WEBVTT
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:41.679
Welcome back to the Introverted Obelisk, the podcast where we dig through the crypts, castles, laboratories, and occasionally suspicious astronomy clubs of classic horror cinema.
00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:48.399
Somehow, after all the movies we've covered here at the Introverted Obelisk, we've never actually done a Hammer film.
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:55.439
So tonight, we're finally showing up to the party with 1968's The Devil Rides Out.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:05.760
Christopher Lee is here, the candles are lit, there's a goat out back, and I'm beginning to suspect I've fundamentally misunderstood what kind of party this is.
00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:10.959
And I have to say, Hammer is an absolutely a horror institution.
00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:21.040
Beginning in the 50s, Hammer helped bring Gothic horror roaring back to life, at a time when the classic monsters had largely faded from their original glory days.
00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:40.560
They took Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the rest of that old Gothic tradition and gave it vivid color, blood, sexuality, atmosphere, and a distinctly British personality, and introduced those monsters to an entirely new generation.
00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:50.319
And along the way, names like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher became practically inseparable from Hammer Horror.
00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:55.599
And the studio didn't invent gothic horror, but it for sure helped make it fashionable.
00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:01.040
And while this may be our first hammer film, Terence Fisher isn't actually a stranger to the obelisk.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.079
No no no.
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:13.039
We've previously encountered him as co-director of So Long at the Fair, which is about as far removed from satanic cults and the literal devil as you can reasonably get.
00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:22.240
Now by the time we reach The Devil Rides Out, nearly two decades later, Fisher has become one of the defining directors of Hammer Horror.
00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:29.759
So apparently, while we weren't looking, the man got considerably more comfortable with blood, monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:38.240
So grab your crucifix, stay inside the circle, and whatever you do, don't look the mysterious apparition directly in the eyes.
00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.840
This is The Devil Rides Out.
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:51.120
Our film was directed by Terrence Fisher and based on the 1934 novel by Dennis Wheatley, with a screenplay by Richard Matheson.
00:02:51.280 --> 00:03:00.000
And just let me say, if there were a Hall of Honored names here at the obelisk, Richard Matheson would be carved pretty predominantly in the wall.
00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:08.319
So our film begins with a biplane landing and Rex Van Ren arriving to meet his old friend, the Duke.
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:10.719
Yes, that's it, just the Duke.
00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:18.639
So during the drive, they discuss another friend, Simon Aaron, whom neither of them has seen recently.
00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:24.319
And rather than assume Simon has simply become terrible about returning phone calls, they decide to go check on.
00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.759
When they arrive at Simon's house, they find him hosting a gathering.
00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:40.479
Simon introduces them to several of his new acquaintances, including the beautiful Tanneth Carlisle, an elderly countess, and a gentleman named Mokata, played by Charles Gray.
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.800
Simon explains that they're all members of an astronomical society.
00:03:45.199 --> 00:04:01.759
Now, there's nothing particularly suspicious about getting a bunch of people together to stare at the stars, but Simon's acting like the astronomy club has a password and a body disposal policy, and the Duke realizes that something isn't right, and he realizes it real quick.
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:10.800
Of course, Simon politely tries to get them out of the house because the meeting is about to begin, but the Duke decides he'd like to have a look through Simon's telescope first.
00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.960
Upstairs in the observatory, the astronomy club explanation begins falling apart.
00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:22.000
You see, there are strange symbols covering the walls and floors, and then the Duke discovers a basket literally containing chickens.
00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:27.519
Now, I'm not an astronomer, but I feel reasonably confident that chickens are not standard equipment.
00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.759
Well, at this, the Duke immediately realizes what Simon has gotten himself involved with.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.000
This is in fact not astronomy.
00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.160
It's in fact black magic.
00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.600
And this is one of my favorite things about Christopher Lee in this movie.
00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:40.639
So check us out.
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.759
There is no period of disbelief.
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:50.160
Nobody has to spend 40 minutes convincing him that supernatural forces might possibly exist.
00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:54.959
He sees the evidence and essentially says, I know exactly what this is.
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.959
And we're getting out of here with our friend.
00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.079
Now this is a total contrast to Knight of the Demon's protagonist Dr.
00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:01.439
John Holden from last week.
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.560
Needless to say, Simon refuses to cooperate, so the Duke takes the most direct approach available and knocks him straight up unconscious.
00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:13.040
The Duke and Rex then carry Simon outside and take him back to the Duke's house.
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:19.920
There, the Duke attempts to break the influence by hypnotizing Simon, which includes placing a crucifix around his neck.
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:22.000
And putting him to bed.
00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:28.560
Unfortunately, the influence already has enough of a hole over Simon that a crucifix and a nap aren't going to fix this.
00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:36.240
Its hold is in fact so strong that the crucifix begins to choke him, and a servant has to come and remove it.
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.000
Well, once it's removed, Simon is gone.
00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:42.079
Like he escapes out the window.
00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:49.199
So now the Duke and Rex have lost Simon, which means they have to go back to Simon's house and figure out exactly what they're dealing with.
00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:56.079
A page out of Simon's book, the Duke and Rex return to the house through the observatory window, because apparently we're all done using doors now.
00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:05.600
Well, while they're searching, the Duke explains that knowing the real names of the people in the group would be useful because members of these occult societies apparently adopt other names.
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.720
Rex remembers seeing Tanneth before at a hotel, and that gives him at least one possible lead.
00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.360
Then all of a sudden, the room changes.
00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:21.360
The lights go out, the temperature drops, and gas begins rising from the symbol on the floor, and a man materializes from inside it.
00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.360
And the Duke immediately tells Rex not to look in the man's eyes.
00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.600
So naturally, what does Rex do?
00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:29.199
He looks in the man's eyes.
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:40.720
He begins moving toward the figure until the Duke pulls out a crucifix, and apparently is subscribing to the Castlevania School of Religious Iconography, and just hurls a crucifix at the figure, causing him to disappear.
00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:49.519
Now at this point, the Duke explains that time is running out, because Simon is under mind control and is going to be formally initiated into the group.
00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.399
And Tannith may be their best chance of finding him.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.560
So the Duke tracks down the London hotel where she's staying and sends Rex to get her.
00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.800
We cut to Rex driving with Tannith, and he questions her about Mikado, and he discovers something very important.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:09.839
Tannith is actually her real name, which means she hasn't undergone the group's baptism yet.
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:11.360
So that's good news.
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:15.920
But the bad news is Makado doesn't need to be sitting beside her to influence her.
00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:20.160
You see, his eyes appear in the rearview mirror, and he begins communicating with her.
00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.160
And well, more on that in a minute.
