The Blood on Satan’s Claw

Summary

“Doctor, witchcraft is dead and discredited. Are you bent on reviving forgotten horrors?”

With the forthcoming release of Severin Films’ enormous box set dedicated to folk horror, All the Haunts be Ours, I decided to watch a folk horror film that Severin Films released. The Blood on Satan’s Claw is not included in the upcoming set, but will be discussed in the documentary film Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched that is the focal piece of the set. The Blood on Satan’s Claw is considered to be a masterpiece of the folk horror genre and was sold by Severin Films a couple years ago as a limited edition title. Directed by Piers Haggard, The Blood on Satan’s Claw is not a horror film in the style of the Hammer Horror films that came before it. The approach is much more serious and the performances match the stark tone of the writing. The film creates a unique atmosphere that separates it from many of the other horror films at that time.

In 17th Century England, plowman Ralph Gower (Barry Andrews) pushes his plow through a field when he comes upon some birds pecking at the ground. After removing some dirt, he sees an eyeball staring up at him. The dirt around the body is covered in fur. He reports the strange sighting os the body and the fur to the Judge (Patrick Wymark.) The Judge believes that Ralph is being superstitious when he states that the body was of some thing – or some fiend! As the Judge goes to investigate, two outsiders arrive in town. Peter Edmonton (Simon Williams) and his fiancée Rosalind (Tamara Ustinov) have come to visit his disapproving Aunt Isobel (Avice Landone.) The Judge is staying as a guest at Isobel’s house, and it would be uncouth for Peter and Rosalind to stay in the same room, so Rosalind is put in the attic for the night. Peter suspects that the Aunt is unkind to her because she understands that Rosalind is with child. In the night, mad screams come from the room. Peter inexplicably can not enter the attic when he pulls on the door. His aunt manages to enter the room and begins to slap Rosalind who is in hysterics. Isobel is scratched across the face by her. The Judge and Ralph board up the room with nails so that Rosalind can be taken to the madhouse teh next day. The scratch gives Isobel a fever. Out in the fields, the village youths Angel (Lynda Hayden,) Cathy Vespers (Wendy Padbury,) and Ralph discuss the screams of the night. As Rosalind is taken away to the asylum, Peter looks at her hand and in its place he sees a claw. While he is disturbed by this, more bad news is given to him – Isobel has vanished. In a class taught by pious Reverend Fallowfield (Anthony Ainley) – Angel gets in trouble for having a bag in class in which she is holding onto some sort of claw. When Fallowfield tries to grab the claw, Angel hands off the bag to another child and the claw can not be found by the Reverend. Justice Middleton (James Hayter) warns the Judge that perhaps witchcraft is afoot. The children in the town begin to act strangely. Some become afflicted by strange growths of fur on their bodies as Angel leads the children in Satanic revery in the forrest near the village.

The Blood on Satan’s Claw is fantastic in every sense of the word. The film is a great example of how effective and interesting folk horror films can be. Like the best folk horror titles, the film taps into a fear of old superstitions and a feeling akin to folktales of the past. The Blood on Satan’s Claw is a period piece that features a small village that accidentally revives an ancient deity that has been buried in the ground. That deity begins to rebuild itself on the skin of the local children. The film is folk horror because of its reliance on fantastic elements from a lost time and its focus on the uncanny and dark that is connected in some way to the natural world. I have enjoyed folk horror films since I first saw The Wicker Man as a student in college, and The Blood on Satan’s Claw is one of the best that I have seen.

The film works for numerous reasons. First and foremost, the film is visually compelling due to the well thought out cinematography by Dick Bush. His photography takes in the English countryside and forests with an artistic eye. The photography could easily be described as enchanting. The production design of the film is convincing. The set decorations are sparse but effective and the time period feels convincingly rendered. The script by Robert Wynne-Simmons is well rendered by director Piers Haggard who never lets the script’s more outré elements fall into the trappings of camp. The film does not shy away from the material and allows the more unsavory elements to remain unsavory. This might also turn off some film viewers because there is one memorable sequence of full frontal nudity (which serves a purpose) and one rape sequence (which is fairly tame in terms of what is shown, but is still nasty business.) The music by Mark Wilkinson is excellent and very well suited to the picture.

