Holy crap. I love that screen grab. I need that on my denim jacket! The rest of the movie can't live up to this title shot's lofty standards... but then again, what could? As long as you aren't expecting too much and have an affinity for 70's British Satan/cult films, you will probably have an okay time with Satan's Slave. (a.k.a Evil Heritage - both titles are pretty excellent.) There's nothing too crazy about the film and honestly, it's not altogether memorable. But it's still a decent enough time at the movies. Or on your couch, enjoying the Pure Terror Budget Set, as it were.
And one of the reasons it's not totally memorable is the plot. I swear "young woman goes out to a country estate and runs afoul of an evil cult" is the 1970's British equivalent to our present day "friends go out to party at a cabin in the woods." So hopefully, I'm not imposing any other movies onto this plot summary. I watched another very similar title shortly before this write-up, and am struggling to keep them separate. (Also, please note that I'm intentionally leaving out a big chunk of story. Not that I expect anyone to watch Satan's Slave, but I won't spoil the most memorable part of the film.)
Catherine (Candace Glendenning) ends up at her uncle's estate way out in the woods. She has a tragic experience [redacted] and is laid up for several days. When she comes to a few days later, she's in a bit of a haze and chills out there for a little while. But she's tempted to hang around longer, as she is falling in romantic love with her cousin (ew!) - this is not presented as weird, by the way. But we're quick to find out that there's some shady stuff going on with her family. As you could probably guess from the title, there's some Satany cult action going on, and Catherine is going to play a key role in it... whether she wants to or not.
Satan's Slave has a pretty decent sense of atmosphere about it. There's clearly something going on at the estate, and since Catherine is alone with the cult-inclined members of her family, she doesn't have anyone to help her out or to confide in. So there's a pretty solid sense of building tension throughout the film - you know that things are going to go badly for Catherine *eventually.*
The performances in the film are decent. Glendenning is good as Catherine - it's important that she remains sympathetic, even when she's not a character of action. Catherine just lets things happen to her, and generally speaking it can be tough to like characters like that. But Glendenning plays her with a sort of naivete that lets the audience root for her. But the highlight of the film is Michael Gough as Catherine's Uncle Alexander. He's just a classy actor (you don't get cast as Alfred Pennyworth (Batman's butler) without having a little class), and is able to be convincingly caring towards Catherine, but at the same time a little evil. But you can see how he's just charming enough to pull the whole thing off.
Horror-wise? The cult scenes are pretty cool I guess. Although things hit a high point very early on (following the RAD credits) with a sacrifice scene featuring the blood, fire, and nudity that you expect in a Satanic cult film. And a giant goat head with lit-up eyes, because why not. After that, Satan's Slave is honestly a pretty tame film. And while I'll always support a bunch of cult members running around in black robes, in this particular film the cult doesn't make a lot of sense. When you hear the reason for the cult's existence, it's hard to imagine why many people would get involved with it. But I guess small cults aren't menacing. Also, when the big final ritual takes place, it's out in the woods during the day for some reason. I guess it's a cult that likes to keep their evenings free.
I wish I had more to say about Satan's Slave, but I don't want to confuse this with A Virgin Amongst the Living Dead, which I just watched. So I'll just leave it at this: the main thing I remembered about Satan's Slave was it being over and thinking to myself "well, that was fine." Nothing too good, nothing too bad. Perfectly middle of the road for a "young woman goes out to country estate and runs afoul of evil cult" film. So I guess it would depend on how sold you are on that concept. I'm always up for 70s horror, and dug it. But if that's not your bag, Satan's Slave is probably skippable.
I would ? this film.
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