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:30.160
So after a short car ride, Rex takes Tanneth to the house of their friend Richard and Marie Eaton, who live with their young daughter, Peggy.
00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.920
Rex barely has time to step away from the car before Tanneth jumps in the driver's seat and casually commits Grand Theft Auto.
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:43.519
And what's it got to do but steal his friend's Richard's car and start a wonderfully strange combination of occult horror and car chase?
00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:49.519
Meanwhile, back in Rex's car, Mikado continues appearing in the mirror talking to Tanneth.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:51.680
He assures her that Rex will not catch her.
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.240
And then to make good on that remark, Rex's windshield suddenly becomes opaque.
00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.040
Because apparently when you're a powerful Satanist, traffic safety is just another weapon in your arsenal.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.279
What's our man Rex to do?
00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:06.720
Well, punch a hole through the windshield and continue the chase, of course.
00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:08.480
Just talking about my man Rex.
00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:16.800
Well eventually, a mysterious fog rolls across the woodland road, and since fog is apparently Rex's kryptonite, he promptly crashes.
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:22.720
After picking himself up and making his way back toward the road, he's nearly run down by another car.
00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:32.320
Rex falls into a large house and watches as several familiar faces, including Simon, Makado, and Tanneth, pile into their cars and get ready to head off together.
00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:43.200
Ain't no thing for my boy Rex, though, because rather than let a minor inconvenience like, you know, not having a car stop him, he climbs into the boot of one of the cars and hinges himself a ride.
00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:53.919
The cars eventually pull into a clearing in the woods, where Rex discovers the entire occult group gathered for Simon's baptism, with Mokata presiding over a ceremony that includes the sacrifice of a goat.
00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:04.480
Well, once he's seen enough to know that the Astronomy Club story is well and truly dead, Rex slips away, calls up the Duke, and the two meet back near the clearing to figure out how they're going to put a stop to it.
00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.960
And this is where the movie decides it has spent enough time implying what these people worship.
00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.159
It's time to get real unambiguous.
00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:19.919
During the ceremony, a goat-headed figure appears sitting on a rock, which the Duke identifies as the devil himself.
00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:25.200
Now, I have to comment here that there's something wonderfully matter-of-fact about this moment.
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.600
There is no ambiguity.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.440
Satan has arrived, and he's sitting on a rock like the guest of honor, and apparently the evening's festivities can now officially begin.
00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:45.919
So as Simon steps forward to receive his baptism, the Duke realizes they're running out of time, and that the one thing they need to break in this little satanic soiree is light.
00:09:46.159 --> 00:10:00.879
So he and Rex race back to the cars, swing around, and come barreling straight into the ceremony with the headlights blazing, thus scattering cultists and thoroughly ruining whatever atmosphere Mokana had worked so hard to establish.
00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:11.200
Then Rex, apparently having paid attention earlier when the Duke demonstrated the proper Castlevania technique, he hurls a crucifix at the goathead figure and sends the devil packing.
00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:16.639
In the resulting chaos, they grab Simon and Tannith and get the heck out of there.
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.639
Which means we are now two for two on crucifixes successfully functioning as throwing weapons.
00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:27.120
At this point, I'm starting to think the church has been under selling their aerodynamic properties.
00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:38.639
From there, everybody retreats to the Eaton House, where Tanneth is put somewhere to rest, and Rex naturally volunteers to stay with her, giving the whole arrangement a distinct Fred stays behind with Daphne energy.
00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:47.200
Meanwhile, the Duke brings Richard and Marie up to speed on the fact that their evening has somehow become considerably more satanic than they were probably expecting.
00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:53.440
Simon is still especially vulnerable to Makado's influence, so the Duke gives Richard one very simple instruction.
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.000
Do not leave him alone for even a moment.
00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:08.080
And with everyone safely assigned a buddy, and absolutely nothing about this situation suggesting that leaving now might be a terrible idea, the Duke naturally dips because apparently he's got other places to be.
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.840
Now, Mokata has apparently been waiting for this exact opportunity.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.320
Because the Duke is barely out of the picture before he pops in like somebody said his name three times.
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.960
And let me tell you, Charles Gray, dude is fantastic here.
00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:29.360
Because Mokata never needs to, you know, rant, rave, or chew scenery to convince you that this dude is straight up dangerous.
00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:41.120
The guy's polite, controlled, completely confident in his power, casually telling Marie that he's only here to return the Duke's car before suggesting that Simon and Tanneth should leave with him.
00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.080
And Marie is absolutely not having it.
00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.360
And that's when Homeboy stops asking and starts telling.
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:54.960
Mokada simply reaches into her mind, takes control of her will, and forces her to reveal exactly where Simon and Tanneth are.
00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:01.519
And because apparently dominating one person at a time is for total amateurs, he doesn't even bother going upstairs.
00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.440
He just starts working on Simon and Tanneth from right there where he is.
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:13.600
Upstairs, Tanneth rises while Rex sleeps, takes an ornamental dagger off the wall that just happens to be there, and starts creeping toward him.
00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:21.840
While in another room, Simon decides that Richard's continued ability to breathe is no longer a priority and starts strangling.
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:32.720
And if that wasn't enough for you, little Peggy casually wanders into the room with Marie and Mokata, having absolutely no idea that she's just interrupted a full-scale psychic assault.
00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:42.960
Thankfully, the distraction breaks Mokata's concentration and releases everyone from his control, at which point Mokata decides this party is dead, and he is going to sly.
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.639
But before he goes, though, he leaves them with one heck of a warning.
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:53.679
Something, and he specifically means something, not someone, is coming for Simon and Tanneth that night.
00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.360
Well, Tanneth isn't sticking around to find out what that something might be.
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.399
So she escapes from the house, and of course Rex goes after her.
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.039
Dude has done put too much game on her to let him now.
00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:09.279
When he finally catches her, Tanneth tells him Mokata was at the house and admits that yes, she did just try to murder him in his sleep.
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:18.080
I guess this isn't enough of a red flag to scare off our boy Rex because he decides that what Tanneth really needs is someplace Mokata can't reach her.
00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.039
Some place secluded, private, and you know, maybe even a little romantic.
00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.679
You know, like a staple, where he proceeds to tie and gag her.
00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:42.559
Admittedly, this is not the most romantic development in their relationship, but considering their first date has already involved Sataness, Grand Theft Auto, attempted murder, and multiple car crashes, I think the normal dating rules have been temporarily suspended.
00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.159
I think we can all agree on that.
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:51.200
Unfortunately, tying Tanneth up doesn't do much good when the man you're trying to protect her from doesn't actually need to be in the same building.
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:57.840
Mokata reaches into her mind yet again, and this time Rex gets caught up in the woo-woo right along with her.
