User Reviews

If I were to pick the single element that makes this movie work it would have to be its rare mood of authenticity. It's characters and environment convey a sense of people actually living in a remote rural region of 17th Century England. Credit goes to the filmmakers for trying to populate the story not with Hollywood's stale stock characters but with people recognizable as real, albeit living in a culture of a different time and place.

And in this time and place - where beliefs would figure more prominently than knowledge even in normal times - frightening inexplicable events become even more dreadful.

This isn't a strongly plot driven movie. For the first half of it we see more the consequences of the evil, without explanation of what it means or even exactly what it is that's happening. But because of that we are put into the same helpless position as the innocent and good characters in the movie. And people who turn to evil? A nice touch is that that the actors don't go over the top trying to be the most utterly evil of all possible screen characters. Rather, they are evil enough, but appropriately for who and when and where they are. And in a sense that is the REAL evil that happens in the movie, the people who become so.

And that's why the movie survives the murkiness of its presentation of the more overt evil. Since even after seeing the movie it may be unclear, here it is, with a mild ***SPOILER*** warning because the confusion actually creates some of the atmosphere in the early part of the film:





Various body parts of an evil being (called "The Devil" by the locals, though we needn't take that too literally) begin turning up, occasionally found in places like a plow furrow, but most often through the transformation of body parts of the local people. These parts are then cut off either voluntarily (by those who become this "devil's" followers) or involuntarily (from those who don't). The aim is to re-assemble them and actually create the body of this being.

But in truth this is only the motivation and background to the main focus of the movie, which is to produce an excellent period piece where the people act and react to a horror in character with their times and culture. And it's a pure pleasure that they succeeded in that. But as a movie and as a story would have been helped by running somewhat longer, so they could linger over some events and add more depth to the characters and their interactions. For as it is, sometimes a brief scene, or even just a few lines, are used to set up situations where a more extended treatment would have enhanced all the scenes that followed. That the story still held together using so little glue to stick the scenes into place shows commendable efficiency in the writing, but perhaps it was excessive efficiency. The ending is particularly hurt. A resolution should flow from the main body of the story and not from a relatively minor side-stream. Their ending came very close to being merely tacked on. Not quite, but they could have used more storytelling glue when they put it in place.





And I do have to mention the wonderful score. The melody of main theme sounds like it's based on an old English folk song, but it's arranged in a very 20th Century horror manner. The result is superb. Not only is it haunting, creepy and effective, where a mere switch in key can make it sweet or spooky, but the basic tune is also appealing and memorable.

From what I've written here, pointing out flaws and weakness, you probably won't pick up on just how extraordinarily fond I am of this movie. It's the kind that can stick in my mind for decades between viewings and I wish people would make more like it.

About the version I rented (under the title "Blood of Satan's Claw", distributed by the Cannon Group)... though less edited than the TV version I saw some 30 years ago, still this video shows signs of being cut. Though by todays standards this movie's virtually sole scene of sex and violence would be exceptionally mild, evidently it was considered too much at some time in the past. I dislike this kind of editing in general and I find the choppy cuts and jumps in the music during this one scene to be irritating. If an original version exists on video, possibly under a different one of its several names, that would be the one to own, though feel free to rent any version... the edits are minor and shouldn't be cause for you to pass on this movie.

The inciting incident for this story is that a man is plowing a field when he finds the remains of some strange creature. This somehow unleashes an evil that infects the local community. However, the story confused me when it went down some side plots for characters that didn't seem connected. For example, a man brings his fiancé as a guest to his aunt's house the night before their wedding. Alone in her room, she encounters something and goes insane. She is taken away and we never see her again. I guess the implication is that somehow the evil presence got to her. It doesn't seem in line with the rest of the story, because most of the characters who join the evil cult get converted by going into the wilderness where the rest hide. Also, the evil seems to be targeting children, but at one point we see people of all ages in the group. Other than a few misleading subplots, the story seems to be pretty straightforward--more people disappear into the woods to worship the devil until the community leaders decide to track them down. It turns out to be a pretty easy task. The townsfolk go to the hiding place and impale the devil on a sword. Problem solved. What the movie has going for it is its look; the costumes and settings convincingly recreate a 17th century English town. The performances are fine, although the soundtrack is a little distracting. It was somewhat atmospheric, mostly thanks to the scenes in the woods, and has a few moderately disturbing moments. I think I would have liked it better if there had been a few more visceral moments, instead of so much talking.

The Blood on Satan's Claw isn't a Hammer production--but it should be! Exhibiting many of Hammer's trademark features--the Gothic setting, a diabolic threat that lives on the border of civilization, a complex hero with touches of darkness in his character, and a beautiful temptress--The Blood on Satan's Claw was actually a Tigon effort, and one that in many ways surpassed contemporary Hammer releases. In fact, the quality of The Blood on Satan's Claw is so fine, and the thrills it induces so powerful, that one can't help wondering just why the Gothic horror picture was on its way out. Few of the slasher films that would permeate the genre in the coming years can hold a candle to this picture.

