The Devil's Men (1977)

A Brilliant Conflict

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

Several times, young people disappear in a Greek village. Private investigator Milo (Costa Skouras) starts a search for them together with a priest (Donald Pleasence), because something evil seems to be lurking around. Baron Corofax (Peter Cushing) is indeed running a satanic cult, namely for the ancient Minotaur, and performs human sacrifices in a nice red uniform. Everyone in the village seems to be part of it, even the police sergeant (Fernando Bislani). Milo and the priest make any possible mistake, though: they don't listen to a witness while she still could talk, ignore cult members walking by their inn fully dressed in black cloaks, they leave the blond girl alone (three times!) so she can be threatened, chased or abducted, and they always leave their weapons including silver crosses and holy water behind in their room. This must be one of the worst 'investigations' I have ever watched, basically the 2 heroes know from the start what they are looking for, and they behave so clumsily that you want to slap them. But the ridiculous flick develops a certain otherworldly atmosphere, surprisingly. They had great locations in Greece, impressive character actors like Peter Cushing and Donald Pleasence, and the experimental soundtrack by Brian Eno is contributing a lot, with its lack of tonality and bass notes that linger on for minutes, aiming at the subconscious. If the story hadn't been so terribly weak, 'The Devil's Men' ('Land of the Minotaur' on USA DVD) could have been a recommendable oddity.

An ancient stone fortification in the land of Minotaur hides the lair of satanists led by creepy local Baron(Peter Cushing).Three young amateur archaeologists Ian,Beth and Tom find a small golden talisman and suddenly disappear.Aging priest(Donald Pleasence)living on the island of Minos must stop evil Baron and his sect of satanists.He enlists New York detective Milo Kaye to help him.Satanic bloody sacrifices in the hidden chamber of Minotaur must end...Pretty tame and surprisingly bloodless satanic horror with fine performances of Cushing and Pleasence.It's kind of similar to "Blind Dead" series but without gore and nudity.Still it's worth checking out for anyone interested in cult 70's horror.7 Minotaurs out of 10.

Horror fans may understandably think that "The Devil's Men" (a.k.a. "Land Of The Minotaur") must be something special, because the film's producers were able to get not only Donald Pleasence but also Peter Cushing to be in their cast. But if they were to actually watch it, they would probably conclude that those two stars only accepted in order to get a working vacation in Greece. The Greek countryside does indeed look spectacular and eerie in some shots, but that's about the only positive thing I can find in this cinematic yawn. Pleasence and Cushing look absolutely bored, and it's no wonder - this is a slow-moving story with plot elements handled in dozens of other movies and TV shows before. It's all made worse by some shoddy production values - frequently it sounds like someone is blowing in the microphone recording the actors' dialogue! Only worth watching if you are curious as to why the British film industry was considered essentially dead in the 1970s.

Donald Pleasance plays a priest on a Greek Island who calls an old friend and student to help investigate the disappearance of tourists. The Tourists are being kidnapped and sacrificed by a religious cult headed by Peter Cushing. Well acted this film has a nice sense that the actors actually cared about the film they were making. I like the visual flair that the film has in the small moments adds a great deal to good but unremarkable script (for example shots of Pleasance praying generate a great deal of weight and of place). If the film has any real weakness its in the cult sequences with flowing robes and a sacrificial chamber which are too perfect in an otherwise run down village. I like the film a great deal. Its not the greatest thing to come down the pike but it is a solid one. I think it would be perfect for part of a multi feature film night with films all set in the Greek Isles.