00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:07.440
With Mokata pulling the psychic strings, Rex obediently unties Tanneth, and his reward for being such a gentleman is an immediate trip to Sleepy Town when she knocks him unconscious.
00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.000
At this point, it looks like it's just that kind of party.
00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:18.559
And Rex has once again learned the valuable lesson that being handsome, leading man type does not necessarily mean the movie tends to let you win anything.
00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:27.600
Meanwhile, back at the Eaton House, the Duke is taking Mokada's warning considerably more serious and prepares for whatever the heck is supposed to come knocking that night.
00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:39.200
He draws a large protective circle across the floor, complete with laddering and candles, then gets Simon, Richard, and Marie inside and gives them one rule that matters above all else.
00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:46.240
No matter what they see, no matter what they hear, and no matter how convincing it might be, nobody leaves the circle.
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:53.279
And right on schedule, as if the forces of darkness have been standing outside checking their watches, the siege begins.
00:14:53.519 --> 00:15:03.039
The lights dim, the candles go out, and the Duke gets everyone on their feet and standing back to back, ready for whatever Mokata and the forces of darkness decide to throw at them.
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:08.480
Then comes a knock at the door, followed by Rex's voice begging to be let inside.
00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.639
Or at least it sounds like Rex.
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.440
Because our boy the Duke knows better.
00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.200
Whatever is standing on the other side of that door, it for sure isn't Rex.
00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.399
And nobody's leaving the circle to find out what it actually is.
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:26.080
Well, when this apparently isn't working, all of a sudden a giant spider appears in the room.
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.919
Because apparently Satan has decided subtlety isn't getting the job done.
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:35.200
But the Duke is basically like, not today, Satan, because the spider can't cross the protective circle.
00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.639
And for a moment it looks like everyone might just be okay.
00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:45.600
Then, to wreck that moment, Peggy then walks into the room and immediately everything gets real.
00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:53.360
So naturally, Richard and Maria are about to break the circle and protect their daughter as the spider moves toward her, but once again the Duke stops them.
00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.360
The mind games don't work on him.
00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:01.039
You see, the Duke breaks out the holy water and wipes out both the fake Peggy and the giant spider.
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.360
And at this point, I'm really starting to think Castlevania owes this movie some royalties.
00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:11.840
We've thrown crucifixes as weapons, we're chucking holy water at monsters, and we even found a basket full of chickens earlier.
00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.000
Put one of those puppies inside a wall, and we have got practically the whole game here.
00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:24.639
Simon, of course, is not operating anywhere near Duke's level, and decides he's had about enough of the circle, forcing the Duke to knock him unconscious.
00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:26.480
Can't be a problem if you ain't awake.
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:37.840
Now, all of this would already qualify as a pretty eventful night, but the party is far from over, because Satan apparently hasn't finished messing around and is skipping straight to the big gun.
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:43.279
They hear the sound of horse hoofs approaching, and the Duke immediately knows what this means.
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.120
And what does it mean?
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:48.080
Let me tell you, you are not ready for this.
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:55.919
If you're thinking a zebra is about to come charging through the Eaton House, first of all, I admire your optimism, but you would be wrong.
00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.159
It's the angel of death.
00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:11.519
And sure enough, a black horse carrying a skeletal rider comes bursting into the room, which is one hell of an escalation from somebody pretending to be Rex the Door, but the Duke is already ready for this one too.
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:12.720
And here it is.
00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:21.279
We've thrown crosses, we've used holy water, we've got the chicken, and now Christopher Lee is fighting death itself.
00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.720
Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially playing Castlevania.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:30.000
All this movie needs now is for the Duke to pull out a whip and start looking suspiciously at the candle obras.
00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:36.240
Well, the Duke recites the words of the Susama ritual and sends the Angel of Death packing.
00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:45.359
By morning, the supernatural home invasion is finally over, but nobody gets much time to celebrate because victory has come with a doozy of a price.
00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:50.160
Rex returns carrying Tanneth's body in his arms, and she is very much dead.
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:53.920
The Duke explains that the Angel of Death cannot return empty-handed.
00:17:54.079 --> 00:18:00.240
So even though they managed to drive it away, somebody still had to pay the bill, and apparently Tanneth got stuck with the check.
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:07.599
And because the morning hasn't kicked everybody in the teeth quite hard enough just yet, Richard and Marie discover that Peggy is missing from her bed.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:14.400
Simon hears that and immediately jumps in a car and tears out of there like he's hoping this movie has one more freaky car chase left in it.
00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:20.319
Well, with Peggy gone, and Simon taking off on his own, the Duke realizes that they need to find Mokata.
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.119
And apparently when conventional detective work fails, you just start bothering the dead.
00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:35.119
He performs another ritual, this time using Marie as a conduit to summon Tanth's spirit, then repeatedly demands that she tell him where Mokata is.
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:46.480
Tanth insists she can't see him because he's surrounded by darkness and guarded by a winged serpent, which sounds profoundly unhelpful until Rax realizes she's not speaking metaphorically.
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:51.279
He's seen that serpent before, and suddenly he himself has an address.
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:57.119
Now they know where Makata is, but our boy Simon has already beaten them there and is demanding that Peggy be released.
00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:03.759
Mokata, being a card-carrying member of the Evil Bad Guy Society, naturally refuses because he's got plans for her.
00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:08.720
So Simon grabs a sacrificial dagger and decides he's now going to settle this the old-fashioned way.
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.400
Where are why do people have these sacrificial daggers just everywhere?
00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.240
Like it this is killing me.
00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:28.400
So unfortunately, Mokata has already demonstrated that, you know, physical weapons don't mean much when he can just, you know, reach into your mind from across the room, and once again, he does so putting the mental slap down on that noise before Simon can accomplish anything.
00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:40.960
Peggy is then brought into the ceremonial chamber and placed on the altar, and by the time the Duke, Rex, Richard, and Marie finally arrive, the ritual is already well past the opening credits and barreling toward the climax.
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:49.039
Rex charges in like he's finally decided that this is his movie, only to be promptly flattened and reminded that no, it is very much not.
00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:58.240
With everybody either restrained, unconscious, or otherwise unable to interfere, Mokata finally unveils the villain plan.
00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:00.799
Pekki isn't just going to be sacrificed.
00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.640
He intends to exchange her soul for Taniths.
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:09.519
Because apparently regular murder wasn't sufficiently complicated enough for the occasion.
00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:13.200
And for once, the Duke actually doesn't have an immediate answer.
00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:20.000
Our main man is straight up flabbergasted because he's already used the Susama ritual against the Angel of Death.
00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.519
And unfortunately, this is why you don't ritual cast in combat.
