Robert Fuest’s The Devil’s Rain (1975) brings the evil cult storyline to a modern-day western setting, creating a horror thriller that is entertaining in the darkness of its tone and benefits from some great cast.
The story starts with Mark Preston (William Shatner) whose family is the target of the vengeful cult leader Jonathan Corbis (Ernest Borgnine), a Satanist who was burnt alive by local priests in an earlier century. Mark is forced to return the book containing the names of the people who are in the Corbis cult, as it’s the source of the Satanist’s power. But Mark is captured in the ghost town ruled by Corbis and Tom Preston (Tom Skerritt) dares to look for his brother while risking his own life and that of his wife Julie (Joan Prather) in this pursuit.
Essentially a folk horror tale, the story employs body horror toward the end without looking unnatural. Borgnine’s character dominates the movie but suffers from the creative choices of the filmmakers as they literally put horns on him in his old, satanic appearance, which doesn’t really add any intensity to his evil character. On the contrary, it has the opposite and kind of comical effect.
In the ‘70s, it probably wasn’t unusual to get the western feel in any movie set in a small town where cabin houses, A-frame churches, traditional shotguns, men in cowboy hats, and cars capable of racing in deserts constitute the mise en scène. But the silent shots in the scene of Mark’s arrival in the ghost town particularly create the effect of a classic western small town. The initial interaction between Mark and Corbis fits into this effect as it carries all the vibes of a duel.
Now why the movie is called The Devil’s Rain is interesting and is a little mystery in the plot so left out here for the imagination of those who haven’t yet seen the movie.
