The Devil Rides Out [1968]

Its a shame that more of Wheatley's work isn't filmed. Its now considered bombastic and politically incorrect by self-appointed style-arbitrators and their baah-ing followers. But Wheatley knew his occultism, having hung out with illuminaries such as Aleister Crowley, Montague Summers and Rollo Amad. He excelled at telling rousing tales in which drama and pace are never sacrificed to cod-psychology or boring character motivation - the Jeffrey Archer of his day. Providing a heady mix of sex, violence and graphically described Satanic rituals and orgies, his work still resonates in the collective unconscious.

Chris Lee is perfect as the aristocratic Duc de Richelieu, Wheatley's self-confessed alter-ego - he was instrumental in persuading Hammer to film the book. But this movie is owned incontestably by Charles Gray as the Crowley-inspired Satanist Mocata - the impeccably dressed and perfectly mannered personification of urbane evil and predatory sexual menace. Gray's delivery is superb - 'I won't be back, but something will' is a killer line presented with distinction, heralding the onset of the movie's breathtaking core sequence in the pentacle.

Fisher's direction is pacy and rarely lets up, and there's a real atmosphere of dread throughout the film. The scene in the observatory has a hair-raising feel of inexplicable evil, and the appearance of the demon/incubus has a cold, creepy quality unmatched in any other movie.

The pentacle sequence is stunning and the breathtaking appearance the Angel of Death propels us into the type of mythic territory which is only now beginning to be explored by Peter Jackson in his LOTR trilogy. Lee's ritual to seal the pentacle, invoking the four Archangels, is straight out of the Golden Dawn and adds esoteric credibility.

Sure, some of the special effects are cheesy, and most of the other actors (apart from Tanith), are lacklustre. Yet the atmosphere and production values define this as Hammer at its very peak - matching The Curse of Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy (all Fisher movies) in intensity, visceral imagination, commited performances and striking meditations on the nature of good and evil. The whole show went downhill from here, but what a swansong.


Oozes With Atmosphere   June 29, 2002
E. A. Redfearn (Middlesbrough)
12 out of 15 found this review helpful

Probably the best adaption of a Denis Wheatley novel ever. Christopher Lee plays the Duc de Richlieu who desperatly tries to help his friend (Patrick Mower) against dark forces led by the splendid Charles Grey who portrays the evil Mocata. The film oozes atmosphere throughout, aided and abetted by a wonderful music score. The scene in the house with the friends trapped inside a pentacle against the forces of darkness is the highlight of the film. By a co-incidence, this film marked the decline of Hammer films, and this must be rated the last of Hammer's finest achievements alongside Quatermass and the Pit which had been released a little earlier.


A Fine Adaption of a Dennis Wheatley Classic   June 20, 2002
E. A. Redfearn (Middlesbrough)
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

Hammer scored triumphs with this fine adaption of what was probably Dennis Wheatley's finest novel of Satanism and Black Magic. Despite budget limitations and dodgy special effects, the Hammer production team generated an atmospheric version highlighted by a wonderful music score. Of course, the actors themselves did themselves proud. Christopher Lee, ably supported by Patrick Mower and Paul Eddington, performed their parts as if it had been especially written for them. Charles Gray who was famous for providing the voice for Jack Hawkins when he lost his larynx due to throat cancer, played an evil menacing Mocata with great distinction. What is now needed is a DVD version for Hammer movie buffs like myself. By the way I should mention that this film was probably the last one made by Hammer which was successful before its sad decline during the early 1970s. Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, Hammer fans can now build up a fine collection of their best films made between 1955 and 1969.


Vintage Horror   December 30, 2001
2 out of 5 found this review helpful

An excellent adaptation from the Dennis Wheatley novel of the same name. Both Christopher Lee and Charles Gray are excellent as the worldly wise Duc de Richleau and the Satanic Mr Mocata. The film is well paced as they battle it out for the powers of Light and Darkness with the Duc's friends very souls at stake.


A devil of a film...   August 27, 2001
Stu (stu@baracuda.co.uk) (Cumbria)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful

To be short, this is quite simply one of the most chilling, eerie and terror-filled occult films of all time. Yeah, the effects are dated and occasionally mockable to modern day standards, but watch this on your own, in the dark and late a night and feel the paranoia and tension build up. A truely dazzling book adaptation. The observatory scene is very scarey indeed.