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:26.400
Makata isn't giving him the extra 10 minutes.
00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.839
By the way, that was a Dungeons and Dragons joke.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.519
If you don't get it, that's okay.
00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:35.839
That one was for a very specific audience, and those people know who they are.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:46.559
So Makata prepares to sacrifice Peggy, and things are looking pretty darn grim until Tanneth's voice suddenly comes through Maria again and tells Peggy to recite the Susama ritual.
00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:55.599
The moment she starts, the occultists begin backing away, and because unlike Rex, these people actually recognize when they're about to get their butts handed to them.
00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.079
And sure enough, it goes down.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.039
Lightning blasts the altar, destroying it.
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:07.759
Fire erupts throughout the room, and Mokada's carefully planned ceremony goes completely pear-shaped.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:20.640
Then, just when it looks like everyone is about to suddenly become a part of the world's worst occult barbecue, the Duke, Simon, Richard and Marie suddenly wake up back in the protective circle at the Eaton House.
00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:23.359
The only thing missing is Tanth's body.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:24.720
She's straight up gone.
00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.119
Richard and Marie immediately rush upstairs and find Peggy safe and sound in her bed.
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:38.160
And then, because apparently reality itself has decided Rex deserves one more win before the credit rolls, he comes strolling out of the woods with Tanneth alive.
00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:45.200
My boy put too much game into this relationship to go home empty handed, and apparently he took that lesson directly from the Angel of Death itself.
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:52.640
Naturally, everyone turns to the Duke because at this point, if the furniture suddenly started speaking Latin, they'd probably just look at him and wait for an explanation.
00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:54.480
And the Duke actually has one.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.119
Time itself has been reversed.
00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759
The Angel of Death still couldn't leave empty handed.
00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.000
But this time, Tanneth wasn't the one who got stuck with a check.
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:12.319
Instead, Death apparently reached into the cosmic deck, slapped an Uno's reverse card on the table, and took Mokada instead.
00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:26.400
And I gotta admit, there is something deeply satisfying about watching a man spend an entire movie beating everyone else over the head with the forces of darkness, only to have those same forces turn around and beat the absolute crap out of him.
00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.960
I am just saying sometimes poor justice doesn't need to be subtle.
00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:33.519
And that is the end of the film.
00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:39.519
But before we finish, there is one piece of imagery and the devil rides out that I feel deserves some attention.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:46.319
Because the film starts playing with this like occult-looking symbolism before the story even begins.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.759
Well, during the opening credits, we see a symbol that can easily be mistaken for something, you know, satanic.
00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:54.319
Especially considering the movie we just watched.
00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.920
Well, the funny thing is, uh, it's actually not satanic.
00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:10.720
The design is a star of David, and inside that is a sixth-winged seraph associated with a vision of the prophet Ezekiel, represented with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.960
Now, in Christian tradition, those four figures become associated with the four gospel writers.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:22.880
Matthew with the man, Mark with the lion, Luke with the ox, and John with the eagle.
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:27.359
The design is also incorporated into the symbol scene on the priestly robes in the film.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:31.680
I just think it's a it's a weird, cool detail that I thought really deserved to be pointed out.
00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.839
Now, what really makes this movie work for me is just how seriously it takes the supernatural world.
00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:49.599
There isn't much winking at the audience, nobody spends half the movie desperately searching for a rational explanation, and the Duke sure as heck isn't standing around trying to prove this stuff isn't real.
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:54.640
Everyone using it knows it's real and is there fighting fire with fire.
00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:00.559
And a huge shout out to Christopher Lee here, because he's a massive part of why all of this works.
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:06.880
If you're accustomed to hammer films, you're used to seeing him as the imposing figure everyone else is afraid of in a hammer film.
00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.240
Frank Sign's monster, the mummy, Dracula.
00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:16.160
But the devil rides out, takes that exact same presence, and turns it into something actually reassuring.
00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:26.319
Because when the lights go out, the room gets cold, and something starts materializing into the floor, that's the dude you want staying beside you with a crucifix in his pocket, ready to pull a Simon Bellwalk.
00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.799
Alright, folks, next time we'll continue our September season of The Witch.
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:42.640
Because if there's one thing classic horror has taught us, it's that no matter how many people are horribly killed by black magic, there's always somebody waiting in the next movie thinking, yeah, but I bet I could pull it off.
00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.000
So until then, be careful what clubs you join.
00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:54.160
Never accept occult paraphernalia from strangers, and if Christopher Lee tells you to stay inside the circle, stay inside the dang circle.
00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.680
Good night, and roll credits.
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:41.679
Welcome back to the Introverted Obelisk, the podcast where we dig through the crypts, castles, laboratories, and occasionally suspicious astronomy clubs of classic horror cinema.
00:00:41.840 --> 00:00:48.399
Somehow, after all the movies we've covered here at the Introverted Obelisk, we've never actually done a Hammer film.
00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:55.439
So tonight, we're finally showing up to the party with 1968's The Devil Rides Out.
00:00:55.679 --> 00:01:05.760
Christopher Lee is here, the candles are lit, there's a goat out back, and I'm beginning to suspect I've fundamentally misunderstood what kind of party this is.
00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:10.959
And I have to say, Hammer is an absolutely a horror institution.
00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:21.040
Beginning in the 50s, Hammer helped bring Gothic horror roaring back to life, at a time when the classic monsters had largely faded from their original glory days.
00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:40.560
They took Dracula, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and the rest of that old Gothic tradition and gave it vivid color, blood, sexuality, atmosphere, and a distinctly British personality, and introduced those monsters to an entirely new generation.
00:01:40.799 --> 00:01:50.319
And along the way, names like Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Terence Fisher became practically inseparable from Hammer Horror.
00:01:50.560 --> 00:01:55.599
And the studio didn't invent gothic horror, but it for sure helped make it fashionable.
00:01:55.680 --> 00:02:01.040
And while this may be our first hammer film, Terence Fisher isn't actually a stranger to the obelisk.
00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.079
No no no.
00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:13.039
We've previously encountered him as co-director of So Long at the Fair, which is about as far removed from satanic cults and the literal devil as you can reasonably get.
00:02:13.199 --> 00:02:22.240
Now by the time we reach The Devil Rides Out, nearly two decades later, Fisher has become one of the defining directors of Hammer Horror.
00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:29.759
So apparently, while we weren't looking, the man got considerably more comfortable with blood, monsters, and things that go bump in the night.
00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:38.240
So grab your crucifix, stay inside the circle, and whatever you do, don't look the mysterious apparition directly in the eyes.
00:02:38.560 --> 00:02:41.840
This is The Devil Rides Out.
