The Devil's Daughter (1973)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

So would say Dana Carvey's "Church Lady" if he were to meet Belinda J. Montgomery's Diane in this over-the-top macabre horror drama from the golden age of the TV movie: 90 minutes (with commercials) and little to no frills. The frills here are saved for the superb cast which is headed by the mysterious Shelley Winters as Lilith, the friendly old pal of Montgomery's recently deceased mother who had a pact with the devil himself to raise their daughter and turn her over to him after 21 years. That time has passed, and while they haven't seen much of each other, Montgomery is beside herself with grief with the old woman suddenly dies in a horrific accident. The overly friendly Winters (think of her as an over caffeinated Ruth Gordon of "Rosemary's Baby") immediately offers Montgomery a room, but soon, Montgomery wants to find her own independence, something the hot tempered Winters will not hear of. Calming down briefly, Winters decides that these things must be done delicately as to not hurt the spell, and sets into motion her plan of action that indeed will turn Montgomery into the living, breathing, earthbound daughter of the prince of darkness and future empress of the underworld.The cast is filled with some great veteran actors, with Joseph Cotten as the attorney for Montgomery's mothers estate, Robert Foxworth as the man of Montgomery's dreams (whom she intends to marry to get away from crazy Shelley), Martha Scott as Foxworth's sophisticated mother, Abe Vigoda as one of the members of Winters' circle of friends, Lucille Benson (taking over where Patsy Kelly left off as Gordon's knitting pal in "Rosemary's Baby") as a nosy neighbor, Thelma Carpenter as another pal of Winters (who makes a great apple strudel), and Ian Wolfe as the Catholic priest who tries to steer Montgomery to making the right choices. Winters eats these types of parts for breakfast, so all eyes are on her when she is on screen. Poor Jonathan Frid, aka Barnabas Collins, is completely wasted as Winters' mute chauffer, having no purpose here other than keeping an eye on Montgomery when Winters is busy stirring her cauldron elsewhere. Coming out just as the supernatural craze of films was taking off with "The Exorcist" (and "The Omen" yet to come), this leaves the story open for a sequel, just as "Rosemary's Baby" had done five years before. Even if this could be considered disturbing for its view of seemingly kindly neighbors being involved in such an evil cult, it is best viewed from a camp perspective.

Sweet young Diane Shaw (a fine and sympathetic performance by the comely Belinda J. Montgomery) is given a place to stay by the seemingly friendly Lilith Malone (superbly played by the ever reliable Shelley Winters) following the death of Diane's mother (Diane Ladd in a strong cameo). Diane discovers much to her display that her mother was a member of an evil Satanic cult and made a deal with the devil to marry her off to the chosen one when she reaches legal age. Director Jeannot ("Jaws 2") Szwarc does a commendable job of creating and sustaining a compellingly eerie and mysterious atmosphere. J.J. Jones' polished cinematography gives the picture a bright, attractive look. Lawrence Rosenthal's shuddery'n'spooky score likewise does the trick. The bang-up supporting cast qualifies as another major asset: Jonathan Frid (Barnabas on "Dark Shadows") as Lilith's creepy mute chauffeur Mr. Howard, Robert Foxworth as charming architect Steve Stone, Abe Vigoda as sinister anthropologist Aliknine, Joseph Cotten as the amiable Judge Weatherby, Ian Wolfe as the kindly Father MacHugh, and Lucille ("Private Parts") Benson as the flaky Janet Poole. The dark surprise ending is a real corker, too. A very solid and satisfying vintage 70's made-for-TV fright feature.

Obviously inspired by Rosemary's Baby, this obscure ABC-TV movie is still quite entertaining in its own right. The amazing cast goes full tilt, with the ever-delightful Shelley Winters taking top honors as Lilith. Though slightly hampered by overall TV stylings, it features an ample amount of tension, an imaginative opening credits sequence of flames and silhouettes, and an explosive, nightmarish twist ending. Be warned, though--The Devil's Daughter is very difficult to find. I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel a few years ago and haven't been able to locate it since. Interestingly, it runs an hour and a half with commercials, whereas most TV movies run two hours. Fun, scary, and short!

Although the "devil's gonna get you" plot may have been an over-kill of the 1970's horror flicks, this film deserves merit for a memorable surprise ending and a seasoned cast including: Shelley Winters, Joseph Cotton, Robert Foxworth, Jonathan Frid and Martha Scott. It would have been a worthy film to make into video!