The Blood on Satan's Claw is a tale of an ancient evil reborn. A farmer unwittingly plows up a strange corpse, but the alien body disappears before the local judge can investigate. Soon, terrible things begin to happen, and the local youth seem to have all gone over the edge, perhaps into witchcraft. The Judge, played to perfection by Patrick Waymark, is a flawed individual, to say the least. He is dedicated to doing the right thing, true enough, but he is also harsh, cold, haughty, and judgmental. He is also very reluctant to concede that what he considers to be superstition is at work in his village even after evil begins to manifest itself in some very conspicuous ways, and only begins to realize the truth when it is very nearly too late.

The other exceptional performance in the film belongs to the lovely Linda Hayden, who the previous year had starred in Hammer's Taste the Blood of Dracula. Hayden plays the young woman who becomes the leader of the strange cult which infects most of the village youth, and it is she who orchestrates much of the terror which ensues. Her character, ironically named Angel, is a seductress of a particularly haunting power, and it's hard to conceive of any actress from that era playing the part any better.

The story does move a bit slowly, but the drama unfolds with conviction and a realistic touch which many more explosive films lack. The ultimate climax, in which the villagers square off against the coven of witches and their demonic master, is perhaps a bit of a letdown in that it's over very quickly, but when the final credits roll the viewer is still left with a very satisfied feeling. Frightening and atmospheric as only a Gothic can be, The Blood on Satan's Claw is a well-acted and produced horror picture that should appeal especially to fans of Hammer productions.

I screwed up. I didn't get the Severin version of this, meaning I'm still stuck with the bootleg that I burned off the Carnegie Library's lone DVD copy of this film. Damn me!

In Mark Gatiss' BBC documentary series A History of Horror, he referred to this film as the prime example of a short-lived subgenre he called folk horror, along with Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man.

It's directed by Piers Haggard, who also was behind The Quatermass Conclusion, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu and Venom. He's also the great-great-nephew of H. Rider Haggard, the creator of Allan Quartermain.

Robert Wynne-Simmons was hired to write the story, which was inspired by the modern day Manson Family and Mary Bell child murders.

Back in the early 18th-century, Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews, Dracula Has Risen from His Grave) uncovers a one-eyed skill covered with fur while plowing his fields. He asks the judge (Patrick Wymark, Dr. Syn, Alias the Scarecrow) to look at it, but it's gone missing and his fears are seen as ridiculous.

Peter Edmonton brings his fiancee, Rosalind Barton (Tamara Ustinov, Blood from the Mummy's Tomb) to meet his aunt, Mistress Banham, Banham disapproves of the coupling and demands that Rosalind sleep in an attic room. After screaming throughout the night, she soon takes ill and the judge commits her. As she's led away, Peter discovers that she now has a claw instead of a hand.

Claws show up all over this - hidden in fields to be found by children and attacking Peter inside the cursed room, causing him to sever his own hand. The judge leaves behind the town for London, but promises to return. He places Squire Middleton (James Hayter, The 39 Steps) in charge.

One of the children who found the claw, Mark, is lured out by his classmates and killed in a ritual game by the leader of a new cult, Angel Blake (Linda Hayden, Madhouse, Queen Kong). She even tries to seduce Fallowfield (Anthony Ainley, the Master from Dr. Who) and tells him that Mark had the devil inside him, which needed to be cut out. Her group also has a Black Mass inside a ruined church where they attack Mark's sister Cathy (Wendy Padbury, companion Zoe on Dr. Who). They ritualistically assault and murder her before tearing the fur from her skin.

Of course, it's not long before all hell quite literally breaks loose, with insane children raising Satan himself from the Great Beyond and Ralph growing fur on his leg, marking him for death. This movie is...well, there's nothing else quite like it. I can see why it had a limited audience for years, because it's so dark and unforgiving.

"It never made much money," said Haggard. "It wasn't a hit. From the very beginning it had minority appeal. A few people absolutely loved it but the audiences didn't turn out for it."

While the original title was Satan's Skin, you have to give it to American International Pictures' Samuel Z. Arkoff, who came up with the film's title.

After watching this again, I'm still upset that I didn't get a copy for myself. Severin, please hear my plea! Do you have any copies left? Are you going to release another version? Please help!

This period British horror film has some great elements about it but lacks a strong story beyond its eeriness. The horrific rape scene is probably the only really shocking moment that follows a murder by the teenagers who allegedly go to the woods to worship Satan. The opening sequence of the discovery of some dead creature in a field had me singing "The Hearse Song" in jest over the lack of shock.

What is impressive however is the atmosphere, sound effects and location filming, but there's no real characterization or performances to single out. It details the superstition of this era in regards to the fear of witchcraft and the actions they take out of their own paranoia. Throwing a suspected witch into the river to see if she floats or sinks is one of the genuine actions towards suspected witches. Something else called "the devil's skin" also adds some eerie moments, but it's a disappointment considering its theme. After a while I expected the devil worshiping teens to reform and break into a chorus of "Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord".