To the Devil a Daughter is the second Hammer film to be based on a Dennis Wheatley occult novel. This one seems to be aimed primarily at cashing in on the 70's craze for Satanic horror. It was in fact the last film to be made by Hammer and it does unfortunately have a fairly poor reputation. While this is not entirely unjustified, it does have some good moments and it is a decent entry in the occult film cycle.
In a nutshell the story is about a defrocked priest who organises a birth where the baby is taken away and primed to be given to Satan on her 18th birthday. She is taken out of this situation at the last moment and put under the protection of a pulp writer who specialises in occult pot-boilers. From here the forces of Satan try all they can to prise the girl away into their grasp.
There is a pretty good cast in this one. Christopher Lee is good as the excommunicated priest; while Nastassja Kinski is the girl, Denholm Elliot her father, Richard Widmark is the writer and Honor Blackman one of his friends. Not bad acting personnel all things considered. Also in the movie's favour are some effective creepy and horrible moments. Like the little red homunculus who appears mysteriously in the mirror, then later crawls over Kinski like an aborted foetus come to life. The Satanic ceremonies are well done too, and there is a bloody birth scene. It's certainly a more explicit film than was usual for a Hammer production.
Sadly, there are problems too. Its story isn't very original nor especially inspired. While the infamous ending is genuinely awful. Lee is a high priest of Satan yet he is defeated when Widmark throws a stone at him. Not only that but he disappears for some reason too. Its very hard to understand what the film-makers thought they were playing at with this non-ending. Despite that though, this is not the rotten film it is sometimes made out to be and is a good enough occult horror.
In a nutshell the story is about a defrocked priest who organises a birth where the baby is taken away and primed to be given to Satan on her 18th birthday. She is taken out of this situation at the last moment and put under the protection of a pulp writer who specialises in occult pot-boilers. From here the forces of Satan try all they can to prise the girl away into their grasp.
There is a pretty good cast in this one. Christopher Lee is good as the excommunicated priest; while Nastassja Kinski is the girl, Denholm Elliot her father, Richard Widmark is the writer and Honor Blackman one of his friends. Not bad acting personnel all things considered. Also in the movie's favour are some effective creepy and horrible moments. Like the little red homunculus who appears mysteriously in the mirror, then later crawls over Kinski like an aborted foetus come to life. The Satanic ceremonies are well done too, and there is a bloody birth scene. It's certainly a more explicit film than was usual for a Hammer production.
Sadly, there are problems too. Its story isn't very original nor especially inspired. While the infamous ending is genuinely awful. Lee is a high priest of Satan yet he is defeated when Widmark throws a stone at him. Not only that but he disappears for some reason too. Its very hard to understand what the film-makers thought they were playing at with this non-ending. Despite that though, this is not the rotten film it is sometimes made out to be and is a good enough occult horror.