To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

Directed by: Peter Sykes | 91 minutes | horror, thriller, fantasy | Actors: Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Denholm Elliott, Michael Goodliffe, Nastassja Kinski, Eva Maria Meineke, Anthony Valentine, Derek Francis, Izabella Telezynska, Constantine Gregory, Anna Bentinck, Irene Prador, Brian Wilde, Petra Peters, William Ridoutt Howard Goorney, Frances de la Tour, Zoe Hendry, Lindy Benson, Jo Peters, Bobby Sparrow

‘To the Devil a Daughter’ is one of the last films in the legendary Hammer House of Horror film series. Hammer house actor Christopher Lee reclaims the lead role as a creepy priest, and Hollywood veteran Richard Widmark is the man after him. Quite a few scary moments, a dark atmosphere and Nastassja Kinski in one of her first roles. Her nude scene led to a lot of commotion at the time.

The beginning of the film is rather confused, partly because the events alternately take place in Germany and England. Lee (‘The Wicker Man, 1973’) and his villainous followers have secluded themselves on an island in rustic, southern German Bavaria. Widmark (“The Alamo”) is a successful writer who knows all about occultism, Satanism and the black church. Plaything between the two is Kinski (‘Cat People, 1982’) – virginal, pale appearance – who has been brainwashed by henchmen of the devil who see in her a key figure for the future.

The atmosphere in ‘To the Devil a Daughter’ is scary at times. At times the film resembles ‘The Exorcist’, especially in a scene where a woman goes through an extremely painful birth in the name of the society led by the cold-hearted Lee. Simultaneously with childbirth, we see Kinski in white tossing and turning in bed, as Regan McNeill tossed in her bed in William Friedkin’s classic 1973 horror film. Kinski suffers from hallucinations related to her past with the Black Church. At one point she sees herself lying in bed, while a hideous, bloody monster tries to crawl ‘inside’ her. These are the circumstances that Widmark has to contend with. It must be said that his American accent and appearance clash somewhat with the European character of the film. Anyway, Widmark is doing its best, but you can see that the money probably came in handy too.

‘To the Devil a Daughter’ is a typical horror film of the 70s. Occultism, devil worship and nudity did very well at the time and the serious tone of the film and the actors is characteristic. The women often have dark eyes and dark makeup and the camera zooms in or out merrily. The highlights are the scenes of a brainwashed Kinski, who walks like a drunk through London because she is summoned from Bavaria (!) by her teacher, Lee. The camera moves with her and is alternately a meter away and then very close again. In the finale of the film there is a victim in a so-called circle of blood, which already leaves little to be desired. The manner of filming these final scenes is very special, but also contributes to the bizarre character of the film.

‘To the Devil a Daughter’ is a pretty nice horror movie with some interesting actors and actresses. It all looks a bit cheap, but maybe this is part of these kind of horror movies, which try to show the bad in people. As is often the case, it revolves around the battle between good and evil and ultimately the question remains whether the good is really that good and the bad really that bad.