RETRO-REVIEW: ENTER THE DEVIL (1972) (Massacre Video Blu-ray Review)

ENTER THE DEVIL (1972) 

Limited Collector's Edition 

Label: Massacre Video
Duration: 81 Minutes
Rating: Unrated
Region Code: Region-FREE
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Frank Q. Dobbs
Cast: David S. Cass Sr., Irene Kelly, Joshua Bryant, Happy Shahan, John Martin, Wanda Wilson, Carle Bensen

Regional drive-in devil-cult shocker Enter The Devil (1972) (a.k.a. Disciples of Death) is a fun slice of Satanic 70s horror, opening with a crusty old rock hound named Ozzie Perkins (Happy Shahan, The Return of Josey Wales) who finds himself stranded in rural southern Texas when the tire on his car is shot out by an unseen sniper. He manages to catch a lift with what appears to be a friendly local fella, but soon enough he finds himself in a subterranean cave and tied down on an alter of sacrifice, surrounded by cultists in robes who are chanting and holding torches, he's then stabbed through the heart with a crucifix handled dagger!

The local sheriff (John Martin, Dr. Terror's House of Horrors) assigns State Trooper Jace (David Cass, The Island of Dr. Moreau) to investigate the prospector's disappearance. It seems it's an election year and the sheriff can't have an unsolved cases hanging around his neck, 'natch. Jace reluctantly accepts his assignment and heads out into the desert, landing at the Villa de la Mina hunting lodge which is managed by Glenn (Josh Bryant, Salem's Lot), who is assisted by housekeeper Juanita (Wanda Wilson, Final Chapter: Walking Tall) - with whom the trooper seems to have a continuing fling with.

Jace spends a few days lodging at the Villa de la Mina while he searches the area for the missing man, at the same time a group of lecherous city hunters show up for the start of deer season. Eventually the prospector's car is found burned up out in the desert with his charred body inside. An autopsy by Dr. Leslie Culvert (Carle Bensen, Deathrace 2000) reveals that the codger didn't actually die in the car fire, that the scene was most likely staged, leading to the trooper staying in the area a bit longer to get to the bottom of it all. Not long after one of the hunters goes missing, abducted by the cultists who overpower him and throw him into a rattle snake-pit and left to die. Afterward they dump his corpse in the desert where it is found by the trooper and a search party of hunters. 

Enter Dr. Leslie Culvert (Irene Kelly, Rosemary's Baby) who is called in by the coroner to assist with the investigation, she specializing in religious cults, and noting that the disappearances could be attributed to a fanatical religious group called The Penitentes, who were known to perform ritual human sacrifice in the area.

This dusty devil-cult shocker is a low-budget drive-in programmer but I love it, I totally dig the barren Texas setting and the robed torch,  carrying cult, it's a nifty little regional horror flick that pushes all the right buttons for me. These sort of devil cult movies were popular following Rosemary's Baby (1968), this one coming a year after The Brotherhood of Satan (1971) and a few years before a pair of my personal favorites, The Devil's Rain (1975) and Race With The Devil (1975), and it would make a fun devil-cult double-feature with any of those movies. While this one is more low-budget than any of those it has a simple, solid story, it's well-paced and the thrills come at a steady clip, with a good amount of action throughout. The scenes of torch wielding cultists in the dark are creepy, and there's a decent amount of bloodletting, plus a few late-in-the-movie twist that I didn't see coming, good stuff.

One of the stars of the film is the Southwest Texas setting, a dusty landscape with dried-up tumbleweed and seemingly endless vistas of barren rocky outcroppings, the film does a good job making the whole thing feel remote, the filmmakers do a lot with what must have been very little, and they ended up making a film that is actually quite a solid little chiller. Director Frank Q. Dobbs only directed a handful of movies, including the porno The California Connection (1973) a year layer, but he would go onto have a pretty decent career producing a string of popular TV Westerns and min-series in the 90's and aughts, he obviously had a love for Westerns and desert landscapes, and it really shows in this regional rarity. Leading man David Cass offers up some macho charm, an easy going guy who is rugged but not an asshole, a very likable guy. Then we have ranch runner Glenn played by Josh Bryant, who seems like a straight-shooter, striking up a relationship with the lady doc played by looker Irene Kelly, so we get a little bit of romance, some violence, suspense and cult-ish activity, it's film that offers a little bit of everything for fans of 70's horror. 

Audio/Video: Enter The Devil (1972) arrives on Blu-ray/DVD Combo from Massacre Video in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen, restored from a recently discovered inter-negative of the film. The regional shocker looks like what it is, an obscure and largely forgotten lesser half of a drive-in double feature. The film is blemished with white speckling, dirt and scratches throughout, the grain is cumbersome in the night scenes, and it has that scuzzy bad-film patina connoisseur's of regional cinema love. 

This release comes with a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 audio track with optional English subtitles. There's a bit of hiss present on the track, and dialogue is little boxy, but all things considered not too bad, the score from Sam Douglas is pretty nifty too.

Onto the extras we get a new interview with star David S. Cass Sr., who originally hails from right here in Tucson, Arizona, where he started his career as a gunfighter in the streets of Old Tucson before catching the eye of John Wayne while he was filming Mclintock! (1963), then moving to Hollywood, trying to get gigs on his own before reaching out to Wayne who got him a role in film on the long-running TV western Gunsmoke. He also speaks about meeting director Frank Q. Dobbs, his career working with him, and co-writing and making Enter The Devil. He also touches on writing Dobb's porn film California Connection (a.k.a. The Erotic Adventures of Peter Galore), which is also featured as an extra on this release. The porno is presented full frame, looking to be a greasy looking PAL VHS rip, but it's a cool extra, Cass makes sure to note that he's never seen the film. The porno is exclusive to the Blu-ray disc, it is not featured on the DVD.

Massacre have also included a clip from the Video Nasty doc Video Nasties The Definitive Guide: Part 2 with critic/author Kim Newman discussing the region terror and how misguided it was that the film was ever classified as a video nasty, it's always a treat to hear Newman conversate about these obscure horror films. Extras are buttoned-up with an image gallery of still of publicity photos, a trailer for the film, and a pair of Massacre Video trailers.

The 2-disc release comes housed in a clear 2-tray Blu-ray keepcase with a sleeve of artwork that features a scene from the film on the reverse side. It's not reversible, but Massacre Video also offer up a slipcase with the Limited Collector's Edition version with an alternate artwork option. The DVD and Blu-ray discs inside feature both artwork options. It's a very fine looking presentation, the slip is not rigid but it's not chintzy either, a very handsome presentation from Massacre Video.

Special Features:
- Limited Edition Slipcover
- 2k Master from original 35mm Inter-negative element
- Sizzling Bonus Feature: Frank Q. Dobbs' California Connection (a.k.a. The Erotic Adventures of Peter Galore)(86 min)
- Video Nasty Scholar, Kim Newman talks Enter The Devil(5 min)
- Disciple of Death - An Interview with David Cass (12 min)
- Extensive Still Gallery (2 min)
- Enter The Devil Trailer (2 min)
- Massacre Video Trailers: Dead American Woman (4 min), American Rampage (2 min)

Enter The Devil (1972) is a regional rarity that is worth a watch, it might be strapped for cash but it's not starving for ideas or entertainment value, a solid 70's devil-cult shocker. This 2-disc release from Massacre Video is a very handsome, highly recommended.