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.