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:51.120
Our film was directed by Terrence Fisher and based on the 1934 novel by Dennis Wheatley, with a screenplay by Richard Matheson.
00:02:51.280 --> 00:03:00.000
And just let me say, if there were a Hall of Honored names here at the obelisk, Richard Matheson would be carved pretty predominantly in the wall.
00:03:00.159 --> 00:03:08.319
So our film begins with a biplane landing and Rex Van Ren arriving to meet his old friend, the Duke.
00:03:08.560 --> 00:03:10.719
Yes, that's it, just the Duke.
00:03:11.680 --> 00:03:18.639
So during the drive, they discuss another friend, Simon Aaron, whom neither of them has seen recently.
00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:24.319
And rather than assume Simon has simply become terrible about returning phone calls, they decide to go check on.
00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.759
When they arrive at Simon's house, they find him hosting a gathering.
00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:40.479
Simon introduces them to several of his new acquaintances, including the beautiful Tanneth Carlisle, an elderly countess, and a gentleman named Mokata, played by Charles Gray.
00:03:40.719 --> 00:03:44.800
Simon explains that they're all members of an astronomical society.
00:03:45.199 --> 00:04:01.759
Now, there's nothing particularly suspicious about getting a bunch of people together to stare at the stars, but Simon's acting like the astronomy club has a password and a body disposal policy, and the Duke realizes that something isn't right, and he realizes it real quick.
00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:10.800
Of course, Simon politely tries to get them out of the house because the meeting is about to begin, but the Duke decides he'd like to have a look through Simon's telescope first.
00:04:11.039 --> 00:04:14.960
Upstairs in the observatory, the astronomy club explanation begins falling apart.
00:04:15.520 --> 00:04:22.000
You see, there are strange symbols covering the walls and floors, and then the Duke discovers a basket literally containing chickens.
00:04:22.160 --> 00:04:27.519
Now, I'm not an astronomer, but I feel reasonably confident that chickens are not standard equipment.
00:04:27.680 --> 00:04:31.759
Well, at this, the Duke immediately realizes what Simon has gotten himself involved with.
00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:34.000
This is in fact not astronomy.
00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:36.160
It's in fact black magic.
00:04:36.399 --> 00:04:39.600
And this is one of my favorite things about Christopher Lee in this movie.
00:04:39.759 --> 00:04:40.639
So check us out.
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.759
There is no period of disbelief.
00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:50.160
Nobody has to spend 40 minutes convincing him that supernatural forces might possibly exist.
00:04:50.480 --> 00:04:54.959
He sees the evidence and essentially says, I know exactly what this is.
00:04:55.120 --> 00:04:56.959
And we're getting out of here with our friend.
00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.079
Now this is a total contrast to Knight of the Demon's protagonist Dr.
00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:01.439
John Holden from last week.
00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:08.560
Needless to say, Simon refuses to cooperate, so the Duke takes the most direct approach available and knocks him straight up unconscious.
00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:13.040
The Duke and Rex then carry Simon outside and take him back to the Duke's house.
00:05:13.199 --> 00:05:19.920
There, the Duke attempts to break the influence by hypnotizing Simon, which includes placing a crucifix around his neck.
00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:22.000
And putting him to bed.
00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:28.560
Unfortunately, the influence already has enough of a hole over Simon that a crucifix and a nap aren't going to fix this.
00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:36.240
Its hold is in fact so strong that the crucifix begins to choke him, and a servant has to come and remove it.
00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.000
Well, once it's removed, Simon is gone.
00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:42.079
Like he escapes out the window.
00:05:42.399 --> 00:05:49.199
So now the Duke and Rex have lost Simon, which means they have to go back to Simon's house and figure out exactly what they're dealing with.
00:05:49.759 --> 00:05:56.079
A page out of Simon's book, the Duke and Rex return to the house through the observatory window, because apparently we're all done using doors now.
00:05:56.240 --> 00:06:05.600
Well, while they're searching, the Duke explains that knowing the real names of the people in the group would be useful because members of these occult societies apparently adopt other names.
00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:10.720
Rex remembers seeing Tanneth before at a hotel, and that gives him at least one possible lead.
00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:13.360
Then all of a sudden, the room changes.
00:06:13.519 --> 00:06:21.360
The lights go out, the temperature drops, and gas begins rising from the symbol on the floor, and a man materializes from inside it.
00:06:21.439 --> 00:06:25.360
And the Duke immediately tells Rex not to look in the man's eyes.
00:06:25.600 --> 00:06:27.600
So naturally, what does Rex do?
00:06:27.839 --> 00:06:29.199
He looks in the man's eyes.
00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:40.720
He begins moving toward the figure until the Duke pulls out a crucifix, and apparently is subscribing to the Castlevania School of Religious Iconography, and just hurls a crucifix at the figure, causing him to disappear.
00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:49.519
Now at this point, the Duke explains that time is running out, because Simon is under mind control and is going to be formally initiated into the group.
00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:52.399
And Tannith may be their best chance of finding him.
00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:56.560
So the Duke tracks down the London hotel where she's staying and sends Rex to get her.
00:06:56.800 --> 00:07:02.800
We cut to Rex driving with Tannith, and he questions her about Mikado, and he discovers something very important.
00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:09.839
Tannith is actually her real name, which means she hasn't undergone the group's baptism yet.
00:07:10.079 --> 00:07:11.360
So that's good news.
00:07:11.519 --> 00:07:15.920
But the bad news is Makado doesn't need to be sitting beside her to influence her.
00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:20.160
You see, his eyes appear in the rearview mirror, and he begins communicating with her.
00:07:20.319 --> 00:07:22.160
And well, more on that in a minute.
00:07:22.319 --> 00:07:30.160
So after a short car ride, Rex takes Tanneth to the house of their friend Richard and Marie Eaton, who live with their young daughter, Peggy.
00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:35.920
Rex barely has time to step away from the car before Tanneth jumps in the driver's seat and casually commits Grand Theft Auto.
00:07:36.160 --> 00:07:43.519
And what's it got to do but steal his friend's Richard's car and start a wonderfully strange combination of occult horror and car chase?
00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:49.519
Meanwhile, back in Rex's car, Mikado continues appearing in the mirror talking to Tanneth.
00:07:49.600 --> 00:07:51.680
He assures her that Rex will not catch her.
00:07:51.759 --> 00:07:56.240
And then to make good on that remark, Rex's windshield suddenly becomes opaque.
00:07:56.480 --> 00:08:01.040
Because apparently when you're a powerful Satanist, traffic safety is just another weapon in your arsenal.
00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:03.279
What's our man Rex to do?
00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:06.720
Well, punch a hole through the windshield and continue the chase, of course.
