The Devil Rides Out (1968) | 31 Days of Horror: Oct 5

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Yee haw! The devil is in the details of this Hammer horror film.

This sounds like a horror Western, but it’s a gripping investigation of evil doing in England. The Devil Rides Out is all about the power that the forces of darkness hold over the uninitiated. So, beware!

Before Viewing

Watching the trailer for this film reveals a number of questions. Christopher Lee asks his friend if he believes in evil. The narrator wonders why these people live in mortal fear. There’s dozens of people in white robes, dancing around like a bacchanal, but with some blood. They appear to be Satanists trying to bring Baphomet into the world. One man leads the group, and he has the power to hypnotize innocent people. It’s up to Christopher Lee and a handful of others to stop this evil before it can be unleashed into the world!

Presented below is the trailer for the film.

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After Viewing

In the outskirts of London, Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) flies in to meet with his friend Nicholas, the Duc de Richleau (Christopher Lee). Their mutual friend Simon (Patrick Mower) has become involved with an “astronomical society,” which is really a coven of witches led by Mocata (Charles Gray). Rex and Nicholas inadvertently discover the group at Simon’s house and worry that both Simon and a young woman named Tanith (Nike Arrighi) will be re-baptized in the satanic rites on the eve of May Day.

At Nicholas’ instructions, Rex takes Tanith out of town for protection, but she becomes possessed by the powers of Mocata and manages to steal a car. Rex gives chase, but supernatural occurrences prevent him from catching up to her and he crashes. Wandering from the wrecked car, he discovers a house with a winged serpent statue out front where dozens of Mocata’s followers are meeting.

Sneaking into one of their cars, they lead him into the woods where Rex discovers they are setting up a Black Mass. He phones Nicholas to meet him. The two witness a blood sacrifice and the conjuring of the Goat of Mendes, a devilish apparition. The two men charge into the ritual in their car and rescue Tanith and Simon, taking them nearby to the Eaton’s house, and Nicholas’s niece Marie (Sarah Lawson). Nicholas leaves explicit instructions that Simon and Tanith are to be watched constantly, as he leaves for some important research.

Mocata arrives and asks to speak with Marie. She becomes hypnotized by his strong will, and he uses the distraction to possess both Simon and Tanith to attack their watchers, Rex and Richard (Paul Eddington). Marie’s young daughter Peggy (Rosalyn Landor) interrupts, breaking the enchantment and Marie has her butler show Mocata out. He stresses that something will return later for them.

Tanith runs away, distraught at almost killing Rex, but Rex follows, wanting to help her. Mocata continues to influence her, and through her, Rex, who is forced to let her go. Nicholas returns to the Eatons and draws a magic circle that he puts himself, Marie, Richard and Simon into. They are visited by apparitions of giant spiders and a false image of Peggy tempting them to leave. Finally an Angel of Death rides in, but Nicholas is able to say a spell to banish it. Unfortunately, he says, once the angel is called it must take a life, and Tanith is killed.

During this distraction, Mocata abducts Peggy. Nicholas asks the spirit of Tanith to possess Marie, and the group figures out where Mocata has taken the girl. Simon leaves in advance to save Peggy, but is recaptured and returns the coven to a group of 13. Mocata prepares to sacrifice Peggy, but Nicholas, Marie, and Richard arrive. The spirit of Tanith re-enters Marie and uses strong powers to free Peggy. She instructs the young girl in the Sussamma Ritual, which destroys the coven’s cellar, and transforms the space into a church. They all awaken back at the Eatons in the circle. The spell has altered the flow of time and space returning them to the end of the Angel of Death’s attack. But this time, Tanith lives and it is Mocata who has been taken instead.

“The power of darkness is more than just a superstition. It is a living force which can be tapped at any given moment of the night.” – Nicholas, Duc de Richleau

The Devil Rides Out, retitled as The Devil’s Bride for American audiences, is part of the resurgence of devil, occult, and satanic films from late 60s and early 70s. In the decades prior to this one, there were a small handful of films that dealt with the subject, mostly adaptations of the story of Faust. But the release of Rosemary’s Baby and this film seem to have been the impetus for a new generation of films about the evils of the devil and his minions. Films like The Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Brotherhood of Satan (both 1971), The Wicker Man (1973), The Devil’s Rain (1975), were a small sampling of the almost 50 occult films released in the 1970s, with biggest hits being The Exorcist and The Omen.

