Minor spoilers for a 51-year-old film follow.
Fun story: Many years ago when I was editor of a comics and collectibles publishing company, I briefly worked with author Gabe Essoe, who wanted us to publish his Tarzan collecting guide. We ultimately passed on it, but flash forward to now, and I’m reviewing a film co-written by none other than Gabe Essoe! Small world, huh? Well, I thought it was a fun story. Anyway…
The trailer for The Devil’s Rain hailed it as featuring “…absolutely the most incredible, unforgettable ending of any motion picture ever!” Hyperbole? Sure. But will I remember that ending (a veritable celebration of practical effects) for the rest of my life? Also yes. The movie has appropriately enough built a following over the years, but it never quite joined the pantheon of truly beloved classics. That’s understandable when you watch it in this impressive new 4K Severin Films release, because although it has a lot going for it — a great cast, some beautiful cinematography, and that ending — the movie falls short of greatness. There’s still a lot to appreciate, though, so let’s get into this wild time capsule of ’70s paranormal kitsch from ESP to Satanism to Shatner!
The Devils’ Rein
The Preston family has been cursed by Satanist leader Corbis (Ernest Borgnine) for centuries. A family member who was once one of his disciples betrayed him way back when and stole his registry of followers, who now reside as tortured souls inside an ornate receptacle called the Devil’s Rain. He can draw those souls out and implant them in host bodies or waxy facsimiles thereof (it’s not exactly clear, but they seem like living Voodoo dolls), but he can’t turn them over to Satan himself and fulfill his infernal pact without the book. When the Preston matriarch Emma (Ida Lupino) and son Mark (William Shatner) go missing, it’s up to younger brother Dr. Tom Preston (Tom Skerritt), his ESP-sensitive wife Julie (Joan Prather), and their colleague Dr. Sam Richards (Eddie Albert) to find out what happened to the other Prestons and stop Corbis forever. But it’s the ’70s, remember, so who will you bet on winning in the end?
William Shatner as Mark Preston in The Devil’s Rain, or a glimpse of his negotiations with Paramount to return for Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)? You decide.
Opening with discordant music, disturbing Hieronymus Bosch paintings, and an appearance by Woody Chambliss from 1972’s Gargoyles, the movie loses some of this early good will by trying to convince us that then-44 Shatner could be the son of 57-year-old Lupino. It really drops you in and demands you piece things together, often without crucial information. One might call that a failing of the film, but there’s a satisfying bleakness here. Despite feeling like a TV movie that only occasionally pushes the boundaries beyond what the small screen would allow, it has some absolutely beautiful dark and desolate vistas. A windswept western ghost town inhabited by eyeless Omega Man-like black-robed minions is a truly arresting image, even if one well-placed tumbleweed feels a bit too on the nose. At least they didn’t name the town Purgatory, opting instead for Redstone.
Borgnine glowers through every scene with a palpable sense of menace, and his confrontations with Shatner and Albert have a satisfying Bond villain dynamic. Al De Lory’s score is often reminiscent of Leonard Rosenman’s for Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and there are valiant attempts to achieve some thematic resonance, including literal rain falling from the heavens as part of a Raiders-esque delivery of God’s judgment. But the real star of this film is the makeup effects work by Tom Burman and brother Ellis Jr., from Borgnine’s horned goat-like incarnation to the climactic melting sequence with multi-colored goop leaking from the eyes (and every other part) of the cultists. The eyeless look of Corbis’ disciples does suffer in the HD era, with the black plugs covering the actors’ eyes visible in this amazing-looking transfer, but it still looks pretty damn cool.
Academy Award winner Ernest Borgnine understood the assignment when he agreed to chew the scenery as Corbis in The Devil’s Rain.
The Devils Reign
Let’s deal with the Shatner in the room; the man really curbs his excesses in what amounts to a small part that only lasts about the first third of the film and a bit of the end. He also performs a rough draft of his Star Trek II “Khannnnnn” with a similar scream to the sky at “Corbissssss,” and even replicates an uncomfortable shirtless Chuck Heston moment from the aforementioned Omega Man. Many pop culture aficionados know that a lifecast made of Shatner’s face for this production was obtained by Don Post to create the 1975 Kirk mask, a copy of which was eventually bought by the Halloween crew and turned into Michael Myers’ distinctive visage (Shatner disputes some of this, but he’s not exactly a trustworthy source). What I’ve never seen people point out, however, is that Shatner actually originates the Myers head tilt! I’m not kidding; watch the scene late in the film where eyeless Shatner looks quizzically at his brother, trying to recognize him through a Satanic haze, and there’s the Shape tilt three years before Nick Castle gazed at ol’ pinned-up Bob!
I like The Devil’s Rain for all the things it did well, and for the movie it wanted to be.“
Ultimately, one of the movie’s biggest missed opportunities is a result of some misogynistic myopia. Instead of Skerritt’s rather bland and mostly clueless character, the protagonist should have been Julie, the complete outsider who would be learning it all along with the audience while facing her destiny. The sepia-toned psychic flashback to 1680 would also have set up the ending even more strongly if Corbis had actually noticed her there while she sits and watches the past taking place around her. That version of Devil’s Rain might have risen from mid-level cult film to all-time horror classic, although it probably would have taken someone other than Prather in the role to make that work, and a second act that featured at least one good set piece to carry us into the truly spectacular ending that almost makes up for the rest of the movie.
Nevertheless, genre fans coming to The Devil’s Rain now might be intrigued by all the connections to movies that preceded or followed, such as The Haunted Palace, The Touch of Satan, The Beyond, and even Return of the Jedi and A Nightmare on Elm Street! I could imagine this being a regular rewatch for me today if I had seen this when I was younger; as it is, I like The Devil’s Rain for all the things it did well, and for the movie it wanted to be. There’s enough of that film there to enjoy, even if the rest is frustrating.
Ida Lupino (backseat) gets driven to The Devil’s Rain set by co-star Joan Prather (at the wheel). OK, not really, but it is Lupino as Emma Preston and Prather as Julie Preston in a scene from the movie.
Bonus Features:
There are a lot of bonus features included in this 4K UHD/Blu-ray combo release, most brought over from Severin’s 2017 Blu-ray release. Many of them are only a few minutes long; perhaps best of all is a chat with makeup artist Tom Burman, who confirms the film was made with Mafia money and describes Shatner as loving himself “more than you could ever love yourself.” Star Tom Skerritt wishes they’d made it a camp comedy, while the past and present leadership of the Church of Satan share that the film’s technical advisor, Church founder Anton LaVey, struck up a very close friendship with young actor John Travolta, who makes his film debut here (it’s creepier when you find out that co-star Prather introduced Travolta to Dianetics, so I guess aliens beat the Devil on that one). There are also plenty of visual galleries, radio and TV spots, the theatrical trailer, and not one but two audio commentaries — one with director Robert Fuest (which is pretty informative) and the one 2026 addition, a commentary by “film historian” Stephen R. Bissette who comes right out of the gate mispronouncing production company Bryanston as “Bryanstone;” do with that what you will.