Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

I remember watching this movie on TV back on Halloween night, 1978, after finishing Trick-or-Treating. A long time ago. "Devil Dog" has an excellent cast, and a fun, yet spooky tale of a normal middle-class family falling under demonic possession. The best part is when the father hears his children chanting bizarre hymns in the attic at 3am. He goes to investigate, and is shocked at what he finds.

During the heyday of made-for-TV horror films, there were two big names: Dan Curtis and Curtis Harrington. Both were prolific, their productions making up the bulk of the best 1970's tele-horror sub-genre.

DEVIL DOG: THE HOUND OF HELL is one of Mr. Harrington's better occult offerings.

A Satanic cult, led by a mysterious woman (the magnificent Martine Beswick), sets out to manifest a demon into a German Shepherd dog. Their quest for global dominion ensues.

After losing their family dog, Mike and Betty Barry (Richard Crenna and Yvette Mimieux) "coincidentally" acquire a new pup. Named "Lucky" by their overjoyed daughter (Kim Richards), all seems hunky dory. That is, until the odd occurrences and deadly "accidents" begin.

Harrington does a great job of not only making the titular pooch seem menacing, but also young Ms. Richards' character and her brother (Ike Eisenmann). Ms. Mimieux is quite alluring when she takes her walk on the dark side as well! Crenna stands tall throughout, as the everyman caught up in these devilish circumstances.

Loaded with demonic shenanigans and mystical goings-on, this movie should thrill all lovers of such fiendish fare, especially the big, final conflict...

I remember Devil Dog playing on TBS almost 20 years ago, and my older sister and her friends watching it and laughing all the next day. It's not that bad for a made-for-TV horror movie, but it is derivative (mostly of The Exorcist) and businesslike, for lack of a better word. It won't blow you away with artful cinematography or great acting, but it's not a waste of time, either. It's the kind of movie you watch to kill a couple of hours when you aren't in the mood to think too hard.

However, if you go into the movie looking for some laughs, you won't be disappointed. The early scenes, with Lucky the Devil Dog as a cute little puppy with Children of the Damned eyes are hilariously non-threatening, and the climactic blue-screen effects of a giant black dog (with horns!) are pretty side-splitting. And keep an eye out for the cloaked Satanist in Maverick shades toward the beginning.

Not a great horror film by any stretch of the imagination, but I wish they still made stuff like this for TV.

A young American family adopt a puppy Alsatian, which turns out to a demonic monster from Hell. Imagine swapping a dog for a child and we get some kind of canine Omen movie. This was made for TV and I have just watched it on an old VHS tape. Despite the silliness of the plot (and it is played deadpan straight) I found it to be quite watchable. The acting is pretty good, two good leads in Richard Crenna and Yvette Mimieux. I recognised Ken Kercheval from Dallas. I also enjoyed seeing the stunning Martine Beswick, who appeared in several James Bond and Hammer movies. She plays the leader of an unconvincing Satanic cult, sadly only a small part at the film's beginning. I would like to have seen a little more of them through the film. There are several deaths but all are pretty tame, and the demonic dogs special effects are not great but certainly memorable!

This is an interesting little horror flick from the 1970s, where the Barry Family is terrorized by a dog that is not your usual Man's Best Friend - apparently, a minion of Satan himself.

Not much surprises in this movie, but we get some good old fashion good vs. Evil action and some thrilling moments. Characters are OK, but it's not a bad horror flick to keep you entertained for an hour and a half or so.

Grade B-