Rent The Devil's Kiss (1976)

Atmospheric Eurocine offering (mild spoilers) ... - The Devil's Kiss review by NP

This is a lesser Eurocine low budget horror effort from 1976. While it lacks a well-known name, or at least someone with a formidable screen presence (where’s Rosalba Neri or Edwige Fenech when you need them?), it is worth a watch.

Familiar face Olivier Mathot plays Professor Gruber who, for a long time, seems to be playing an almost non-speaking part. When he starts talking though, he only falters when the rigours of a progressive disease grip him. His companion Claire (Sylvia Solar) accompanies him to the vaults of the magnificently gothic Haussemont Castle where they conduct some particularly grim experiments. Claire also has her own agenda …

Amid the soup of séances, demon worship, nudity, and a reanimated corpse, there’s a surprising lack of suspense or tension. It’s a shame, because some effort has been made to create a convincingly Euro-horror atmosphere.

Loretta (Evelyne Scott), the most sympathetic character, plays an increasingly important role in this, and emerges as my favourite character. The bald zombie lad (Jack Rocha) is quite effective, but by the third time he rises menacingly from the lab slab, you’ve seen everything he has to offer.

Never within throwing distance of any kind of greatness then, this nevertheless has a terrific ambience. My score is 5 out of 10.