If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

A nice idea that never really seems to come to life as a film. From the earliest scene it looks as if Christopher Lee is on form and indeed despite all others floundering around him and dire dialogue dominating, he rises above it all and probably gives one of his best performances. But, this cannot be said of everyone. I have to imagine that the real problem here is a lacklustre script. If Honor Blackman comes across badly, you have to blame someone. I understand that Patrick Widmark upset just about everyone involved in the film so I guess that explains a lot and it seems here just wasn't enough money for anyone to grab this by the scruff of the neck and shake some life into it. Natasha Kinski is very effective and wanders innocently about, at least on the same wavelength as Lee, seemingly as happy dressed as a nun, laid out on the alter or completely naked and she was only fifteen. The film has its moments and Widmark is effective its just that the looming disaster doesn't really seem to permeate the walls of the lovely flat overlooking a recently refurbished St Katherine's Dock in London nor the various church interiors, perhaps they should have stuck to studio sets.

"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.

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER, another Hammer adaptation of a Dennis Wheatley novel, is one of the most maligned films put out by the studio. It's well known as their final horror film, one which flopped and helped to sink them, but at the same time I find it unusually effective. Sure, the storyline is a little garbled here and there and there are issues with THAT ending, but for the most part this is a neat little '70s devil worship thriller.You have to feel sorry for Hammer. For decades they'd ruled the box office at home and abroad with their full-blooded Gothic horror movies, but by the '70s audiences were turning to the likes of THE EXORCIST and THE OMEN for their scares. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER imitates those films only semi-successfully, but it does have plenty of good stuff going for it.There's Christopher Lee, playing one of his sleaziest villains as a defrocked priest dedicated to bringing Satan back to this world, alongside Denholm Elliott who does the "going out of his mind" schtick like few others. Richard Widmark's tough protagonist adds a slice of Hollywood talent to the mix, and a youthful Natassja Kinski shows she's inherited her father's skill for the acting craft. There's also a wonderful supporting cast that incorporates the likes of Anthony Valentine, the ever-lovely Honor Blackman, Michael Goodliffe in his last film appearance, and even TV's Brian Wilde into the mix.Director Peter Sykes was a seasoned Hammer veteran by this stage and he invests his production with plenty of eerie and creepy moments which don't disappoint. Yes, those scenes with the "demon baby" might be bad taste, but then so is a lot of stuff both from this genre and this decade. TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is an oddity indeed, a Hammer Horror film that actually feels like a tough, contemporary Hollywood thriller and is all the better for it.

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.