#book packaging for a video nasty about satanism instead of a teen series about vampires

[all-souls-matinee]

The rare addition: I've learned something that explains literally everything about why tBoSC is so weird. It was originally pitched by Tigon (said exploitation studio) as an anthology movie with screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons brought on in a 'work for hire' capacity. Studio execs made frequent adjustments, including moving it from the Victorian period to Georgian because Victorian England had been overplayed in the 60s (extremely funny), and adding a lot more witch stuff based on marketing research. Wynne-Simmons rolled with all of their requests and Haggard was then brought on not only to direct but to mold the script into a workable, budget-friendly movie. He chose to combine all the stories in the anthology rather than expand upon a single one, thus, fever dream.

Quick-bite reviews: The Blood on Satan's Claw (1971) dir. Piers Haggard

An 18th century English farmer digs up the bones of a 'fiend,' and what first seems a hoax quickly turns into witchcraft-laden nightmare for a sleepy village and its children.

The first half of this movie is extremely bizarre and very watchable. I knew it was going to be folk horror which isn't my usual bag, but it's mostly just a lot of meandering ren faire conversations augmented by a Spirit Halloween clearance sale, which is fun. I like that they keep introducing more and more characters and locations instead of telling a cohesive story; 'a! there's a scary monster in the attic and it made a guy cut off his own hand!' (my favorite scene), now let's meet the squire that will be standing in for the judge, now let's go into town to visit the infamous woodshed/abandoned church/barn that's not seen or mentioned until 45 minutes into the movie. When the actual plot picks up The Blood on Satan's Claw doesn't stop being this kind of fever dream of a viewing experience, but it also shows its hand as a product of a studio synonymous with exploitation flicks competing for Hammer horror audiences. Barely-legal nudity, an explicit rape scene that leers and lingers, and some iffy writing decisions take it from being bad in a fascinating way to bad in a pat way. You're really getting every side of the 70s here.

Buy a ticket? Stick to an episode of A Ghost Story for Christmas, they're much better