Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		2.5

The Devil's Rain Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 18, 2017

There may not be much ultimate debate over whether The Devil’s Rain is a sadly forgotten horror masterpiece (hint: it’s not), something that may play into whether or not individual consumers will want to spring for this new Blu-ray. But for those on the veritable fence, I’d offer one piece of encouragement: however loopy the film itself is, this release offers at least one priceless supplement, a bonus feature which in fact is only tangentially related to the film (which in and of itself may indicate the inherent “quality” of the main feature). Daniel Roebuck, an actor whose name may not be overly familiar even if his face will be (courtesy of stints on everything from Matlock to Lost, as well as well remembered performances in River's Edge and The Late Shift, the latter offering Roebuck as one Jay Leno), delivers an amazingly sweet reminiscence of his own history with the film. I won’t spoil Roebuck’s hilarious but touching anecdote, but will state unequivocally that it’s among the funniest and most charming memories I’ve heard anyone relay about any particular film. The fact that it’s about a film as patently gonzo as The Devil’s Rain is only makes it all the more lovable. The Devil’s Rain is credited with more or less killing the then nascent directorial career of Robert Fuest, who had memorably given horror fans The Abominable Dr. Phibes and its follow up Dr. Phibes Rises Again!. The Devil’s Rain features one of those “is this really happening” aggregations of actors, including Ernest Borgnine as a “devout” Satanist (no, I’m not kidding), Eddie Albert as a scientist investigating ESP and other paranormal phenomena, William Shatner as a guy sent to supposedly bring Borgnine down, Ida Lupino as Shatner’s mother, and Tom Skerritt as Shatner’s brother. Oh, and for the eagle eyed, there’s the debut feature film performance of a young man named John Travolta or something like that (see screenshot 19 for one of the brief looks at him). The film is almost deliriously weird most of the time, and has the further calling card of having employed the High Priest of the Church of Satan, Anton Szandor LaVey, as a “technical advisor”. LaVey is also on hand in the film playing, well, the High Priest of the Church of Satan.

For fans of a certain iconic science fiction franchise (hint: it’s not Star Wars: The Complete Saga), the appearance of a mid-seventies William Shatner might be all that is needed to warrant checking out the film, and in fact Shatner seems to be playing the main character in the early going. He plays Mark Preston, whose mother Emma (Ida Lupino) has been hiding some ultra powerful Satanic instruction book beneath the floorboards of the family ranch house. When Mark’s father and Emma’s husband returns in a violent storm looking a little under the weather, warning the family that local Satanist (I’m not joking, folks) Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) really wants the Preston’s book, Emma is especially worried, not least because her husband then promptly melts into goo in the downpour.

That sets Mark off on a quest to confront the family’s nemesis, which takes him to an abandoned western village, in a location that may in fact remind some fans of the setting of “Spectre of the Gun” from Star Trek: The Original Series, Season 3. Because frankly nothing makes much sense in this film, Corbis is there, and the town turns out to not be quite abandoned, since the local clapboard church is full of Corbis’ zombie like followers, all of whom look like the cowled albino villains in The Omega Man. Mark’s mom has told him to wear a magical amulet which Corbis can’t fight, and Mark takes further protective measures by reciting the Lord’s Prayer (as only Shatner can), but it’s all for naught when Corbis does a little magic and, well, Mark ends up part of the “down under” team, along with his mom, who is another new recruit.

Meanwhile, a trio of other characters is introduced outside of the ghost town setting. Tom Preston (Tom Skerritt) is working on some paranormal research with his psychically gifted wife Julie (Joan Prather) and their scientist friend Dr. Sam Richards (Eddie Albert). In just one of several generally inexplicable segues, the team ends up at the ghost town, where Tom discovers that Mark is being “turned” and that Corbis, who transforms into the goat headed Bad Guy himself, likes to collect human souls. The bulk of the rest of the film is more or less a cat and game mouse between Tom and Corbis, with a supposed victory of Divine Forces slyly upended by a final twist.

Baby Boomers with a penchant for campy horror should probably flock to this film, as where else can one find Commander McHale of McHale's Navy battling Oliver Wendell Douglas of Green Acres and Captain Kirk of Star Trek: The Original Series? The film has a certain goofy enjoyability, and the supposedly authentic “Enochian” rituals may in fact recommend it to occult lovers, no matter what their age. But the film is really just a series of bizarre vignettes, few of which are linked overly effectively. It’s a ton of fun seeing someone like Borgnine in full on Hunter Thompson mode, doing his best to erase any and all memories of the Method and efforts like Marty.

The Devil's Rain Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Devil's Rain is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Severin Film with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Severin's press materials tout that The Devil's Rain has been "restored in HD for the first time ever" without specifying the source for the restoration, but I have to say I was generally pretty impressed with the look of this transfer. Elements like the opening credits look stable, and the palette is very nicely suffused throughout the presentation. There are some passing issues with grain resolution and compression, but they're not overly distracting. Detail levels are often quite good, especially in some of the sun drenched sequences in the ghost town. There are still a few minor specks and scratches, but again nothing overly problematic. I could see some fans thinking this doesn't quite make the 4.0 level, but in motion it's organic looking and quite enjoyable.

The Devil's Rain Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Devil's Rain features a nice sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix. The film has some front loaded sound effects, with a torrential storm and then the first of what turns out to be several "melting" moments, but the spare sound design of some of the ghost town material doesn't offer a lot of opportunity for sonic "wow". Dialogue (including those Satanic chants, so be careful) is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.

The Devil's Rain Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary features director Robert Fuest hosted by Marcus Hearn.


• Confessions of Tom (1080p; 10:59) features Tom Skerritt.


• The Devil's Makeup (1080p; 5:05) features special effects artist Tom Burman.


• 1975 Archive Footage (1080p; 3:47) features William Shatner, actually discussing a forthcoming Star Trek motion picture.


• First Stop Durango (1080p; 14:47) features Script Supervisor Ana Maria Quintana.


• Consulting With the Devil (1080p; 10:17) features Peter H. Gilmore and Peggy Nadramia, the current High Priest and Priestess of the Church of Satan.


• Hail Satan! (1080p; 8:04) features Anton LaVey biographer Blanche Barton. Barton also holds a position in the Church of Satan.


• Filmmaker/Collector Daniel Roebuck on The Devil's Rain (1080p; 10:33) is the one must see supplement on this disc of otherwise consistently excellent supplements.


• On Set Polaroid Gallery over Radio Spots (1080p; 7:57) features pictures snapped by Ana Maria Quintana.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:46)


• TV Spots (1080p; 1:33)


• Poster and Stills Gallery (1080p; 7:48)

The Devil's Rain Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's kind of funny that the film's original marketing materials included on this Blu-ray as supplements repeatedly lump it in with "disaster" fare like Airport and Earthquake, rather than what might be expected as the appropriate analog, horror outings like The Exorcist. Curmudgeons may suggest that it's a subliminal recognition on the part of the marketing team that they were dealing with a "disaster" of another sort, but there's still a patently gonzo aspect to The Devil's Rain that may well agree with some viewers, even if many of those viewers won't be shy in detailing the film's narrative flaws and performance quirks. One way or the other Severin has assembled a nice package here with good technical merits and some outstanding supplements.