Explotation Cinema: Satan's Slave / Terror [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

This double-feature DVD includes two 1970s exploitation flicks from British director Norman J. Warren: SATAN'S SLAVE (1976) and TERROR (1978). Both films were penned by David McGillivray, who also scripted two excellent films--HOUSE OF WHIPCORD (1974) and FRIGHTMARE (1974)--from the better-known director of British horror and exploitation, Pete Walker.

SATAN'S SLAVE, the weaker of these two films, stars beautiful Candace Glendenning as a young woman who is the descendant of a powerful and evil witch. After her parents are killed in a suspicious accident, she goes to live with an uncle and his son, and soon after she discovers that her relatives plan to sacrifice her during a ritual that will resurrect her infamous ancestor.

While the acting is okay and the directing adequate, the script for SATAN'S SLAVE is rather uneven and the plot is overly convoluted and hard to follow. As an exploitation horror flick, however, this film delivers the goods with plenty of gratuitous nudity and numerous gore shots that include a smashed head, a bloody suicide, and a gruesome eyeball stabbing.

The second film, TERROR, is the actual highlight of this double feature. It opens as a mob of medieval villagers capture a fleeing witch and attempt to burn her at the stake. The witch calls upon satanic forces to rescue her from her the flames, and as she escapes, she places a curse upon the descendants of the noblewoman who incited the villagers to rise up against her. This entire scene is then revealed to be the ending of a horror film, and the filmmaker claims that the story is based upon true events from his own family history. He and his female cousin, he says, are the last descendants of the noblewoman whose family was cursed by the witch. Naturally, there is skepticism among the audience for whom he has just screened the film. But at a wrap party later that evening, the filmmaker's cousin falls into a trance and attacks him with a sword...and he and his cousin begin to worry that the family curse just might be real after all.

Like the other film on this DVD, TERROR has a fair amount of female nudity--the stripper in the nightclub scene is especially eye-popping--and lots of outré gore. But this film also has a logical, comprehensible story line that is bolstered by strong performances and able directing, and the exceptional production design and cinematography create an ambiance that is exponentially eerier than that of SATAN'S SLAVE. Indeed, hardcore horror fans will recognize the distinct influence of giallo master Dario Argento on this film, especially in regards to atmosphere and gore.

This double-feature DVD offers both films at their original theatrical aspect ratios (enhanced for 16x9 TVs), and though the prints used for the transfers aren't in perfect condition, the images are very good and the soundtracks are fairly crisp and clear. Bonus materials on the DVD include a handful of trailers for other 1970s-era grindhouse and exploitation films, as well as a "grindhouse experience" option that allows you to watch both films back-to-back with concession-stand adverts and trailers inserted therein. It's almost like being in one of Manhattan's 42nd Street theaters back in the grindhouse heyday.

Both of these films by Norman Warren are certainly worth the look with "Satans Slave" being the more exploitative of the two with plenty of T&A, welcome frontal nudity, torture and mayhem - even if it doesn't make alot of sense.

I should point out that while "Satans Slave" is a reasonably good transfer it's mastered just from a standard well used 35mm release print that contains plenty of scratches, blunt splices and projection cue marks at reel ends. Also the print is noticably cut in a number of sequences in what i first assumed to be British film censor cuts. The naked flogging scene flashback is severely truncated as is the subsequent burning to death. The eyeball stabbing is there but has been reduced by some frames as have a couple of other scenes with so called 'sexusalised violence/horror'.

Still, it's worth a look in a decent 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer that does the best possible with the print in question.

The other half of the double bill "Terror" is a different story entirely. In many ways a Dario Argento-esque thriller (as director Warren himself acknowledged) with artfully shot and staged murder scenes and a generally competant level displayed all round in all departments. Less of the T&A here and more on atmosphere.

The cast are uniformly good and the film is constantly interesting although it doesn't really last the distance and peters out some ways before the last reel.
Unlike it's sister feature "Satans Slave", "Terror" has been mastered from a beautiful print, possibly even an interpositive instead of a regular release print as it looks superb on even a big screen 55" LCD monitor. Terrific colour and definition here. It's 1.85:1 or thereabouts.

Great presentation on this grindhouse styled disc with great menu and various crappy trailers included. This double bill is good value and light years better than the abysmal, turgid Norman G. Warren exploiter "Inseminoid" which followed a few years later.

Satan's Slave

Satan's Slave (1976) delivers the wares. It's not for all tastes, but the effective atmosphere (Warren had obviously seen a few Brit Horror films, which helps) and the well-staged scenes of death and paranormal mayhem in the last half of the film are worth the price of admission alone. It's certainly beyond comparison above the 'typical' British horror films of the day and the wide screen photography, coupled with fittingly garish colors courtesy of (one assumes) outmoded film stock, looks superb. There's also a glorious cameo from Michael Gough, one of those "I know his face, but what's his name?" actors if ever there was one, and a decapitation set-piece that curiously plays like a low-budget homage to David Warner's grisly death in THE OMEN, whilst pointing the way forward to the lift-shaft carnage in that film's sequel. This is a solid-gold champion example of the kind of film that would never get made nowadays, anywhere, and will undoubtedly bring back fond memories of late night horror double features down at the local flick pit for Horror viewers of a certain age.

