The Devil’s Daughter

TV Terror Collection

Wild Eye DVD

R0 NTSC

Web: Http://www.wildeyedvd.com

The Devil’s Daughter was made in 1973 and was a “made for TV” film which followed in the wake of Rosemary’s Baby and various Satanic cult films. It is however a lot better than the vast number of B grade satanic horrors that flooded the market. The first thing that stands out is the actors, Shelley Winters is just superb. She has such a presence; there is a real “larger than life” quality in her performance matched with true menace. She is like a “Diva gone bad”, even a nasty drag queen - she dresses to kill and every turn of phase has a hidden meaning and an implied threat !

Joseph Cotton is superb, a figure of trust who finally turns into the darkest of them all, while Belinda Montgomery fits of the role of innocent young woman perfectly. There is a lot to like in this film.

The Devil’s daughter was directed by French-born Jeannot Szwarc who later went on to direct Jaws 2, Somewhere in Time and Supergirl and he has shown quite some flair and skill in creating a quite successful satanic horror.

This is a film which actually is a lot better than most of its competitors, the acting is solid, the plot twists are intriguing, if not a little predictable and the mood created is surprisingly suspenseful. Even so many years later this is still a damn good late night horror classic and well worth getting hold of.

It is great to see this rather rare TV horror classic on DVD. Certainly the print shows its age and there are a few colour problems here and there and while the sound is very good with solid clear stereo, there are occasional pops.

That being said, its all part of the experience. Wait until late; pop the DVD in your player, put on some popcorn and get ready for a great 1970’s horror classic!