Disciple of Death

1972's "Disciple of Death" marked the 4th and final vehicle for former British disc jockey Mike Raven, who managed roles for Hammer and Amicus before venturing forth with a pair of more personal items, "Crucible of Terror" and this last, desperate attempt. Comparisons to Christopher Lee were inevitable in Hammer's "Lust for a Vampire" (second in the Mircalla Karnstein trilogy), given that Lee's blood shot orbs were used for close ups of Raven's sinister Count Karnstein, before appearing thoroughly outclassed by both Lee and Peter Cushing in the Jekyll/Hyde Amicus version "I, Monster," then starring in the independent "Crucible," whose writer/producer Tom Parkinson also took on the mantle of director here, for his first and last feature, on such a pitifully small budget that exhibitors were none too keen on such an amateurish effort. On location shooting in Cornwall doesn't help a wretched script that establishes its plot and little else, Raven's enigmatic 'Stranger' (referred to by some reviewers as Lord Asher) a suicide restored to Satanic life by a blood pact between young lovers during the 18th century, a single drop of the virgin on his deconsecrated tomb enough to make her the target for this 'Lord of the Manor' to begin systematically sacrificing young maidens to his evil master. Virginia Wetherell's comely Ruth gets her heart cut out in the most gruesome sequence, her brother rushing off with the Parson (Ronald Lacey) for help from a long bearded Cabalist (Nicholas Amer) who conjures up sand, holy water, and a magic talisman to ward off the evil one's power. A fanged dwarf (!) cuts short Lacey's embarrassing turn, the acting as awful as the story, not the best way to conclude a lackluster career for Mike Raven that never caught fire, a long forgotten obscurity that continues to defy viewers who dare to seek it out.

Disciple of Death was one of two film vehicles designed to promote 47 year old Austin Churton Fairman alias Mike Raven, ballet dancer,lieutenant of infantry,classical actor,television producer,occult researcher,sculptor,interior designer,lobster fisherman,pirate radio disc jockey and in the early Seventies horror film star contender. The other film, 1971's Crucible of Terror-the story of a mad sculptor and a possessed kimono-is now something of a ubiquity of late-night television and the Raven vehicle most people will be acquainted with.

Like Crucible of Terror,Disciple of Death was shot around the Cornish coast despite Director Tom Parkinson having been known to refer to it as one of the most God-forsaken desolate places he'd ever seen or heard off. Parkinson had a TV background,making an acclaimed documentary on Irish racehorse Nijinsky before embarking on a brief horror career. Slow to start Disciple of Death is a period piece set in an 18th century Cornish community a decision that seems ambitious and/or foolish given the ultra-low budget (£50,000 mostly raised from a bank loan taken out by Raven). A couple,Julia and Ralph forbidden from seeing each other by her parents,pledge their love for one another by slicing their thumbs with a knife inadvertently spilling their blood on a grave which resurrects ‘The Stranger' (Raven), a disciple of Satan who integrates himself into the community by masquerading as an long absent Lord of the Manor.

Two surprisingly gory set pieces follow,The Stranger interrupts an awkwardly coy sex scene by stabbing the man in the back,who then thoughtfully vomits blood onto his hysterical girlfriend's cleavage. Next Ralph's sister Ruth (Virginia Wetherell) finds herself bound and gagged on the Stranger's altar and offered the chance to be a willing sacrifice to the Stranger. She understandably refuses,‘then die and be my slave' rants the eyeball rolling Stranger before ripping out her heart and drinking her blood from a chalice.

Ralph and the slightly tipsy village parson (Ronald Lacey) seek help from Jewish Mystic ‘the Old Cabalist Melchizadech' (Nicolas Amar) who prances around in a red cloak and a fake beard and whose mannerisms are strangely reminiscent of Old Mother Riley. Clearly intended as a stab at comic relief-its impossible to interpret these scenes any other way-this only sends what up until this point has been a deceptively serious horror film completely off balance with actor Nicolas Amar prone to much hysteria pitched acting and mugging. Worse still this all pans out as little more than a plot irreverence. Ditto the film's next act in which the Stranger summons a vampire dwarf in a red hat (played by one Rusty Goffe) to shoot fire balls at Ralph and the Parson during their hellish trek across the Cornish coast. A prolonged segment undoubtedly inspired by Parkinson's experiences making Crucible of Terror in which the only way to the set was a winding footpath down 300 foot cliffs.

It has to be said that Raven looks allot like Christopher Lee,previously the recipient of a rather desperate name check in the Crucible of Terror press-book which drags up an obscure fact about Raven once appearing in a non speaking role at the Old Vic alongside ‘the now famous horror film star Christopher Lee'. Here the comparisons are far more blatant with Raven affording himself many ‘Dracula' moments,appearing as a shadowy figure in young girls' bedrooms and cutting in innumerable close ups of his blood shot eyes. Clearly having a marvellous time Raven's performance is enthusiastic and anything but subtle,having put up most of the budget himself he clearly couldn't be controlled. Your reaction to Mike Raven horror star depends on how endearing you find the sight of an actor caked in blue stage make-up,evoking fires with his hands and relishing every word of dialogue like ‘my task on earth is to supply my master Satan with an endless supply of virgin sacrifices'.

