alexanderdavies-99382 "To the Devil a Daughter" was Hammers final throw of the dice in attempting to re-invent themselves after their films were no longer finding an audience in America.This co-production between England and Germany was Hammers last chance in attempting the above.The film is interesting in offering a glimpse of what might have been but a rather thin plot and confusing narrative - not to mention that stupid ending, all conspire to let the side down. Christopher Lee is well cast in a role that offers him something different to play and Richard Widmark does well as the leading hero.According to fellow actor Anthony Valentine, Widmark was rather a challenge to work with and threatened to return to America a few times.Dennis Wheatley - whose book this film is based - was horrified and furious with the final results. He stated in an angry letter to Hammer that their film beared no resemblance to his novel in the slightest. With that in mind, he refused to allow Hammer to adapt any more of his work. I can hardly blame him.

Rich359 This film started out well, with great photography, color, and locations that were sorely lacking in the other 70's Hammer films, and an interesting premise, but decides to become a gore fest with the interminably long "birth scene", which I think derails the whole film. It also is intercut with other long sequences so you can't really turn your eyes away. It seems that Hammer thought the reason the Exorcist was a huge hit was because of its shocking scenes. The difference is that the Exorcist had a compelling plot, and the scenes with Regan shocked you, but it was not overdone and worked with the film. Also Regans life was saved because of a priest sacrificing his own, which gives the audience a hero. In this film, a rock is a hero. It seems Hammer lost its bearing with this one, and I am surprised the Lee agreed to be in this film at this point of his career. Ashamed, it could have been great with a better script.

HumanoidOfFlesh An occult writer(Richard Widmark)attempts to prevent a young nun(Nastassja Kinski)from falling into the hands of a satanic priest(Christopher Lee)and his heretical religious cult,who plan to use her as the human host for their dark god."To the Devil a Daughter" is Hammer's last theatrically released horror film.The lush photography and memorable performances are the main reasons to see this underrated gem of occult horror.There are some bizarre and highly unsettling dream sequences and a bit of graphic nudity and gore.The childbirth scene is particularly gruesome.Very young 16-year old Nastassja Kinski provides some sleaze and Christopher Lee is gloriously evil as a devilish priest.8 out of 10.

Michael_Elliott To the Devil a Daughter (1976) *** (out of 4)At a book signing, occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) is asked by a father (Denholm Elliott) to track down his daughter Catherine Nastassja Kinski). At first John thinks that the father is mixed up with the occult but it turns out that a Catholic priest (Christopher Lee) is wanting to use the girl in order to become Astaroth.TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER would turn out to be Hammer's final movie (for a time) and it was a notorious flop that pretty much ruined the studio. I first watched this movie around a decade ago and I really thought it was bad. I thought it was a poor imitation of ROSEMARY'S BABY and that it was trying to cash in on countless Satanic films that were popular throughout the decade. There were elements to it that I liked so that's the reason I decided to revisit the film and this second time around I must admit that it worked on me.With that being said, it's easy to see why so many people have such mixed reactions to the picture. Some call it a stellar horror film while others see it as a botched effort for the studio to try and do something serious. I think all of the elements are here for a classic film but it does fall a bit short of that. Having said that, there are still a lot of very good elements here including the fact that it's a very good looking film that manages to hold your attention throughout.The Satanic elements have been done countless times before and there's not too many new things here but I think the film succeeds because of the atmosphere and the slow-burn pacing. It's funny but the first time I watched the picture I attacked it for its pacing but this second viewing had it working a lot better and I'm guessing it was because I was expecting it. I thought the film was rather brave at being slow-paced because by 1976 people were expecting things a lot faster so to have a film that takes its time was unique.I also thought that the performances were wonderful with Widmark, Lee, Kinski and Elliott delivering extremely work. I thought Widmark did a really good job playing the type of tough guy that he was known for. Kinksi also deserves a lot of credit for her performance and Elliott steals the picture every time he's on the screen. Many people attack the ending, although experts in the field will tell you that the happenings would be destroyed so easily. That's fine but I think for the film it needed something a bit better.TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is a film that stirs a lot of debate and I can understand why as I've both hated it and grew to enjoy it.