Blood on Satan's Claw

"This chilling tale takes place in 17th century England, where the discovery of furry remains, believed to be the Devil, sparks a barrage of evil un-doings in a small town. Soon after their discovery, the Devil's remains disappear, hampering the investigation by the local Judge (Patrick Wymark). But the evil forces that take over are frightening proof that the Devil may indeed be among the villagers. People start going mad and children, under the guidance of the sinister Angel Blake (Linda Hayden) begin participating in unspeakable rituals in which the young and pure are sacrificed and mutilated. It is up to the Judge to exorcise the demons that are destroying his village..."

Set in the 17th century, Blood of Satan's Claw begins with the unearthing of evil in the form of a grotesque skull by a farmhand as he is ploughing a field. The farmhand immediately seeks the learned expertise of 'The Judge' who happens to be visiting Isobel Banham, persuading him to examine the ghastly scene. When they arrive at the spot where the skull was found they discover that it has mysteriously vanished. Something untoward is going on and it's not for mere mortals to understand exactly what.

Now released, evil travels to the nearby Banham household which has become lively with guests. Master Peter and his girlfriend Rosalind have arrived for a visit on their way to be married. As the hour is late it is decided that Rosalind should spend the night in the dusty attic, where she subsequently goes completely off her rocker and claws poor Aunt Isobel's face. Well what can you expect from a lowly farmer's daughter? Now distraught with grief that his beloved has been taken away by the men from the bedlam, Peter falls asleep in the attic, awakening to find he is being strangled by a monstrous clawed hand...

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The peasants are revolting - and as usual it is the young ones that are really revolting. As soon as your back is turned children are likely to do nasty things to each other, as well as older country folk who just want a peaceful life. Blood of Satan's Claw can remind us that terrible deeds were carried out in the quaintest of places, that just under the peaceful surface something lurks waiting to be set free to haunt the shadows. It is of no consequence that the creature is rarely seen and explanations are hard to come by, the point is that the evil is growing piece by piece and there seems to be no way of ending its influence.

Tigon produced the equally fine Witchfinder General a few years before this realism prone companion, whilst Hammer were hamming it up in their inimitable way. It is this realistic style which makes the twisted events all the more horrific for the observer. This is particularly true of the depictions of murder of Mark Vespers and the harrowing rape and murder of Cathy Vespers - their torment is all too visible, rather than a precession of blunt murders without importance. That's not to say that there are not some unintentional humorous moments that occasionally help to lighten the dim atmosphere.

There are excellent performances all round, particularly by Patrick Wymark who died shortly after the making of this movie and Linda Hayden as Angel Blake. For the budget, Blood of Satan's Claw excels with a fearful atmosphere that can be cut with a knife. The striking cinematography and finely tuned score are well above what you would expect in a small production, enough in fact to summon up the devil which is why Blood of Satan's Claw rises above other penny dreadfuls.

Reviewed: 24/03/08

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Trivia

Matthew Hopkins (Wikipedia)
The Discovery of Witches by Matthew Hopkins (Project Gutenberg)

• Movies

The City of the Dead (1960)
Witchfinder General (1968)
Doomwatch (1972)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Children of the Corn (1984)
The League of Gentlemen's Apocalypse (2005)