Terror

Terror (1978) completely lacks the edgy, tense, paranoid atmosphere of foreboding doom that marked Warren's Satan's Slave (1976) and the lighthearted nastiness, and the result is a tedious experience indeed, with a sub-standard messy performances, several sequences that make little sense and a central premise that just seems corny to our modern sensibilities. The opening credits should give you your first warning that something's astray, because no fewer than FIVE directors of photography are credited, which is probably why the overall look of the film is so muddled - for every sequence that assembles a degree of low-budget atmosphere, there are several that have the over-lit, barrel-scraping feel of a cheap public information film. In all, a mournful disappointment and a missed opportunity.

Disclaimer: Both of these sterling gems from across the pond are included in The Gorehouse Greats Collection, which is the venue in which I saw them. As such, I can't comment on this quality of packaging or other content that may be contained on the disc as offered on this product page. My review concerns the entertainment value of the films only.

These two Crown International releases are both directed by Norman Warren, and, thankfully, both feature a better than average cast for the type of films they are. Candace Glendenning, Barbara Kellerman, and Michael Gough from 'Satan's Slave are all good to excellent, and most of the cast of 'Terror' are above average, even including the smoking-hot English bird, Tricia Walsh. In fact, my biggest complaint with 'Terror' is that they didn't make more use of Ms. Walsh - but then no slasher film I know of made any money by keeping its beautiful girls around long enough to get attached to them.

'Satan's Slave' (AKA Evil Heritage, more indicative of the plot, but not as attention-getting) is a contemporary gothic film - a young woman, Glendennning, is taken into her uncle's family when her parents are killed in a car accident that she miraculously escapes. Unfortunately, the uncle, Gough, has more on his mind than charity - he intends to use her body as a vessel for the spirit of a long dead witch, gaining power for himself in the bargain. A lot will depend on how much the viewer appreciates gothic occult horror as to whether they enjoy this film - for what it is, I think it's pretty good, even though I feel only so-so about these kinds of pictures. To my mind, the look of the film as it is in the 'Gorehouse Greats' DVD, adds to the gothic mood of the film with its muted tones and slight grain. There is also more nudity and suggestive behavior in this film than I would have expected, especially in the last half, so those viewers who consider that a bonus may feel as if they've found an unexpected treat here. Three stars.

'Terror' isn't as well done, even though it came later than 'Satan's Slave' - one might have thought director Warren would have improved over time, but 'Terror' is too muddled. A family labors under a witch's curse - the last two descendents of the Garrick family are bedeviled by the supernatural presence of her spirit, yet for most of the film, it's everyone who is tangentially connected to the two cousins that get the brunt of the witch's wrath. At first, the film leads us to believe that it is a physical manifestation that is slaughtering all the companions of the Garrick's, perhaps even one of the cousins in a possessed state, but later, it's strictly an otherworldly power doing the dirty work. Most of these scenes aren't so bad in and of themselves, but they don't connect as a coherent film. One of the hallmarks of B-movie cinema are plot holes, so perhaps I shouldn't be so harsh - but Warren seemed to be able to hold everything together during 'Satan's Slave'. I don't think, in this case, with the quality of his cast, that he should have had so much trouble here. Less nudity overall in this film than the earlier one, but there is one truly vigorous scene in a strip club by Tanya Ferova that will probably compensate for the lack of it in the rest of the movie. I might have said that it was gratuitous, but in order for the plot to progress at that point, it was evidently imperative that many of the main characters work at this club - thus, not gratuitous at all.

I can't directly compare these different packages of the two films, but it's my understanding that Navarre Corporation, which released many of these two-fers, has went out of business, and Mill Creek now owns the rights to the films that Navarre previously held. It's also my guess that Mill Creek does little or nothing to clean up these films, so I'd bet money that whatever condition these films are in on the exploitation double disc is exactly what they are going to look like on the 'Gorehouse Greats' collection. According to imdb, there are no extras on the Exploitation double feature, so those who may be interested in these films will probably not be shortchanging themselves any by going with the Gorehouse collection. (My copies of the Gorehouse collection do not have Mill Creek watermarks)

Fun facts - in 'Terror', one of the doomed Garricks is a film producer, and in his office you can see the promotional posters for both 'Satan's Slave' and 'Thriller' (which, as far as I know, Warren didn't have anything to do with). The implication is that Garrick is sort of a low budget schlock film producer, which is, I suppose, some kind of ironic commentary on how Warren felt about his own films.

Also - in 'Terror', the bartender in the strip club is inexplicably wearing a plain yellow t-shirt with black letters that says 'Moonshine Goat Herd'. I'd love to know what that refers to.

The terror is the reason to pick this up. It's a good low budget horror movie from the uk. The plot is straightforward and easy to understand.
And there are some gruesome deaths and a interesting rock score. A great strip scene taking place at a bar is memorable too. It's a good drive in low budget movie in which a curse takes out many victims who stand in the way of a final 300 year old curse. "THe terror" has some excellent effects for it's day too like having filmstrips attack a man, they almost engulf the man even as he is attacked by the rest of the studios equipment. the acting is good for a low budget flick too. "Satans slave" is a much poorer film but you do get two movies here for the price of one. It is confusing and you the print isn't in as good as shape as the one used in the terror either. This set is for fans of seventies horror and you may find enough fun in the terror to make you just look at 'satans slave" as a little bonus flick.