Blood on Satan's Claw (1971)
- Original title
- The Blood on Satan's Claw
- Directed by
- Piers Haggard
- Genre
- horror film, historical film
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Runtime
- 1h 33m
- Rated
- R
- Rating
- 6.2 of 10 from 169 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
In an early 18th century English village, a farmer digs up a strange skull in a field. Soon the local children start acting strangely and come under the influence of a demonic presence.
disturbingcreepyslow-burnatmosphericbleakeeriefolk-horrorperiod
What happens
The Blood on Satan's Claw, originally released as Satan's Skin, is a 1971 British period supernatural horror film directed by Piers Haggard and starring Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, and Barry Andrews. Set in early 18th-century England, it follows the residents of a rural village whose youth fall under the influence of a demonic presence after a local farmer unearths a mysterious deformed skull buried in a field. It is widely regarded as one of three films that introduced the folk horror aesthetic to British cinema, an "unholy trinity" whose other entries are Witchfinder General (1968) and The Wicker Man (1973). The screenplay for the film was originally written by Robert Wynne-Simmons as an anthology of horror stories set in a small village, and had the working title of The Devil's Skin. After director Haggard was hired for the project, he and Wynne-Simmons reworked the screenplay into a single cohesive narrative. Principal photography took place in 1970, mainly in the Chiltern Hills region of England, with some filming also taking place at Pinewood Studios. The film was briefly released in the United Kingdom by Tigon Pictures under the title Satan's Skin in January 1971. It premiered in New York City in April 1971 under the title The Blood on Satan's Claw, distributed by Cannon Films, and became a regular feature through the remainder of the year at drive-in theaters in the United States, paired as a double feature with The Beast in the Cellar. Tigon Pictures re-released the film as The Blood on Satan's Claw on 16 July 1971 in London, where it screened at the New Victoria Theatre, though this engagement lasted only one week following underwhelming ticket sales. The film did, however, continue to screen throughout the United Kingdom. The Blood on Satan's Claw was met with mixed reviews from critics, and underperformed at the box office, though it did receive praise for its performances, cinematography, and atmosphere. In the intervening years, the film has gained a cult following, and has been cited by several film scholars as a progenitor of the folk horror genre. A spoken-word adaptation of the film, featuring Mark Gatiss and Hayden, was released by Audible in 2018, followed by a 2023 novelisation written by Wynne-Simmons, its original screenwriter. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
The House That Dripped Blood (1971)
The Corpse (1971)
The Beast in the Cellar (1971)
Burke & Hare (1971)
The Stalls of Barchester (1971)
The Devils (1971)
Evil Calls: The Raven (2011)
I, Monster (1971)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.