A baby from Hell

To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

Last movie from the Hammer Collection is also the second to last movie Hammer made and their last horror movie before going bankrupt. It's a story about a young nun who gets possessed by an excommunicated priest while an American occult novelist tries to save her from the group of Satanists. The movie is supposedly based on Dennis Wheatley's book by the same name, but it really has nothing much to do with it. The story has it's moments, but especially the ending is such an anti-climax that it's a bit too uneven to work. Actually as the documentary on the disc says the original ending was cut from the movie and the new ending was just edited together from what they had. The cast is quite great with Christopher Lee and Richard Widmark as the most notable. The movie has it's moments and is nicely twisted at parts, but it's just a bit too uneven to make it a good one. Surely worth the watch for Hammer fans, but I doubt anyone else will get much out of it. The document on the DVD, To the Devil... The Death of Hammer, is well worth the watch. There's also Eddie Powell interview and a trailer as extras, no subtitles.
60%

Family ties, Hammer style

Demons of the Mind (1972)

This one from the Hammer Collection is a weird little thriller. A physician finds out that two children are being imprisoned in their house by their father. He decides to find out what's going on and discovers a very disturbing "family life" with incest and satanic possession. The story is not exactly great and the dialog is kind of goofy at parts. The acting could have also been better, but it's not a bad movie. The mood is quite great and at parts it reminded me of The Wicker Man (1973) in it's feel. At parts there's even some nice "what the fuck?" moments. And those parts are what makes this one well worth the watch. With a bit more focus on the script and better cast, this would be a great movie, now it's just above average. The picture quality is quite good and there's a commentary with director, writer and co-star Virginia Wethrell and a trailer as extras. No subtitles as usual.
69%