The Devil's Rain (1975) Reviews

• Borgnine the Goat

  bensonmum22005-09-10

  The plot of The Devil's Rain is very simple. It concerns the Preston family and a book their ancestors stole decades ago from a devil worshiper named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine). Corbis has spent centuries trying to locate the book and will stop at nothing to obtain it and use its power. What Works: What Doesn't Work: In the end, I realize that The Devil's Rain really isn't that good of a movie, but it's just so much cheesy fun that I can't help but rate it as high as I do. It's a movie that could have only been made in the 70s. It seems to me that anyone with a half-baked idea and enough money could see their vision on the big screen. Many of today's horror movies are so glossy and over-produced that all the fun has been sucked out of them. And, for me, much of the appeal of horror movies is having fun.

• Satan says you scream like a girl.

  Mystie30002004-05-28

  Context is everything for this type of film. This is a 1970's era Devil Worship film, which is a genre quite apart from other horror movies. The American public was in something of a 'Satanic-Panic' in the '70's, what with people listening to Black Sabbath and playing Dungeons and Dragons. In retrospect it was all relatively harmless and rather silly, as is this film. That said, the actors do the very best job possible, with Bill Shatner being very, um, Shatnerian, and Borgnine being, well, Borgnine (compare his performance in Disney's "Black Hole" for contrast- hilarious). If you like anything either of these actors starred in you will probably like this as well (unless you're offended by the religious content). I actually though Borgnine looked *better* as a goat, at least until he melted! The exposition/flashback portions of the plot reminded me of the "Reverend Kane" plot in "Poltergeist III: The Final Chapter". The presence of the actual priest and priestess of the official Satanic Church is rather telling. They obviously didn't take it all that seriously, so why should the viewer, or anyone else? I found the special effects towards the end to be quite spectacular, again for the era and genre. I was left with little sense of closure in this film however, as the fate of the main characters was left quite unclear. I suppose we're expected to go with "The good Lord will work it out" as an explanation, but something about the ending gives me the feeling that the good guys did *not* win out, which may again have something to do with Anton Lavey being around. At least it's not "Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby", or worst still, "The Touch of Satan"! As horror films go, I give it a 3 out of 10. But as 1970's Satan movies go, I give it an 8 out of 10. It really is a matter of context.

• Raindrops keep melting down my head …

  Coventry2007-05-28

  Say whatever you want about "The Devil's Rain", but it undeniable has one of the coolest and absolute creepiest opening credit sequences in the history of horror cinema! Whilst the camera extendedly shows freaky images of Hieronymus Bosch's grim paintings, agonizing screams of people that are seemingly trapped somewhere can be heard. They're screaming: "Let me out of here" and those same voices play an important part later in the film as well. The eerie images, mixed with the even eerier screams, result in a truly scary intro and it sets a very promising & atmospheric tone. Too bad the film continues after the credits and the quality level immediately sinks and keeps on sinking until the end credits roll over the screen. "The Devil's Rain" probably has the most incoherent and muddled script any director ever had to work with. Poor Robert Fuest! None of the characters are properly introduced; we're literally dropped in the middle of satanic events and it's up to each viewer's personal intelligence to figure out the connection between the different players, their backgrounds and whether or not they're good or evil. For a good half hour, we're presented to a series of grotesque and cheesy events that don't make the slightest bit of sense, but hey, at least they're entertaining. Ernest Borgnine is the leader of a devil-worshiping coven and he's desperately trying to recover a book that is in the hands of the Preston family since more than 300 years. Mark Preston (William Shatner) refuses to hand over the mysterious book and thus evil Borgnine takes possession of his eyes and soul. Meanwhile, Mark's younger brother Tom (Tom Skerritt) comes to the rescue and he tries to defeat the forces of Satan by stealing the Devil's Rain; a glass urn containing the restless souls of all the people who joined the cult during the past 300 years. An overlong flashback – taking us back to a genuine 17th Century witch burning - finally explains the motivations and fury of each and every character, but the plot only gets dumber and less menacing as it approaches the finale. The story soon plunges into ludicrous occult ceremonies where Borgnine transforms into a hideous goat (!) and particularly the infamous climax needs to be seen in order to be believed, as it's one gigantic slimy and gooey melting-orgy. The make-up effects are pretty damn amusing and over-the-top disgusting, especially when the eyeless faces start turning into sticky puddles of green hodgepodge. "The Devil's Rain" has an impressive cast and one can't help but wonder how all these stars ended up in a trash-masterwork like this. Their performances, however, range from uninterested (Eddie Albert) to downright hammy (Tom Skerritt) and Ernest Borgnine overacts like as if he's possessed by the devil for real. Apparently, Anton LaVey, the founder and high-priest of the actual Church of Satan, made some extra money as the 'technical adviser' of the film. What did he do? Give instructions on how to sacrifice virgins to Satan without spilling too much blood on your garment? Advise Borgnine how to comb over his hair in order to look more like a goat? Either way you look at it, "The Devil's Rain" is an incredibly strange and curious little film. Even in its decade of release, when horror was an experimental genre and boundaries kept on getting crossed, "The Devil's Rain" is somewhat of an outsider. I strongly suggest every open-minded horror fanatic to check it out, if only to experience suspense, laughter, disbelief and utter camp all in one film!

