PopHorror Let's Get Scared
The Devil’s Rain (1975)
Finally, we come to The Devil’s Rain, starring Ernest Borgnine as the villainous Jonathan Corbis, with costars William Shatner, Tom Skerrit, and Eddie Albert, with John Travolta making his film debut in a minor role. The Devil’s Rain follows the mostly incoherent tale of the Preston family as their feud with cult leader Jonathan Corbis comes to a head in ghost town over a powerful tome.
This movie is probably one of the lowest ranked on this list, earning a 1 1/2 out of four stars from Roger Ebert, who cited an incoherent story line as well as a lack of material for a full length film to run on. On another note, the director, Robert Fuest of The Doctor Phibes films, managed to secure the talents of Anton LaVey as a technical advisor. LaVey is best known as the founder of the Church of Satan, as well as an author of several books on the subject of Satanism.
While the third of the summer movies is considered a commercial flop, The Devil’s Rain has a strong cult following in several circles. The movie was mentioned in the book Showgirls, Teen Wolves, and Astro Zombies by Australian film reviewer Michael Adams, who ironically referred to it as the ultimate cult movie. The reference concerning the movie reads,”It’s about a cult, has a cult following, was devised with input from a cult leader, and saw a future superstar, referring to John Travolta, indoctrinated into a cult he’d help popularize.”
None of these summer movies won an award minus a Razzy or two, but they’re damn entertaining to say the least! Have you seen any of these films? Do you plan on taking a trip over to YouTube to check any of these summer movies out? Let us know in the comments!
