THE
DEVIL’S MESSENGER (1961)
Directed By Herbert Strock/Curt
Siodmak
Alpha DVD
Reviewed 06.09.05
Review by Joseph A. Ziemba
THE FILM
Misters Strock and Siodmak have
a special laundry list, just for
you: cardboard cave set, Lon Chaney,
Jr., a few episodes of the never
aired Swedish TV show 13 Demon
Street, a shelf full of plastic
Halloween novelty toys, and a woman
named Satanya. Yes, but is it good?
Common knowledge about this film
relates a cluttered history. Distributor
Herts-Lion International, the company
behind Dungeon Of Harrow
and Carnival Of Souls,
originally hired writer/director
Curt Siodmak (yes, he wrote The
Wolf Man) to combine three
episodes of the already completed
13 Demon Street with a
bloated Lon Chaney wraparound story.
Siodmak directed some or all of
the original thirteen episodes,
a few of which are included as extras
on Something Weird DVDs. Result:
an early 60s anthology film! At
some point, the difficult Siodmak
had a falling out with Herts-Lion
and director Herbert Strock (The
Crawling Hand) was brought
in. To this day, no one knows who
directed what and Siodmak insisted
that Strock never had a hand in
the film. What a mess. Good thing
it worked to their advantage.
Satan (Mr. Chaney, definitely in
need of a good workout or three)
picks at his rolodex while overlooking
the day-to-day happenings in hell.
Satanya, who committed suicide over
love, is chosen by Lonny to deliver
catastrophic objects to surface
dwellers, spreading death and destruction
in the process. Here’s where
the Swedes come in. The delivery
of a camera leads to an unhinged
photographer’s delusional
fears after attacking a woman; an
ice-pick equals a google-eyed scientist’s
obsession with a prehistoric glacier
girl (this episode appears uncut
on Something Weird’s Terror
In The Midnight Sun DVD);
a crystal ball turns a man’s
recurring nightmares into reality,
complete with a gypsy fortune teller.
In the end, Uncle Lon delivers a
real howler to Ms. Satanya and her
ex-beau. Not even The Devil’s
Messenger can escape the wrath of
a 500 MEGATON BOMB!
On its own, 13 Demon Street
is a lurid, downbeat slice of 50s
TV; heavy on the exploitive thrills
and more effective for it. The low
budget show easily sets itself apart
from safer fare like The Twilight
Zone and One Step Beyond,
which can be a good thing, depending
on your tastes. Of the three episodes
implanted in this film, only the
third feels like filler, as it trades
in payoff for tepid dialogue. The
awful looking Chaney channels a
more subdued Bela in Glen Or
Glenda, making for some obvious
entertainment. When you throw in
some Satanya overlays and blazing
inferno transitions, you get a mish-mash
anthology that jumps from plastic-set
cheapness to effective spookiness,
then back again. In other words,
this is 70 minutes of eerie 60s
fun: harmless, entertaining, and
usually quite pleasant.
AUDIO AND VIDEO
The full frame print is definitely
watchable, but no medal winner.
The dupey picture is slightly cropped,
a little ghosty, and light in the
contrast department. Print damage
is very minimal, but there were
some vaguely discernible horizontal
purple lines towards the end. The
mono sound was slightly muffled,
but audible over all.
EXTRAS
Alpha cover gallery, at your service.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Devil’s Messenger
is solid 60s fun, but it won't knock
your block off. I'd still like to
see the entire uncut run of 13
Demon Street hit DVD. On the
other hand, if you'd like a nice
taste of the show, this’ll
do the trick, especially for the
price. |
Photo freak
Oh, Satanya
Hey-ya
Lon Devlin
|
