Escalofrío

It can be awkward when we are approached by a couple who swear they know us and we haven't a clue who they are. It must be a good deal worse if we accompany these people to their home to 'catch up' and we realise they are a couple of perverted demon worshippers who have some very grisly plans. This is exactly what happens to Andres (José María Guillén) and his pregnant wife Ana (Marianna Karr). Pretty soon their lives have taken on an extraordinary turn for the worse.

Directors Carlos Puerto and (an uncredited) Juan Piquer Simón make sure we're just as unnerved and anxious as the unfortunate pair. True to its 'euro-sleaze' trappings, the foreboding atmosphere is heavily punctuated with lingering scenes of sex that drag things down a little - but developments come thick and fairly fast. It's a tension-filled rollercoaster and a good way to spend 82 minutes.

It would appear that Spain is actually a more prolific producer of horror films than I had first thought. This film isn't very well known, and that's a real shame as it's undoubtedly one of the best that the country ever produced. Satan's Blood handles the ever popular horror film theme of devil worship, and it does it with a lot of style, blood and nudity; all of which ensure that the film is more than just your average satanic slice of exploitation. The way that the plot is put forward is fascinating as director Carlos Puerto keeps the action simple, and by concentrating on just a handful of characters, it's easy to buy into the sex-laden plot line. The story follows a young couple; Andres and Ana, who decide to travel with another couple they have just met to their lovely home in the country. The man of the pair says that he knows Andres from school; although Andres can't remember him, and there's a reason for that, as they've never met before and the couple whose home they're going to are keen disciples of the devil!

The film features a lot of interesting diabolical elements, from things such as Ouija boards to mass orgies on top of a pentagram. The more sordid elements of the film don't stop the director from telling an interesting story, however, as Puerto uses them to his advantage and the sordid elements help rather than hinder the film from a storytelling perspective. It is true that the film loses tension at times because of the breaks to show another sex scene, but many people will be tuning into this film to see sleaze; and they certainly won't be disappointed. Director Carlos Puerto also implements several things such as a creepy porcelain doll into the proceedings, which help to give the film more of a horror edge. There's a lot more nudity in this film than there is gore, but what there is in the way of blood is well used, and one scene in particular; which involves the couple's dog, is particularly nasty and liable to offend. Overall, even though Satan's Blood is heinously underseen, I personally wouldn't hesitate to rate it as a first class slice of Euro-horror, and it comes highly recommended.

Throughout my many years as an avid horror fanatic, I encountered numerous movies dealing with devil worshipers & satanic cults, and therefore I also assumed I had already heard every name, title and form of address for the "character" of Satan. Wrong again, because in this underrated gem of 70's Spanish horror, there's a scene in which the speaker summons good 'ol Lucifer using a whole bunch of new, hugely offensive and exhilarating names, including Prince of Fornication, Master of Hate, Serpent of Genesis, Prince of Necrophilia, Father of Incest and High Master of the Black Arts. Other than being a surprisingly eloquent film, "Satan's Blood" is an atmospheric and ultra-sleazy highlight of European (more particularly Spanish) cult cinema. The plot is obviously simplistic and severely lacking logic as well as plausibility, but the film offers a continuous spitfire of eerie images, nudity that is simultaneously erotic and gratuitous, gore and genuinely morbid scenery. When the young newlyweds Andres and Ana are bored to death on a regular Saturday afternoon, they decide to take their dog out for a drive in the city. Waiting at a stoplight they're contacted by another couple of whom the husband claims to know Andres from high school, even though the latter doesn't remember him at all. Andres and Ana reluctantly follow the couple to their secluded mansion in the countryside where they all join in sinister Ouija-board games, dangerous acts of seduction, a bit of inappropriate cannibalism and – of course – some good old satanic orgies. The couple behaves increasingly mysterious and obtrusive, but a heavy thunderstorm and car trouble prevent Andres & Ana from leaving. And even when they manage to get out of the house, they appear to have entered an inescapable spiral of satanic evil. "Satan's Blood" is an above average; I even daresay GOOD film despite the occasionally tedious moments and the overload of sex footage that constantly interrupts the suspense. A handful of sequences are downright creepy, notably the ones with the uncanny porcelain doll, and the fate of poor pretty Blackie is truly harrowing. The last 5 to 10 minutes are really terrific, full of gore and loaded with disturbance, repulsiveness and shock value. Massive recommendation for fans of 70's exploitation or Euro-cult horror in general.

On a slightly less important note, the DVD version of "Satan's Blood" I watched even provides a bit of hilarity, as the subtitle track was clearly handled very unprofessionally. Sometimes there are English subtitles without there even are dialogs and most of the time the translations are just indisputably incorrect. For example, Andres clearly states he works as a mechanic but at the same time the subtitles claim he's a lawyer.

I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that, Carlos Puerto, the obscure director of this Spanish horror semi-classic was actually a pseudonym for the more famous Spanish/English director Jose Larraz. Puerto is apparently a real guy, even though his film is eerily similar to many of those of Larraz with its plot of an innocent couple being lured to a remote house in the wilderness and being preyed on by a satanic coven of sexual degenerates.

The good news though is that this tends to eerily resemble a good Larraz film like "Symptoms" or "Vampyres" rather than a bad Larraz film like "Whirlpool" or "Black Candles". The bad news is that this suffers from the same problem of many (especially latter-day) Larraz films and many other films of the post-Franco "destapa" period--the emphasis on softcore sex and gratuitous nudity at times brings the story to a complete standstill and threatens to overwhelm any suspense or tension the story has built up. Luckily though the film is fairly skillfully done and the acting is good (I don't know who any of these actors are, but they're better than almost anyone Larraz ever worked with).

The ending is especially non-sensical even as far as Eurohorror goes, and dog lovers might not like the movie much, but it's still one of the better Spanish horror films I've seen from this period and the new DVD is widescreen and looks really good. Mirala!

"Satan's Blood" has to be one of the most underrated Spanish horror films ever made.It's sleazy and genuinely creepy Satanic horror flick co-produced by Juan Piquer Simon and well-directed by Carlos Puerto.Andy and Thelma,a couple living in Madrid leave their apartment for a pleasant day around the city with their dog Blackie.They cross paths with Bruno and Anne,a strange couple who invite them to their eerie country estate.Unbeknownst to them,Bruno and Anne are devil worshippers...Very atmospheric chiller that offers plenty of sleaze and full-frontal nudity.The scenes with a creepy porcelain child doll scared the hell out of me.The opening scene of nasty rape-murder in a Satanists' coven is wonderful."Satan's Blood" is extremely hard to find,but if you are a fan of sleazy Spanish horror give it a look.10 out of 10.