Ah, Bryanston Pictures - the same eclectic group of geniuses what brung us various chop-socky flicks, a couple of British comedies, Andy Warhol's ideas of horror (his Frankenstein and Dracula movies) and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre".
And now, here we have "The Devil's Rain". Break out the holy water - you'll need it.
Seems the devil worshippers in Rural Backwoods USA have a tough time of it when they are beset by Tom Skerritt and Eddie Albert, who vow to destroy them after Satan-izing innocent people they hold dear - who happen to include William Shatner and Ida Lupino....
WHAT??! Yes, it's true, all those names as well as Keenan Wynn, Lisa Todd (one of the original honeys on "Hee-Haw") and Vinnie Barbarino hisself, John Travolta. TIDBIT - this was one of Travolta's first gigs, and he is barely recognizable under that makeup; and he has all of one line, albeit a memorable one.
Oh, but I forgot to mention Ernest Borgnine! Yep, Quentin McHale...Marty...the tough sergeant of "From Here to Eternity"...same one. He plays a priest who sprouts horns and a goat's face every so often. And there's satanic worshipping, pagan rites, eternal damnation, inverted crosses, pentagrams, the whole nine yards. Then comes the rain, when....
But if you've read this far, wanting to know what happens, you deserve to watch this dirge and find out what happens yourself. As for me, I watched the whole thing and was sorry I did.
This whole mess is overblown, ridiculous and portrays everybody (ESPECIALLY the satan worshippers) as world-class round-trip-ticket buffoons; to take a line from MST3K, these are the kind of people who would lick the frozen flag pole TWICE.
"The Devil's Rain" is bad. Very bad. Bad like old cheese. Bad like morning breath after a night of eating garlic. Bad in every sense of the word and a few senses that haven't been invented yet. Even when a "surprise" ending isn't all that much of a surprise, you know you're watching something bad.
Have I made my point? GOOD.
No stars, not a one. And why not; what did "The Devil's Rain" do for me?
TIDBIT #2 - Anton LaVey, satan worshipper/occult specialist, plays the "High Priest" of this cult. Gee, I'll bet the suits all congratulated themselves on THAT original bit of casting.