To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

Where's the ending?, 3 April 2005

A defrocked priest sets up his own religious order. From the outside, it looks as if his "church" is based on Catholicism - complete with nuns. In reality, it's a Satanic cult. The time is growing near for one of the nuns to endure a ritual that will, in essence, turn her into Satan. Her father objects, even though he had entered into an agreement 18 years previous. It's up to an author and expert on the occult to save the girl's life.

This was the one Hammer film that I had wanted to see the most of those I hadn't already seen. And, for the most part, I enjoyed it. It may be slow moving, but it builds tension very nicely. Other than his performance in Rasputin: The Mad Monk, this may be Christopher Lee's finest hour as an actor. I loved his reaction immediately following the incredibly bloody birth scene. The camera slowly pans the faces of the other in attendance and you see the shock and revulsion clearly on their faces. But, as the camera moves to Lee's face, you see an equally shocking sight – a smile from ear to ear.

But my enjoyment of To the Devil a Daughter was quickly dampened by the ending. I can take a weak ending or even an ending that doesn't really make much sense. What I can't take, however, is a movie without an ending. To the Devil a Daughter literally has no ending. Apparently a thrown rock is all it takes to dispatch Satan's most loyal disciple. It left me very unsatisfied. To have spent almost 90 minutes building up to what should have been a very dramatic moment and to deliver absolutely nothing is unforgivable.

6/10