Satan’s slave DVD Review

Catherine (Candace Glendenning) and her parents drive to her Uncle's mansion, but their car crashes in the grounds killing her Mother and Father. Dazed and confused, Catherine is taken into the house and nursed back to health by her uncle Alexander (Michael Gough), who happens to be a doctor. Also at the mansion are Catherine's cousin Stephen (Martin Potter), and his secretary/lover, Frances (Barbara Kellerman). Stephen takes an instant fancy to the lovely Catherine, much to the dismay of the angry Frances. When she regains her strength, Alexander tells Catherine that he's arranged for her parents to be buried in the garden that afternoon. Catherine discovers that all is not rosy at the mansion when a rejected Frances tells her the truth about the Satanic mischief her uncle has planned for her 20th birthday, the following day.

Satan’s slave is not nearly as well known as many of Hammer’s horror outings. It is rarely, if ever shown on British TV, probably because of the nudity and gore on display. To the Devil a Daughter was a disappointment as the last ever Hammer film, but Norman J. Warren breathed some life into Brit horror with Satan’s Slave, a polished, effective and very British film. There are fine performances from Michael Gough, a veteran of well over 100 films, and the very gorgeous Candace Glendenning.

There are a couple of surprisingly graphic gore scenes, including a great nail file in the eye and a nice mashed up suicide corpse. Nudity a plenty too, with some strangely rough sex. Catherine’s visions are particularly entertaining, if a little odd; one vision which involves a blonde in the woods being whipped as a priest watches is very gratuitous. Special mention must go to Alexander’s Goat mask, complete with sparkly eyes. S.J.T.

Satan’s Slave. 1976

Directed by Norman J. Warren