00:08:06.879 --> 00:08:08.480
Just talking about my man Rex.
00:08:08.639 --> 00:08:16.800
Well eventually, a mysterious fog rolls across the woodland road, and since fog is apparently Rex's kryptonite, he promptly crashes.
00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:22.720
After picking himself up and making his way back toward the road, he's nearly run down by another car.
00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:32.320
Rex falls into a large house and watches as several familiar faces, including Simon, Makado, and Tanneth, pile into their cars and get ready to head off together.
00:08:32.480 --> 00:08:43.200
Ain't no thing for my boy Rex, though, because rather than let a minor inconvenience like, you know, not having a car stop him, he climbs into the boot of one of the cars and hinges himself a ride.
00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:53.919
The cars eventually pull into a clearing in the woods, where Rex discovers the entire occult group gathered for Simon's baptism, with Mokata presiding over a ceremony that includes the sacrifice of a goat.
00:08:54.080 --> 00:09:04.480
Well, once he's seen enough to know that the Astronomy Club story is well and truly dead, Rex slips away, calls up the Duke, and the two meet back near the clearing to figure out how they're going to put a stop to it.
00:09:04.639 --> 00:09:08.960
And this is where the movie decides it has spent enough time implying what these people worship.
00:09:09.200 --> 00:09:12.159
It's time to get real unambiguous.
00:09:12.399 --> 00:09:19.919
During the ceremony, a goat-headed figure appears sitting on a rock, which the Duke identifies as the devil himself.
00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:25.200
Now, I have to comment here that there's something wonderfully matter-of-fact about this moment.
00:09:25.600 --> 00:09:27.600
There is no ambiguity.
00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:35.440
Satan has arrived, and he's sitting on a rock like the guest of honor, and apparently the evening's festivities can now officially begin.
00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:45.919
So as Simon steps forward to receive his baptism, the Duke realizes they're running out of time, and that the one thing they need to break in this little satanic soiree is light.
00:09:46.159 --> 00:10:00.879
So he and Rex race back to the cars, swing around, and come barreling straight into the ceremony with the headlights blazing, thus scattering cultists and thoroughly ruining whatever atmosphere Mokana had worked so hard to establish.
00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:11.200
Then Rex, apparently having paid attention earlier when the Duke demonstrated the proper Castlevania technique, he hurls a crucifix at the goathead figure and sends the devil packing.
00:10:11.360 --> 00:10:16.639
In the resulting chaos, they grab Simon and Tannith and get the heck out of there.
00:10:16.799 --> 00:10:22.639
Which means we are now two for two on crucifixes successfully functioning as throwing weapons.
00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:27.120
At this point, I'm starting to think the church has been under selling their aerodynamic properties.
00:10:27.360 --> 00:10:38.639
From there, everybody retreats to the Eaton House, where Tanneth is put somewhere to rest, and Rex naturally volunteers to stay with her, giving the whole arrangement a distinct Fred stays behind with Daphne energy.
00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:47.200
Meanwhile, the Duke brings Richard and Marie up to speed on the fact that their evening has somehow become considerably more satanic than they were probably expecting.
00:10:47.440 --> 00:10:53.440
Simon is still especially vulnerable to Makado's influence, so the Duke gives Richard one very simple instruction.
00:10:53.600 --> 00:10:56.000
Do not leave him alone for even a moment.
00:10:56.159 --> 00:11:08.080
And with everyone safely assigned a buddy, and absolutely nothing about this situation suggesting that leaving now might be a terrible idea, the Duke naturally dips because apparently he's got other places to be.
00:11:08.240 --> 00:11:11.840
Now, Mokata has apparently been waiting for this exact opportunity.
00:11:12.000 --> 00:11:16.320
Because the Duke is barely out of the picture before he pops in like somebody said his name three times.
00:11:16.559 --> 00:11:20.960
And let me tell you, Charles Gray, dude is fantastic here.
00:11:21.279 --> 00:11:29.360
Because Mokata never needs to, you know, rant, rave, or chew scenery to convince you that this dude is straight up dangerous.
00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:41.120
The guy's polite, controlled, completely confident in his power, casually telling Marie that he's only here to return the Duke's car before suggesting that Simon and Tanneth should leave with him.
00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:44.080
And Marie is absolutely not having it.
00:11:44.240 --> 00:11:47.360
And that's when Homeboy stops asking and starts telling.
00:11:47.600 --> 00:11:54.960
Mokada simply reaches into her mind, takes control of her will, and forces her to reveal exactly where Simon and Tanneth are.
00:11:55.200 --> 00:12:01.519
And because apparently dominating one person at a time is for total amateurs, he doesn't even bother going upstairs.
00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:05.440
He just starts working on Simon and Tanneth from right there where he is.
00:12:05.679 --> 00:12:13.600
Upstairs, Tanneth rises while Rex sleeps, takes an ornamental dagger off the wall that just happens to be there, and starts creeping toward him.
00:12:13.759 --> 00:12:21.840
While in another room, Simon decides that Richard's continued ability to breathe is no longer a priority and starts strangling.
00:12:22.080 --> 00:12:32.720
And if that wasn't enough for you, little Peggy casually wanders into the room with Marie and Mokata, having absolutely no idea that she's just interrupted a full-scale psychic assault.
00:12:32.960 --> 00:12:42.960
Thankfully, the distraction breaks Mokata's concentration and releases everyone from his control, at which point Mokata decides this party is dead, and he is going to sly.
00:12:43.120 --> 00:12:46.639
But before he goes, though, he leaves them with one heck of a warning.
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:53.679
Something, and he specifically means something, not someone, is coming for Simon and Tanneth that night.
00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.360
Well, Tanneth isn't sticking around to find out what that something might be.
00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:00.399
So she escapes from the house, and of course Rex goes after her.
00:13:00.559 --> 00:13:03.039
Dude has done put too much game on her to let him now.
00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:09.279
When he finally catches her, Tanneth tells him Mokata was at the house and admits that yes, she did just try to murder him in his sleep.
00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:18.080
I guess this isn't enough of a red flag to scare off our boy Rex because he decides that what Tanneth really needs is someplace Mokata can't reach her.
00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:23.039
Some place secluded, private, and you know, maybe even a little romantic.
00:13:23.279 --> 00:13:27.679
You know, like a staple, where he proceeds to tie and gag her.
00:13:27.919 --> 00:13:42.559
Admittedly, this is not the most romantic development in their relationship, but considering their first date has already involved Sataness, Grand Theft Auto, attempted murder, and multiple car crashes, I think the normal dating rules have been temporarily suspended.
00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:44.159
I think we can all agree on that.