The acting in the film is for the most part wonderful. None of the actors treat their parts as tongue-in-cheek. Patrick Wymark is excellent in what would be nearly his final performance. Wymark was a seasoned professional and brings a puritanical air to the role of the Judge. He steals every scene in which he appears. In a career defining role, Linda Hayden runs off with the film as the beautiful and diabolical devil’s pawn, Angel Blake. Hayden is wonderful in the role which requires a good amount of bravery given the more unhinged aspects of her character and a sequence which required her to appear fully nude. It is easy to understand why the villagers would be tempted to follow her into the forest. Other notable actors include Wendy Padbury, Barry Andrews, James Hayter, and Simon Williams. There is not a bad performance in the film.

When I think of all the elements that are of interest to me in a folk horror film, The Blood on Satan’s Claw has all of them. It’s a great example of the genre and well worth checking out if you have any interest in this type of film.

Video

Severin Films has provided a very nice looking transfer in 1080p of The Blood on Satan’s Claw in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an MPEG-4 AVC encode from a new 4K scan of the original negative. Despite their cleanup of the elements there is visible specking and some minor print damage on some scenes. This is a very minor complaint given how great the film looks for the most part. A fine level of grain is evident and the film looks very nice overall. Fans will be very pleased by the work that Severin put into this release. 

Audio

Like the video transfer, I was pretty well impressed by the audio track. Severin Films has provided a great DTS-HD MA 2.0 Mono track in English. The sound quality on the track is essentially reference quality. The fantastic score by Mark Wilkinson sounds wonderful and the dialogue is ver clear and easy to understand. The original sound design is presented in the best shape that any fan could ask for or expect.

Supplements:

• Original Soundtrack on a separate CD
• Audio Commentary with Director Piers Haggard, Screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons and Actress Linda Hayden
• Audio Commentary with The League Of Gentlemen‘s Mark Gatiss, Jeremy Dyson and Reese Shearsmith
• Touching The Devil – ‘Making Of’ Featurette – this is a brief but enjoyable archival featurette.
• Reviving Forgotten Horrors – Interview with Piers Haggard – this is a really great discussion with the director. He talks about the decisions made that led to the more special aspects of the film and how the picture came together.
• Satan’s Script – Interview with Screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons by Film Historian Dr. Marcus Stiglegger – the writer of the film is interviewed about how the script went from being a triptych of stories into one cohesive script.
• Folk Tale – Interview with Actor Simon Williams – Simon Williams looks back on his memories from working on the film.
• Folk Music – Interview with Composer Marc Wilkinson – a short but enjoyable piece.
• Folk Art – Interview with Set Dresser Milly Burns – Milly Burns briefly describes how the sparseness of the set dressing added to the impact of the film.
• Folk Sounds – Interview with Sound Recordist Tony Dawe
• Running with the Devil – Interview with Linda Hayden – Linda Hayden gives an excellent interview where she discusses her starring role as Angel Blake.
• In A League Of Its Own – Featurette with The League Of Gentlemen’s Jeremy Dyson and Mark Gatiss
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.25/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

The Blood on Satan’s Claw is an excellent example of a well made folk horror film. The film is eerie and fantastic in equal measure. The script by Robert Wynne-Simmons is great, and Piers Haggard capably brought the film to life with the assistance of cinematographer Dick Bush. The music by Mark Wilkinson is great and the performances are wonderful. Patrick Wymark and Linda Hayden are extremely memorable in their roles. The Severin Films Blu-ray is well worth purchasing with a great looking video transfer, solid audio, excellent special features, and an included soundtrack CD. This Limited Edition release comes very highly recommended if you can track it down!