The Devil’s Rain (1975)
Laura’s Rating: 0.5/5 Stars
So why did I watch this movie to begin with? There is a tv show that has been on since the 1970s called Svengoolie. It shows primarily low-budget and classic horror and science fiction films and is hosted by “Svengoolie” who wears a tuxedo and heavy eye makeup and makes jokes and commentary about the film. The show has aired in the Chicago area for many years and in recent years has been shown nationally on MeTV.
The Analysis:
Steve Preston and his family are terrorized by a curse after betraying a Satanic priest, who has tried to get his hands on a Satanic book for generations. After Steve literally melts into a puddle, his son, Mark (played by William Shatner), goes out to the desert in search of the priest. Hoping to defeat the priest once and for all, Mark and his family face off with the Satanic followers in a deserted ghost town.
You may have seen that The Devil’s Rain made the top of my list for the worst movies I watched in 2021. I gave the film half a star, the lowest rating I’ve ever given. It’s actually hard to summarize this movie because the plot makes no sense and is filled with holes. Why does the Preston family have this Satanic book? How does Mark know to go to the desert? These are just the initial questions and it gets worse from there. On top of that, the “special effects” are some of the worst I’ve ever seen. Even considering the low budget, this 1975 movie could have done better. The melting effects caused by the Devil’s rain looked like rainbow sherbert left under a hairdryer. The end sequence goes on for about 10 minutes with the same shot and is excruciatingly drawn out for no reason. The basic story actually had potential but it’s like the film tried to be bad.
Despite the horrendous plot, there are some hilarious fun facts about this movie that I have to share. First of all, the movie stars William Shatner, and apparently is not the only B-rate horror flick that Captain Kirk did between filming the Star Trek tv series and the movie. Next, the movie is John Travolta’s first film acting credit. He is on screen for maybe a minute and is hardly recognizable, but the filmmakers wanted to capitalize on his popularity and success from tv series Welcome Back, Kotter and therefore featured his name prominently in the credits. The set of The Devil’s Rain was also where Travolta began to practice Scientology after being given a copy of Dianetics, a famous Scientology book. To wrap up, this movie is legit terrible, please enjoy the trivia but don’t waste your time.
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