00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:51.200
Unfortunately, tying Tanneth up doesn't do much good when the man you're trying to protect her from doesn't actually need to be in the same building.
00:13:51.440 --> 00:13:57.840
Mokata reaches into her mind yet again, and this time Rex gets caught up in the woo-woo right along with her.
00:13:58.000 --> 00:14:07.440
With Mokata pulling the psychic strings, Rex obediently unties Tanneth, and his reward for being such a gentleman is an immediate trip to Sleepy Town when she knocks him unconscious.
00:14:07.600 --> 00:14:10.000
At this point, it looks like it's just that kind of party.
00:14:10.159 --> 00:14:18.559
And Rex has once again learned the valuable lesson that being handsome, leading man type does not necessarily mean the movie tends to let you win anything.
00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:27.600
Meanwhile, back at the Eaton House, the Duke is taking Mokada's warning considerably more serious and prepares for whatever the heck is supposed to come knocking that night.
00:14:27.679 --> 00:14:39.200
He draws a large protective circle across the floor, complete with laddering and candles, then gets Simon, Richard, and Marie inside and gives them one rule that matters above all else.
00:14:39.440 --> 00:14:46.240
No matter what they see, no matter what they hear, and no matter how convincing it might be, nobody leaves the circle.
00:14:46.399 --> 00:14:53.279
And right on schedule, as if the forces of darkness have been standing outside checking their watches, the siege begins.
00:14:53.519 --> 00:15:03.039
The lights dim, the candles go out, and the Duke gets everyone on their feet and standing back to back, ready for whatever Mokata and the forces of darkness decide to throw at them.
00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:08.480
Then comes a knock at the door, followed by Rex's voice begging to be let inside.
00:15:08.720 --> 00:15:10.639
Or at least it sounds like Rex.
00:15:11.120 --> 00:15:13.440
Because our boy the Duke knows better.
00:15:13.679 --> 00:15:17.200
Whatever is standing on the other side of that door, it for sure isn't Rex.
00:15:17.440 --> 00:15:20.399
And nobody's leaving the circle to find out what it actually is.
00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:26.080
Well, when this apparently isn't working, all of a sudden a giant spider appears in the room.
00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:29.919
Because apparently Satan has decided subtlety isn't getting the job done.
00:15:30.080 --> 00:15:35.200
But the Duke is basically like, not today, Satan, because the spider can't cross the protective circle.
00:15:35.360 --> 00:15:38.639
And for a moment it looks like everyone might just be okay.
00:15:38.960 --> 00:15:45.600
Then, to wreck that moment, Peggy then walks into the room and immediately everything gets real.
00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:53.360
So naturally, Richard and Maria are about to break the circle and protect their daughter as the spider moves toward her, but once again the Duke stops them.
00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.360
The mind games don't work on him.
00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:01.039
You see, the Duke breaks out the holy water and wipes out both the fake Peggy and the giant spider.
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.360
And at this point, I'm really starting to think Castlevania owes this movie some royalties.
00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:11.840
We've thrown crucifixes as weapons, we're chucking holy water at monsters, and we even found a basket full of chickens earlier.
00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:16.000
Put one of those puppies inside a wall, and we have got practically the whole game here.
00:16:16.240 --> 00:16:24.639
Simon, of course, is not operating anywhere near Duke's level, and decides he's had about enough of the circle, forcing the Duke to knock him unconscious.
00:16:24.879 --> 00:16:26.480
Can't be a problem if you ain't awake.
00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:37.840
Now, all of this would already qualify as a pretty eventful night, but the party is far from over, because Satan apparently hasn't finished messing around and is skipping straight to the big gun.
00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:43.279
They hear the sound of horse hoofs approaching, and the Duke immediately knows what this means.
00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:45.120
And what does it mean?
00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:48.080
Let me tell you, you are not ready for this.
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:55.919
If you're thinking a zebra is about to come charging through the Eaton House, first of all, I admire your optimism, but you would be wrong.
00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:58.159
It's the angel of death.
00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:11.519
And sure enough, a black horse carrying a skeletal rider comes bursting into the room, which is one hell of an escalation from somebody pretending to be Rex the Door, but the Duke is already ready for this one too.
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:12.720
And here it is.
00:17:12.960 --> 00:17:21.279
We've thrown crosses, we've used holy water, we've got the chicken, and now Christopher Lee is fighting death itself.
00:17:21.519 --> 00:17:24.720
Ladies and gentlemen, we are officially playing Castlevania.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:30.000
All this movie needs now is for the Duke to pull out a whip and start looking suspiciously at the candle obras.
00:17:30.640 --> 00:17:36.240
Well, the Duke recites the words of the Susama ritual and sends the Angel of Death packing.
00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:45.359
By morning, the supernatural home invasion is finally over, but nobody gets much time to celebrate because victory has come with a doozy of a price.
00:17:45.680 --> 00:17:50.160
Rex returns carrying Tanneth's body in his arms, and she is very much dead.
00:17:50.400 --> 00:17:53.920
The Duke explains that the Angel of Death cannot return empty-handed.
00:17:54.079 --> 00:18:00.240
So even though they managed to drive it away, somebody still had to pay the bill, and apparently Tanneth got stuck with the check.
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:07.599
And because the morning hasn't kicked everybody in the teeth quite hard enough just yet, Richard and Marie discover that Peggy is missing from her bed.
00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:14.400
Simon hears that and immediately jumps in a car and tears out of there like he's hoping this movie has one more freaky car chase left in it.
00:18:14.559 --> 00:18:20.319
Well, with Peggy gone, and Simon taking off on his own, the Duke realizes that they need to find Mokata.
00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:25.119
And apparently when conventional detective work fails, you just start bothering the dead.
00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:35.119
He performs another ritual, this time using Marie as a conduit to summon Tanth's spirit, then repeatedly demands that she tell him where Mokata is.
00:18:35.440 --> 00:18:46.480
Tanth insists she can't see him because he's surrounded by darkness and guarded by a winged serpent, which sounds profoundly unhelpful until Rax realizes she's not speaking metaphorically.
00:18:46.640 --> 00:18:51.279
He's seen that serpent before, and suddenly he himself has an address.
00:18:51.440 --> 00:18:57.119
Now they know where Makata is, but our boy Simon has already beaten them there and is demanding that Peggy be released.
00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:03.759
Mokata, being a card-carrying member of the Evil Bad Guy Society, naturally refuses because he's got plans for her.
00:19:03.920 --> 00:19:08.720
So Simon grabs a sacrificial dagger and decides he's now going to settle this the old-fashioned way.
00:19:09.039 --> 00:19:12.400
Where are why do people have these sacrificial daggers just everywhere?
