The Devil's Rain

The Devil's Rain (1975)

Runtime: 86 minutes

Directed by: Robert Fuest

Starring: Ernest Borgnine, Tom Skerritt, William Shatner, Eddie Albert, Keenan Wynn

From: Sandy Howard Productions

This is a film I had seen once before, but that was many years ago. I figured it was time to see this again. I can only rate it as average but at least it has a noteworthy ending. I talk about it below:

This is another movie where I saw it many years ago but hadn't seen it since. Saturday night was the time where I finally gave it a second spin. I remembered that aside from the memorable ending, the movie wasn't so hot. Well, I won't be that harsh this time, but aside from that gooey and melty ending (where they did milk it for all it was worth) the movie should have been better than it was.

The plot revolves around a centuries long battle over a special book which Satanist Ernest Borgnine wishes to acquire, so he could have a lot of power... or something like that. He and his cult do battle with one family, which manages to have Ida Lupino, Tom Skerritt, and William Shatner, who definitely delivers some of his Shatnerian acting skills; the cast has other famous faces, like Eddie Albert, Keenan Wynn and even a small role for John Travolta; it has to be said that it was on this set where he met an actress (I won't reveal her name) who introduced him to... Scientology. Dun dun dun... indeed. Speaking of cults, right?

The effects are nice and there are some creepy moments, but unfortunately despite the nice cast, a spooky setting of the rural American Southwest (actually filmed in Mexico) and some solid (unintentional) laughs-those that watch this, wait until you see what Borgnine turns into-it's not as scary or terrifying as you'd expect from the plot, and it falling right into the Satanic Panic of the 1970's and 1980's. There are better examples of this out there, although the movie is thankfully still watchable and I can't say it's bad... there are just a few slow stretches, that's all. Plus, this movie has another 70's staple... ESP.

While I wish the movie would be more noteworthy than just a gonzo ending, at least it's average.