The publicity to Raven's films do much to paint him as a sinister quantity. Yet in spite of such calculated horror star image building the most memorably chilling sections of Disciple of Death involve not Raven but the Stranger's back from the dead female victims haunting the Cornish countryside dressed in long,flowing white dresses. The highlight being when an undead Virginia Wetherell temporary breaks free of the Stranger's influence and wanders off to pay brother Ralph a night time visit,her ghostly face staring at him through the window. Such moments hint at the poetic, gothic horror film that Raven and Parkinson were clearly aiming for after the contemporary Crucible of Terror. However the quality of the rest of the film is such that it is temping to write off any effective moments in Disciple of Death as little more than a series of ‘happy accidents'. For the majority of the film remains amateurish in the extreme,shot in two weeks mostly at the houses of Raven's friends it is as close as the 1970's British horror film ever came to a home movie. The confused,disjoined tone is best summed up by the scene in which Ronald Lacey returns to the house of the Cabalist Melchizadech who for reasons unexplained has transformed into a skeleton, something that doesn't prevent Lacey from attempting to strike up a conversation with the corpse (‘I'm sorry to disturb you…it can wait'). It's a scenario that seemingly has even veteran thespian Lacey at a loss as to whether he should be playing the scene for comedy or expressing terror. An equal sense of bewilderment is sure to befall anyone who has seen the film,not that there can be that many. It originally went out on a double-bill with The Devil's Nightmare,before disappearing into complete obscurity having-unlike Crucible of Terror–never received any UK television screenings or a video release over the years. The film may have doomed Raven to be only remembered as an also ran in the grand old scheme of British horror films,but with all the Edward Lionheart overtones to his dedicated yet ultimately hammy performances and subsequent critical mauling he remains if nothing else an intriguing footnote.

This marvelous indie Gothic fantasy really stretches the limits of what can be done on a small budget, with an exceptional screenplay and good performers. Taking place in an undefined country, in an undefined time, the film depicts a primal battle between the forces of good and evil, centering on a young man and his beloved. An early blood ritual between the two lovers invokes the insatiable demons of antiquity, dooming the couple and their community to the regressive terrors of entrenched conservatism. Evil soon enters, in the form of a dark charismatic stranger, a landowner with decidedly malevolent intentions. An old witch sees the evil stranger for what he is, and is summarily dispatched for this dangerous knowledge. The village parson is on to the dark stranger, and he and the young man must make a terrifying journey to confront and conquer this evil which threatens to decimate their community. Amongst many other treats, there are some rousing blood sacrifices, with some effective gore, plus an amazing "magic mirror" montage sequence. The monster's harem of the undead are a joy to behold, and the devil has an impressive chamber of horrors. The film excels in effective sketches of various period archetypes, each overdrawn almost to the point of caricature - very much in the spirit of the Andy Milligan horror films of the same time period. In addition, there are several surreal characters which seem straight out of a Russian folk tale. This magical film effortlessly takes us to another world, where life is cheap, dumb and brutal, and evil sucks the life from the innocent with impunity. A groovy period organ score, featuring familiar ditties by Bach and others, nicely accentuates the antediluvian nature of this insular fairy tale world. Adorable little indie films such as this put the bloated corporate product of Hamer Films to shame.

Julia(Marguerite Hardiman)accidentally releases a stranger(Mike Raven)from the depths of hell with a drop of her blood.The stranger is cursed to supply his master Satan with the blood of virgins until he can find a maiden to spend eternity with him.Using Julia's blood to control her the stranger plans to make her his eternal bride,unless her boyfriend Ralph(Stephen Bradley)can stop him and free Julia."Disciple of Death" is extremely cheap horror movie with inept special effects and amateurish acting.Some scenes resemble much better Tigon's horror classic "Blood on Satan's Claw".Still I had fun watching this cheesy piece of trash and I can't wait to check out the other Mike Raven's vehicle "Crucible of Terror".6 out of 10.

An overuse of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is a sure sign of a really cheezy horror and barely a minute goes by in Disciple of Death without the familiar organ tune striking up. Bach's composition is the perfect accompaniment to minor British horror star Mike Raven, who hams it up a treat in this gloriously schlocky slice of occult nonsense that is so wonderfully daft that it proves fairly entertaining.

Raven plays The Stranger, who is released from the depths of hell when a drop of blood is accidentally spilt on the grave of a suicide victim. Free to roam the Earth once more, The Stranger assumes the identity of a lord and begins his hunt for a maiden willing to sacrifice herself for him, thus permanently releasing him from damnation. Pretty squire's daughter Julia (Marguerite Hardiman) seems like the ideal candidate, but farmer Ralph (Stephen Bradley) will do anything to save his beloved. Teaming up with the village parson (Ronald 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' Lacey), Ralph attempts to end the Stranger's wickedness...

With terrible dialogue, awful acting (there are some hilarious 'Oooh arrr!' West country accents), pitiful direction from Tom Parkinson) and a woeful script (Parkinson and Raven every bit as bad at writing as they are at directing and acting), it's easy to understand the panning the film received from critics upon its initial release. One can occasionally detect a hint of tongue in cheek, but it's never explicit, and it's not hard to imagine Raven (an occultist in real life) taking his role all too seriously. Raven provides most of the (unintentional?) laughs with his performance, although additional light relief comes in the form of a comical Jewish cabalist who gives Ralph some magic artefacts that come in handy when an evil dwarf (played by Britain's Bounciest Weather presenter, Rusty Goffe) causes mischief.

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for the mean-spirited murders: an old hag is garotted, a pair of lovers (Joe Dunlop and Doctor Who babe Louise Jameson) are interrupted when The Stranger gets stabby, and Ralph's sister Ruth has her heart cut out.