wants the actors to go over the top as if they are seeing the evil visitation, and of course what we see is the giant spider trying to get inside the magic chalk circle, and of course we see a young child walk in the room and the parents Sarah Lawson and Paul Eddington feel helpless and especially as the giant evil spider is about to attack the child and of course water is thrown at the child and disappears and of course we realise it is the evil devils work. But of course next up is the most horrendous evil apparition appears in the room in the form of the Angel of Death riding on his winged black horse, and again all the actors do not see this special effect and again they have to over the top react as if they see the evil visitation and they all feel the special effect is really good and very effective and Christopher Lee feels again if the film was remade today, the CGI special effects would be really spectacular, and when the Angel of Death reveals his face the four actors are not supposed to look at its face, but of course you see they did, and Christopher Lee says they don’t die and feels that this is the one weak flaw in the film. Because the young child has been abducted by the Charles Gray character, we see Patrick Mower has driven off in a car and arrives at the building where all the Devil worshipers have gathered and where the young child is going to be sacrificed, and we finally we see Charles Gray and his Devil worshipers have gathered for the ghastly evil sacrifice ceremony. But suddenly Christopher Lee, Sarah Lawson and Paul Eddington burst into the room where the Devil worshipers are to try and stop the evil ceremony and of course they are just about to witness the child on the alter to be sacrificed, but then all of a sudden Sarah Lawson speaks the words of Niké Arrighi to thwart Charles Gray’s heinous evil crime, and of course his character is totally angry because he cannot perform the evil sacrifice, and of course the child is recued, and when the child speaks the same words as Niké Arrighi coming from the mouth of Sarah Lawson, a massive lightning strikes the evil alter and blows up and there is total destruction of the Charles Gray character and all of his Devil worshipers and the special effects are pretty spectacular which the three of them also feel it looks spectacular and of course Charles Gray character is banished forever to the Devil and evil has been banished forever. Christopher Lee asks the other two what they thought about the film when they went to see it and they said that they thought the film was splendid, and Christopher Lee says that film title was changed for the American market because the distributors felt the film title ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ sounds like a western, and changed it to ‘The Devil’s Bride,’ now how stupid is that. Christopher Lee thinks calling the film a “Horror Film” is wrong. At this point the end of the main audio commentary ends because the end credits have appeared and for a moment there is silence from the commentators, but all of a sudden Christopher Lee says, “It is a very effective film.” Finally, as to the actual audio commentary, it was really good, very interesting and very informative and I can without doubt give it a five star rating.
Special Feature: Black Magic: The Making of ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [33:33] With this featurette, we get to view a detailed and captivating retrospective documentary that relates to the HAMMER Film Productions and StudioCanal restoration series, and includes a plethora of interviews with usual suspects like Richard Matheson you could hardly hear what he was talking about and obviously was very seriously ill, so I feel they should have not interviewed him. Kiffy Stainer-Hutchins Staiver-Hutchins and Dan Staiver-Hutchins, the children of special effects supervisor Michael Staiver-Hutchins talk about their father actually met Dennis Wheatley in 1940 and talked about collaborating on making the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ because they thought the novel was so ideal for a film. Actor and writer Mark Gatiss who admits that this was the only HAMMER film that scared the pants off him and I agree with him 100%. Another contributor deconstructs the films music score and reveals that the final angelic chords were selected by composer James Bernard to be played at his funeral. This is a very entertaining and informative special feature and is well worth viewing. There is a fascinating subplot that I learned from this about Dennis Wheatley’s novel “The Devil Rides Out” which of course was the source material for the film. Apparently there is a theme in the book that brings in Pre-Nazi occultists trying to start World War II, now that would be a very interesting occultist film. Although the film was derided by critics, it was a box office success making back seventy times its production costs. It is now critically respected with directors Tim Burton and Martin Scorsese amongst its admirers. Although ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ is perhaps not as lurid as previous HAMMER films, it still retains a richness of colour and Arthur Grant, B.S.C., became one of HAMMER films most prolific cinematographers until his untimely death in 1972. ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ flopped in America but was a commercial and critical success in the UK upon its release that Summer of 1968. It was described by the press as, “Gripping excitement, sustained at fever pitch” containing, “Black magic thrills.” Christopher Lee’s performance was of particular note with the Evening Citizen saying, “Christopher Lee, as usual, turns in an immaculate performance.” This is a fascinating, and informative featurette. Contributors include: Richard Matheson [Original Screenwriter], Marcus Hearn [Hammer Films Historian], Denis Meikle [Author of “A History of Horror”], Jonathan Rigby [Author of “English Gothic: A Century of Horror Cinema”], Phil Baker [Author of “The Devil is a Gentleman: The Life and Times of Dennis Wheatley”], Kiffy Stainer-Hutchins [Daughter of Michael Stainer-Hutchins], Dan Stainer-Hutchins [Son of Michael Stainer-Hutchins] Mark Gatiss [Actor and Writer], Patrick Mower [Original Cast Member / Simon Aron] and David Huckvale [Author of “James Bernard, Composer of Count Dracula”].
