The Devil's Daughter

The plot may sound cheesy, and maybe it is just a little, but this rarely televised made-for-TV horror flick features a marvellous all-star cast, some genuine shocks, and a very surprising ending which all combine to make it a classic horror film worthy of a theatrical release. The wonderful cast includes Shelley Winters, Joseph Cotten, Robert Foxworth, Martha Scott, Jonathan Frid, and Diane Ladd in an early role. It's a nice little gem if you should come across it.

Obviously inspired by Rosemary's Baby, this obscure ABC-TV movie is still quite entertaining in its own right. The amazing cast goes full tilt, with the ever-delightful Shelley Winters taking top honors as Lilith. Though slightly hampered by overall TV stylings, it features an ample amount of tension, an imaginative opening credits sequence of flames and silhouettes, and an explosive, nightmarish twist ending. Be warned, though--The Devil's Daughter is very difficult to find. I saw it on the Sci-Fi Channel a few years ago and haven't been able to locate it since. Interestingly, it runs an hour and a half with commercials, whereas most TV movies run two hours. Fun, scary, and short!

Although the "devil's gonna get you" plot may have been an over-kill of the 1970's horror flicks, this film deserves merit for a memorable surprise ending and a seasoned cast including: Shelley Winters, Joseph Cotton, Robert Foxworth, Jonathan Frid and Martha Scott. It would have been a worthy film to make into video!

Only having seen this TV movie once, back in 1973 when it originally aired, I can only say that it did a commendable job entertainment-wise, it being rather unusual in its day for depicting the theme of witchcraft. Belinda Montgomery is lured by the seemingly charming Shelley Winters (as Lilith) - a "friend" of her deceased mother - into a ghastly nightmare. I vaguely remember Winter's performance as being marvelously hammy: it seemed she relished playing this off-beat role. And I remember being semi-thrilled at seeing Jonathan Frid (Barnabas Collins in the cult TV favourite gothic soap DARK SHADOWS) cast in a bit as the mute chauffeur. Interestingly enough, I was visiting my Grandparents in Pacific Grove, California when this movie was shot there. Scenes were shot on location in the cemetery across from Point Pinos Lighthouse and at a mansion & elementary school on Lighthouse Avenue.

Well...it seems to me that this film has got something of a better reception than it deserves, but even so; The Devil's Daughter is a more than adequate made for TV story of devil worship. The film takes obvious influence from the likes of Rosemary's Baby as it features a largely innocent character finding herself in the world of demons and their worshippers. The plot focuses on Diane Shaw; a young woman who returns home for her mothers' funeral and is then adopted by a friend of her mother, who also happens to be a devil worshipper. To say any more than that would give too much away, so I won't. The runtime is very short at just 72 minutes, and as such; the film does feel more than a little underdone. However, the just about good enough to hold the audience's attention until the end, which is lucky because The Devil's Daughter's strongest element is its twist ending. The twist at the end is likely to be the only thing you'll remember about the film, and although I wouldn't say it's worth sitting through the entire movie just to see the twist - if you want an example of a made for TV horror movie, you could certainly do a lot worse than this. However, if you want a better version of a similar plot - check out Michele Soavi's excellent 'The Sect'!