• The Devil's Rain (1975) **1/2

  JoeKarlosi2007-09-27

  This has got to be one of the strangest movies ever made, yet somehow I still find myself revisiting it at least once a year despite the fact that it's seriously flawed. I will attempt to explain why that is. Let's begin with trying to decipher some sort of "plot" out of this mess: From what I can surmise here after multiple viewings, Mark Preston (William Shatner) has possession of an important book which has been hidden by the Preston family for some 300 years. It contains signatures written in blood of the scores of people who have sold their souls to the devil over the years. There is also an immortal disciple of Satan named Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) who has spanned these centuries terrorizing the Prestons in a failed attempt to obtain the book, which is required to deliver these souls to Lucifer. In the meantime, the tortured victims wait and moan in eternal limbo trapped inside a large vessel called "The Devil's Rain" until Corbis can locate the book he seeks. Corbis has succeeded in seizing Mark and his mother (Ida Lupino) and turning them into brainwashed cult members, and it's up to Tom Preston (Tom Skerrit) and Dr. Samuel Richards (GREEN ACRES' own Eddie Albert, looking totally lost) to join forces in foiling Corbis' plan. At least that's what I think is going on. Director Robert Fuest (1970's WUTHERING HEIGHTS, the two DR. PHIBES films) does a horrible job in trying to tell a linear story, and there are more holes in the plot here than you would find on 42nd Street back in the 1970's. Just about everything going on in this movie may be pointed out as not being adequately explained. And yet -- and yet -- the film is still not without some things to enjoy for fans of cheesy horror... It's a treat getting to watch Ernest Borgnine (Marty himself) really getting into his diabolical role, and it's an added kick seeing him in monster makeup whenever he summons up a goat-demon from the pits of hell, emerging with huge ram horns! Eddie Albert seems to be as confused as we are, and this is most obvious in an outside sequence late in the film where he and Skerrit are arguing over the meaning of The Devil's Rain; it's hilarious watching them stepping over each other's words, and you get the impression they just winged all their dialogue for that scene. William Shatner gets his moments to shine where he goes over the top as we've come to love from him ("Corbissss!!!! Goddamn you!!!"). You also gotta love seeing Ida Lupino sink further in her later years to the point of walking around as a mindless zombie with her eyeballs blackened out, which is the preferred manner of initiation for the souls of Satan. And then there is John Travolta -- this was his first movie, but it's nearly impossible to spot him as one of the black-eyed cultists in his few very brief appearances. Real-life member of the Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, was an "adviser" on the film, and appears wearing a mask as one of the devil's servants. The climax of the movie is worth waiting for, and it was touted highly as the main selling point back in its day... we get to see the results of The Devil's Rain on the minions of cult worshipers when the skies open up and pour down upon them. There are some good effects there, even if it's obvious how the sequence was being milked for all it's worth. THE DEVIL'S RAIN is not a good movie, but all the same it's one of those weird horror pictures that may appeal to fans of "so bad they're good" flicks. **1/2 out of ****

• Undeservedly maligned

  darius_m_klein2009-07-28

  "The Devil's Rain" was released in 1975 to overwhelmingly negative reviews - but then, aren't reviewers usually hostile to low-budget horror flicks? There's no denying that the plot is incoherent, but in this case I think that the "incoherence" actually works, better allowing the viewer to enjoy the unsettling atmosphere and spectacularly disgusting imagery which are the highlights of this film (the nod to H. Bosch at the opening is apropos). An added bonus, as many have already pointed out, is the all-star cast: Shatner, Borgnine and Ida Lupino (one of my favorites) all ham it up with entertaining results. I was pleased to see from the reviews on this site that there are actually many fans of this unique and strangely poetic film, and that the elitist reviewers have not had the final say.