Special Feature: The Power of Light: Restoring ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [11:30] With this featurette, the team of people at Cineimage go about explaining in detail how they tackled the upgrade restoration work on the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ and purist Hammer Horror fans of this film might be upset by what is revealed. The Cineimage restoration team explain in great detail how they went about cleaning up the film and in some cases did some reworking of some of the films optical effects. I found it totally fascinating especially hearing all about the technical aspect of the work on the film and especially the issue of whether what was done should have been done is never really touched upon, despite the undeniable finished polished results of what you view with this upgraded image and of course it is up to you to decide what they have done is an improvement or not?” This is also a fascinating, and informative featurette. Contributors include: Kiffy Stainer-Hutchins [Daughter of Michael Stainer-Hutchins], Dan Stainer-Hutchins [Son of Michael Stainer-Hutchins], Steve Boag [Owner of Cineimage], Adam Hawkes ]Colourist at Cineimage] and Ed Schroeder (Digital Restoration Artist at Cineimage].
Special Feature: Dennis Wheatley at HAMMER [2012] [1080p] [1.78:1] [12:42] With this featurette, Dennis Wheatley biographer Phil Baker takes a concise look at three of the HAMMER Film Productions adaptations of Dennis Wheatley's work, from the films such as ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT,’ ‘The Lost Continent’ and the ‘To the Devil a Daughter,’ a film Dennis Wheatley so despised that he apparently forbade any future adaptations of his work by the HAMMER Film Productions studio. The feature is an examination of one of horror fiction’s influential voices and paints a picture that informs both ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ and HAMMER’s occult output in their later years. Contributors include: Phil Baker [Phil Baker [Dennis Wheatley Biographer], Jonathan Rigby [Author of “Studies in Terror: Landmarks of Horror Cinema”] and Marcus Hearn [Author of “The HAMMER Vault”].
Special Feature: “The World of HAMMER” Episode: “HAMMER” [1994] [1080i] [1.37:1] [24:50] With this featurette, Roy Skeggs presents for us a HAMMER Film Production of “The World of HAMMER” and was written and created by Ashley Sidaway and Robert Sidaway and produced by Robert Sidaway and was Broadcast on 28th October. 1994. This particular TV series episode was narrated by Oliver Reed featuring the finest moments from the HAMMER classic horror films along with clips from the HAMMER Film Productions acclaimed war films, costume dramas, comedies and much more. Unfortunately, the sound mix is a complete shambles, with Oliver Reed's narration confined to the left speaker and effectively drowned out by the full volume film extracts with the right speaker. Without fiddling with the balance controls, you'll have trouble making out what Oliver Reed is saying and what a shame someone did not keep their eye on the board when editing this HAMMER documentary. Films included: ‘The Camp On Blood Island’ [1958] / ‘Cloudburst’ [1951] / ‘The Curse Of Frankenstein’ [1957] / ‘Dracula’ [1958] / ‘Holiday On The Buses’ [1973] / ‘Men of Sherwood Forest’ [1954] / ‘One Million Years B.C.’ [1966] / ‘The Plague Of The Zombies’ [1965] / ‘The Nanny’ [1965] / ‘Quatermass 2’ [1957] / ‘Quatermass And The Pit’ [1967] / ‘The Steel Bayonet’ [1857] / That's Your Funeral’ [1972].
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [1967 / 2012] [1080p] [1.78.1] [5:00] With this featurette, we get to view a rolling slide show gallery, set to the composed film music of James Bernard, and what you get to view are English and International film posters, press materials, front-of-house items and plenty of black-and-white and colour production still images and all related to the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT.’
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DVD Special Features and Extras:
‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [1968] [1080i] [1.66:1] [92:00]
Special Feature: Audio Commentary with Christopher Lee, Marcus Hearn and Sarah Lawson [Audio only] [2012] 1080i] [1.66:1] [91:48]
Special Feature: Black Magic: The Making of ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [2012] [1080i] [1.78:1] [33:33]
Special Feature: The Power of Light: Restoring ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ [2012] [1080i] [1.78:1] [11:30]
Special Feature: Dennis Wheatley at HAMMER [2012] [1080i] [1.78:1] [12:42]
Special Feature: “The World of HAMMER” Episode: “HAMMER” [1994] [480i] [1.37:1] [24:50]
Special Feature: Stills Gallery [1967 / 2012] [1080i] [1.78.1] [5:00]
Finally, the film ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ is overall is a totally brilliant HAMMER Horror film, especially with all the special effects that had no CGI special effects available at the time. It also features religious reverence and the scary-eyed African aspect of the film, it has also aged handsomely and is as fast-paced and incident-packed as any modern day horror work and a whole lot classier than most. Even the black magic rituals and the Latin incantations having a consistently authentic feel to them, being the result of historical research rather than fanciful imaginations. ‘THE DEVIL RIDES OUT’ is probably my favourite HAMMER film from a studio whose output fed my developing early teenage love-affair with cinematic horror, and it remains one of only a handful of HAMMER films that have been afforded top classic status. This is definitely a wonderful horror genre classic that is looking even better than it ever has when released in the cinema and with a very fine collection of extras (save for that sound mix of “The World of Hammer” episode), this Blu-ray disc I can definitely wholeheartedly give it my seal of approval, but some critics have commented on the not so good special effects in the film, come on you negative people, the film was made in 1968 and of course there was no CGI special effects to enhance the film at the time, so despite these ridiculous negative people, do not listen to them, as it is a brilliant enjoyable escapism HAMMER Horror film. Very Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
