Why is Roman Polanski's "Rosemary's Baby" one of the greatest and most atmospheric horror classics in history? Because the suspense broods slowly and the direction the story is heading towards to remains mysterious
Very mysterious! For most of the running time, you didn't have a clue that we were dealing with an almost entire cast full devil-worshipers because they were behaving so damn normal and civilized. Of course, Polanski's original classic was the only movie that could benefit from this surprise twist and you can't really blame "The Devil's Daughter" (or any of the other two-hundred "Rosemary's Baby" rip-offs, for that matter) for knowing from beforehand that every cast-member is a Satanist. So, no matter how hard Shelley Winters and Abe Vigoda try to come across as gentle and friendly elderly folks, they simply have "evil disciple" written all over their forehead! This naturally doesn't take away the fact that "The Devil's Daughter" is an enjoyable and competently made TV-movie from the early 70s; complete with an impressive ensemble cast and a more than talented director behind the cameras (Jeannot Swarc, who would later direct the fantastic but underrated creature-feature "Bug" and the first and only worthwhile sequel to "Jaws"). The story opens with a cameo appearance by Diane Ladd as the mother who refuses to keep a promise she made to Satan the Dark Lord himself around 21 years ago when her only daughter Diane was born. Satan, who doesn't show his face but walks around on crutches, obviously doesn't like betrayal and orders his minions to kill her. At her funeral, the unsuspecting Diana accepts an invitation from the caring Lilith Malone – allegedly a close friend of her mother – to move in with her. Lilith throws many parties and introduces Diane to several of her prominent friends, but she also gets very mad when the young girl announces that she wants to move in with her friend Susan. But then, Diane falls in love with Susan's hunky boyfriend Steve
"The Devil's Daughter" occasionally gives the impression of being very tedious and drawn-out, but that's probably just because you know exactly what will happen. The last 10-15 minutes, on the other hand, are very intense and chilling. There's even an ingenious mini-twist just before the climax that I really appreciated! The cast is a pleasure to glaze at, with stellar performances from the aforementioned Winters and Vigoda, but also from Jonathan Frid ("Dark Shadows"), Ian Wolfe, Robert Foxworth and the fantastic classic actor Joseph Cotton.
Review of The Devil's Daughter