00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.240
Like it this is killing me.
00:19:14.480 --> 00:19:28.400
So unfortunately, Mokata has already demonstrated that, you know, physical weapons don't mean much when he can just, you know, reach into your mind from across the room, and once again, he does so putting the mental slap down on that noise before Simon can accomplish anything.
00:19:28.640 --> 00:19:40.960
Peggy is then brought into the ceremonial chamber and placed on the altar, and by the time the Duke, Rex, Richard, and Marie finally arrive, the ritual is already well past the opening credits and barreling toward the climax.
00:19:41.200 --> 00:19:49.039
Rex charges in like he's finally decided that this is his movie, only to be promptly flattened and reminded that no, it is very much not.
00:19:50.079 --> 00:19:58.240
With everybody either restrained, unconscious, or otherwise unable to interfere, Mokata finally unveils the villain plan.
00:19:58.480 --> 00:20:00.799
Pekki isn't just going to be sacrificed.
00:20:01.039 --> 00:20:04.640
He intends to exchange her soul for Taniths.
00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:09.519
Because apparently regular murder wasn't sufficiently complicated enough for the occasion.
00:20:09.680 --> 00:20:13.200
And for once, the Duke actually doesn't have an immediate answer.
00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:20.000
Our main man is straight up flabbergasted because he's already used the Susama ritual against the Angel of Death.
00:20:20.319 --> 00:20:23.519
And unfortunately, this is why you don't ritual cast in combat.
00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:26.400
Makata isn't giving him the extra 10 minutes.
00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.839
By the way, that was a Dungeons and Dragons joke.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.519
If you don't get it, that's okay.
00:20:31.680 --> 00:20:35.839
That one was for a very specific audience, and those people know who they are.
00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:46.559
So Makata prepares to sacrifice Peggy, and things are looking pretty darn grim until Tanneth's voice suddenly comes through Maria again and tells Peggy to recite the Susama ritual.
00:20:46.720 --> 00:20:55.599
The moment she starts, the occultists begin backing away, and because unlike Rex, these people actually recognize when they're about to get their butts handed to them.
00:20:55.759 --> 00:20:58.079
And sure enough, it goes down.
00:20:58.319 --> 00:21:01.039
Lightning blasts the altar, destroying it.
00:21:01.200 --> 00:21:07.759
Fire erupts throughout the room, and Mokada's carefully planned ceremony goes completely pear-shaped.
00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:20.640
Then, just when it looks like everyone is about to suddenly become a part of the world's worst occult barbecue, the Duke, Simon, Richard and Marie suddenly wake up back in the protective circle at the Eaton House.
00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:23.359
The only thing missing is Tanth's body.
00:21:23.599 --> 00:21:24.720
She's straight up gone.
00:21:24.880 --> 00:21:29.119
Richard and Marie immediately rush upstairs and find Peggy safe and sound in her bed.
00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:38.160
And then, because apparently reality itself has decided Rex deserves one more win before the credit rolls, he comes strolling out of the woods with Tanneth alive.
00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:45.200
My boy put too much game into this relationship to go home empty handed, and apparently he took that lesson directly from the Angel of Death itself.
00:21:45.440 --> 00:21:52.640
Naturally, everyone turns to the Duke because at this point, if the furniture suddenly started speaking Latin, they'd probably just look at him and wait for an explanation.
00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:54.480
And the Duke actually has one.
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:57.119
Time itself has been reversed.
00:21:57.359 --> 00:21:59.759
The Angel of Death still couldn't leave empty handed.
00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:04.000
But this time, Tanneth wasn't the one who got stuck with a check.
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:12.319
Instead, Death apparently reached into the cosmic deck, slapped an Uno's reverse card on the table, and took Mokada instead.
00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:26.400
And I gotta admit, there is something deeply satisfying about watching a man spend an entire movie beating everyone else over the head with the forces of darkness, only to have those same forces turn around and beat the absolute crap out of him.
00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.960
I am just saying sometimes poor justice doesn't need to be subtle.
00:22:31.759 --> 00:22:33.519
And that is the end of the film.
00:22:33.680 --> 00:22:39.519
But before we finish, there is one piece of imagery and the devil rides out that I feel deserves some attention.
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:46.319
Because the film starts playing with this like occult-looking symbolism before the story even begins.
00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:51.759
Well, during the opening credits, we see a symbol that can easily be mistaken for something, you know, satanic.
00:22:52.400 --> 00:22:54.319
Especially considering the movie we just watched.
00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:57.920
Well, the funny thing is, uh, it's actually not satanic.
00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:10.720
The design is a star of David, and inside that is a sixth-winged seraph associated with a vision of the prophet Ezekiel, represented with the faces of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle.
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:16.960
Now, in Christian tradition, those four figures become associated with the four gospel writers.
00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:22.880
Matthew with the man, Mark with the lion, Luke with the ox, and John with the eagle.
00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:27.359
The design is also incorporated into the symbol scene on the priestly robes in the film.
00:23:27.839 --> 00:23:31.680
I just think it's a it's a weird, cool detail that I thought really deserved to be pointed out.
00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.839
Now, what really makes this movie work for me is just how seriously it takes the supernatural world.
00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:49.599
There isn't much winking at the audience, nobody spends half the movie desperately searching for a rational explanation, and the Duke sure as heck isn't standing around trying to prove this stuff isn't real.
00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:54.640
Everyone using it knows it's real and is there fighting fire with fire.
00:23:55.200 --> 00:24:00.559
And a huge shout out to Christopher Lee here, because he's a massive part of why all of this works.
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:06.880
If you're accustomed to hammer films, you're used to seeing him as the imposing figure everyone else is afraid of in a hammer film.
00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:10.240
Frank Sign's monster, the mummy, Dracula.
00:24:10.799 --> 00:24:16.160
But the devil rides out, takes that exact same presence, and turns it into something actually reassuring.
00:24:16.559 --> 00:24:26.319
Because when the lights go out, the room gets cold, and something starts materializing into the floor, that's the dude you want staying beside you with a crucifix in his pocket, ready to pull a Simon Bellwalk.
00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:30.799
Alright, folks, next time we'll continue our September season of The Witch.
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:42.640
Because if there's one thing classic horror has taught us, it's that no matter how many people are horribly killed by black magic, there's always somebody waiting in the next movie thinking, yeah, but I bet I could pull it off.
00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:46.000
So until then, be careful what clubs you join.
00:24:46.240 --> 00:24:54.160
Never accept occult paraphernalia from strangers, and if Christopher Lee tells you to stay inside the circle, stay inside the dang circle.
00:24:54.720 --> 00:24:57.680
Good night, and roll credits.
