TO
THE DEVIL… A DAUGHTER (1976)Director: Peter Sykes
Anchor Bay
TO
THE DEVIL… A DAUGHTER (1976)The first time I saw this film,
I rented a copy from my local video store sometime in the late 1980's. I was
rather young at the time and enticed by the title and the spooky beauty on the
cover. I don't remember if I actually watched the whole thing. My age has doubled
in the time that's passed, I'm a devout Hammer fan, and I want to like TO THE
DEVIL… A DAUGHTER. I've read quite a bit of the negative ink the studio's
final horror film has garnered over the years, and I had every intention of
realizing what others must have overlooked when I slid Anchor Bay's
disc into my player.
The sad truth is, what should have been another of Hammer's outstanding Dennis Wheatley adaptations is merely another entry in the unsavory "Devil Made Me Do it" subgenre so common in the wake of Polanski and Friedkin's landmarks. The tale concerning a young nun groomed as a surrogate mother for Lucifer's child is a second hand stinker and renders any attempt at suspense completely fruitless. The creature effects are ridiculous and border on pornographic, the climax is a patchwork exercise in desperation, and the list goes on. Similar offenses are easily forgivable in so many of Hammer's films, but TO THE DEVIL… A DAUGHTER lacks the enchantments that enable us to lift the weight of their dime-store monsters and plots as slow as Christmas.
Understand
that I don't mean to imply there's nothing here to appreciate. Denholm Elliott's
performance is a real corker, and Christopher Lee is always a pleasure. Nastassja
Kinski's adolescent beauty is a wonder to behold, as is Richard Widmark's delivery
of what is possibly the picture's best line: "98 percent of so-called Satanists
are nothing but pathetic freaks who get their kicks out of dancing naked in
freezing churchyards, and use the Devil as an excuse for getting some sex. But
then there's that other two percent. I'm not so sure about 
them."
Anchor Bay's DVD restores footage unseen in many years and is a pleasing cap to the Hammer collection. The uncut source element and 16x9 (1.66:1 letterboxed) transfer are simply beautiful. The audio is fine and the motion menus lead to an adequate selection of supplements that include a near-mint trailer and talent bios for Lee and Widmark. There's a gallery of stills, lobby cards, and VHS cover art, with an extensive collection of foreign and domestic promo posters. Hidden among the extras is a hilarious Easter-egg of long time Hammer stunt man Eddie Powell reminiscing about standing in for Christopher Lee's hindquarters.
TO
THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER's historical significance more than warrants a feature
length commentary. We know Chris Lee is never at a loss for words when it comes
to discussing himself and the films he appears in, and the unusual circumstances
under which the film was made beg illumination. The absence of such a track
is a notable omission, but in its place we get TO THE DEVIL...THE DEATH OF HAMMER,
a good looking and fairly informative 24 minute documentary produced by Blue
Underground, which features a host of Hammer alumni discussing TO THE DEVIL
A Daughter's conception and production, Richard Widmark's on-set shenanigans,
Dennis Wheatley's reaction to the film, and Hammer's inevitable demise. (Justin
Frank)