Such roles could easily be marred by an element of campiness, but both men command the screen with a beautifully natural presence, Lee himself bordering on casual, so believable is his performance. Christopher Lee is formidable as the nobleman, whilst Charles Gray as Mocata, the evil cult leader, is genuinely intimidating at points. The Duc must use his own knowledge of the occult to defeat the psychic and possessive trickery, he and his colleagues enduring a long night of black-magic assault.Īs a classic tale of good versus evil, The Devil Rides Out required a strong representative of either side, and does not disappoint.
He attempts a rescue but finds that cult leader Mocata, and indeed the Devil himself, are not going to give up their disciple without a fight. Director Terence Fisher created a tight pace from Richard Matheson’s intelligent screenplay - which favoured a hands-on approach that wastes little time in setting up the premise - that in no way detracted from the film’s foreboding.Įntrusted with the care of his deceased friend’s son, Simon Aron, the Duc de Richleau discovers that the young man has been seduced into joining a Satanic cult. DIRECTORTerence Fisher WRITER Richard Matheson (screenplay) Dennis Wheatley (novel) STARS Christopher Lee Charles Gray Nike Arrighi DVD 22 OctoberĪdapted from a Dennis Wheatley novel of the same name, the author himself was delighted with the end result, and no surprise The Devil Rides Out is a charmingly understated example of classic Hammer, perhaps even one of their best.
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