The Devil's Own

Let the PG orgy begin!

Cyril Frankel's The Devil's Own, from 1966, finds schoolteacher Joan Fontaine battling an approximation of Satanic sex magick in the English countryside. The direction is repressed in the Hammer fashion, unfortunately not moderating Fontaine's attempts at hysterics. The film is like Midsommar without directorial style or nudity, even the orgy is PG. The script is good though and Kay Walsh (Nancy in Lean's Oliver Twist) is great fun as the high priestess. Fontaine should be applauded for trying to jump start her career with horror as Joan, Bette and sister Olivia did that decade. She shepherded the project after a four year absence from the screen, but it was all for naught commercially. The Devil's Own is pleasant light entertainment, but lacks the dreadful impact of true cinematic horror.