Deviltry in the shadowy woods outside London
A young woman with premonitions (Candace Glendenning) visits her uncle at his mysterious country manor (Michael Gough) where something tragic happens and she ends up staying to recover, getting close to her cousin (Martin Potter). But something weird and devilish is going on. Barbara Kellerman is on hand as the secretary at the estate.
“Satan’s Slave” (1976) is a British flick whose plot is similar to "The Witches," aka “The Devil’s Own” (1966), and "Curse of the Crimson Altar,” aka “The Crimson Cult” (1968), both of which begin and end with occultic witcheries while the entire midsection is mostly slow rural happenings. It’s also comparable to "The City of the Dead" (1960) and "The Wicker Man" (1973). Like the latter, it throws in a couple sequences where a woman is shown fully nude (just a heads up). Meanwhile the satanic ritual scenes are reminiscent of "The Devil Rides Out" (1968).
While this is the most obscure of these, it’s pretty much on par with any of them, although your mileage may vary. It’s the kind of flick where goat-sucking fools walk ancient manors or ominous forests in hooded robes and sacrifice naked virgins on sacrilegious altars. I’ll take “The Crimson Cult,” “The City of the Dead” and even “The Witches” over this but, don’t get me wrong, it’s better than “The Devil’s Rain” (1975) and "The Brotherhood of Satan" (1971).
Winsome Candace Glendenning was 22 during shooting, playing a woman just turning 20. She’s reminiscent of Kathryn Hays, just younger by a couple decades. Meanwhile Potter has that brooding rock star look going on.
The movie runs 1 hour, 26 minutes, and was shot in Pirbright, Surrey, England, which is just southwest of London.
GRADE: B-