But why this sudden surge in occult films? It could be studios wanting to try out different types of films and shying away from monsters, werewolves, and vampires. But it may be more in line with the rise in popularity, or at least visibility, of Anton LeVay and the Church of Satan. LeVay, an author and satanist, founded his Church in April of 1966, with much publicity. His publicity and outspokenness would have made an impact with the public, which easily could have influenced other authors, and movie studios, to create titles like The Devil Rides Out and Rosemary’s Baby by the end of the decade. Granted, the original story for this film was written by Dennis Wheatley in 1934, but deciding to adapt it at the time was probably an easy choice.

Beside an uptick in discussions around anti-Christian groups and occult settings, there may be other societal factors that influenced a rise in occult films. The Devil Rides Out, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Exorcist all deal with younger people beset by the wiles of evil. Regan, in The Exorcist, is possessed by a demon, Rosemary is targeted by a coven of witches to bring a devil child into existence, and Tanith and Simon are two young individuals also targeted by witches for sacrifice and in order to bring a demon into being. All these characters are protected (or in the case of Rosemary, attempted to be protected) by older, more knowledgeable people. The messages in these films are all to resist the powers of Satan and evil and embrace religion–or else. Perhaps these occult films were trying to send a message to the youth of the late 60s and early 70s. To cast off the reckless and hedonistic lifestyle and come back to organized religion. The counterculture was thought by many to be deviation from a righteous path, and definitely marked a dividing path in America that eventually gave rise to a more conservative religious movement.

Whether the film intends itself to be a message to the youth of the day, it definitely has an absolute view of good over evil, specifically in the power of Jesus Christ. Nicholas, while extremely well versed in the dark arts is also equally knowledgeable in the Bible. He knows the power of the crucifix, placing one on Simon for protection, which seems to be Nic’s go-to defense in the film. He does use circles of salt for protection and the occasional magical phrase, but his most powerful incantation, the Sussamma Ritual, he will not utter. This is eventually used by Peggy under the guidance of the spirit of Tanith. Perhaps its power is more than he can handle. For the clear delineation in the film about the power of good versus evil, Mocata states an interesting truism: that the power of the will and the use of magic are neither good nor evil. He says this right before he hypnotizes Marie. This nugget, hidden a more overt morality play, is perhaps the most important element of the film, shining a light on the creators true intentions. Elements of the natural world do not have an alignment. They just are. A tree has nor morality, and a thunderstorm no hidden motive. It’s the intention of people that assign reasoning and labels to these events, citing them as good or evil. It’s also the person’s inclination in their use. Mocata uses his spells for power and control, while Nicholas uses his powers only for defense and healing.

The excellence of this occult film can probably be awarded to director Terrence Fisher and writer Richard Matheson, both well-known creators in the horror genre. Fisher had been directing horror films for Hammer Studios since the late 50s and the beginning of their vampire saga, Horror of Dracula. He directed a number of others including The Curse of the Werewolf, The Mummy, and Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed. Matheson is best known as the author of the book I Am Legend, which has been adapted into The Last Man on Earth, The Omega Man and others, as well The Legend of Hell House (another film about demonic possession) and some of the best episodes of The Twilight Zone television series. Their contributions to the genre most certainly elevated this story to a better than average adaptation of the source material than might have been possible with others. For some of its dated sensibilities, and a lot of running around, The Devil Rides Out, creates a palpable evil in Mocata, and a sense of triumph for Nicholas and his crew when they defeat him.

Assorted Musings

• Christopher Lee has been quoted as saying that this is his favorite film he made during his years with Hammer Films, which includes the various Dracula films.
• The film was retitled The Devil’s Bride in America due to the title making it sound a bit like a Western movie.
• The Goat of Mendes is a real character in the occult and is another name for Baphomet, a goat headed deity originally worshiped by the Knights Templar.
• Charles Gray may be better known to audiences as either Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, or the criminologist in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.