Blood on Satan's Claw

Produced and released by the short-lived British horror label Tigon, Blood on Satan's Claw is an unashamed cash in on the success of Witchfinder General, not in a bad way but expanding on the idea of paranoia about witches amongst the working class. When a farm hand, ploughing a field, uncovers a partly decomposed body, still with an eyeball and an odd patch of fur, he runs to his mistress and the Judge who is staying with her to tell of his find. He claims the body is not that of a man, nor an animal, but a strange beast. When the Judge goes to investigate, his scepticism is confirmed when there is nothing to be found.

Peter, the mistress's nephew, brings home his betrothed but she and the Judge both frown on her lowly social standing and deny his request that they be allowed to spend the night in the same house, making her stay in the long abandoned attic whilst Peter sleeps in a neighbour's house. During the night, she emits fearful screams and is locked in whilst the doctor is summoned, having struck her hostess and the next day everyone, especially Peter, is disturbed by her mental state and that one of her hands has been replaced by claws.

The whispers of witchcraft in the village gradually get louder but the Judge returns to his practice in the city to leave the authorities, led by a sexually repressed curate, to figure things out by themselves. It soon becomes clear that the village children aren't the sweet little darlings their parents want them to be and, led by Angel Blake, are practicing witchcraft and killing their own.

Blood on Satan's Claw takes the 17th Century setting very seriously and the dialogue occasionally verges on the unintentionally funny with plenty of utterences of 'thee', 'thou' and 'be', so you have people saying things like 'oh, I be looking for thee'. If you can get past this and realise that the film is utterly sincere in what it is doing then you have done well and can concentrate on the real substance. Like Michael Reeves' masterpiece, this takes the subject of witchcraft very seriously and examines the way in which people reacted to allegations that someone was consorting with the Devil - in one scene a young women is suspected of being a witch and a mob hunts her down and throws her into a lake. It isn't in the same class as Witchfinder General but is well written, directed and acted with standout performances by Patrick Wymark as the Judge and Linda Hayden as Angel Blake.

I didn't like this as much as I thought I would, but I may not have been in the right frame of mind at the time and a second viewing is necessary to determine the enjoyment factor. However, I could tell that this is a quality film that could so easily be silly, sleazy or embarrassing but manages to avoid the pitfalls resulting in an intelligent and watchable slice of '70s period horror.

The Disc

Extra Features
Sadly, none of the extra material that was included on the 2004 Anchor Bay release has made it onto this disc so all you get is the Theatrical Trailer, a stills gallery and trailers for other 'Best of British' releases, The Asphyx and Dr Terror's House of Horror.

The set comes with brand new liner notes but these were not provided for review.


The Picture
A very crisp and creditable anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer with little in the way of detritus and signs that this has undergone some restoration. The visual effects are of variable quality as some look quite good, such as when Peter is attacked by his own hand and takes a knife to it but others, especially when a piece of skin is removed from a young woman's leg, looks extremely fake and is clearly someone peeling off a piece of latex with some hair on it!

The Sound
As well as a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is the original mono which is a very welcome addition and the audio track to go for as the surround mix is less clear, less sharp and detracts from the experience rather than enhancing the viewing.

The score, by Marc Wilkinson, is excellent and really fits the mood and tone.


Final Thoughts
Blood on Satan's Claw was previously released on DVD by Anchor Bay in 2004 and is now out of print. This release by Odeon Entertainment comes with a restored anamorphic transfer at the expense of the extra features that Anchor Bay commissioned and obviously don't want to part with. This is a shame for fans as, whilst this has the improved picture and the original mono soundtrack, it doesn't include the commentary or interview with Linda Hayden, though personally I would rather have the best AV package available than an extras package on a disc with inferior visuals and sound.

If you missed out on that release, as I did, then this is a disc well worth buying as the film is very interesting and a worthy addition to any horror fan's collection.