Watch Enter the Devil

In the early 1970s, horror movies began to take a different turn. The Hammer Horror era was drawing to a close and more violent, brutal and shocking films were being made. Enter the Devil, released in 1972, was one of these movies. Directed by Frank Q. Dobbs, the film is a violent and disturbing exploration of the Satanic panic of the time.

The movie tells the story of an archaeologist, John Corey, who arrives in a small Texan town called Redstone to research the town's history. He is quickly caught up in a series of strange and violent events. A group of hippies have been murdered, their throats slashed and their bodies disfigured. A local man, Ben Whitehead, is suspected of the murders, but Corey is convinced there is something far more sinister going on.

As Corey continues to investigate, he discovers that the town is heavily involved in satanic rituals. Led by a powerful and charismatic figure named Carlotta, the cult is rapidly gaining more members and engaging in increasingly violent acts. Corey, with the help of a local woman named Sharon, sets out to stop the cult before its influence spreads even further.

Enter the Devil is a deeply unsettling film. The violence is brutal and intense, and there are moments of genuine horror throughout. The film has a grimy, low-budget feel to it, which only adds to its sense of dread. The performances are also strong, particularly Joshua Bryant as John Corey. Irene Kelly is similarly impressive as Sharon, bringing a sense of toughness to her character that is refreshing to see in a horror movie from this era.

One of the most fascinating things about Enter the Devil is how it reflects the cultural anxieties of the time. The late 1960s and early 1970s saw a rise in interest in the occult and satanic practices, with many people fearing that the hippie movement would lead to a moral decline in society. This fear is reflected in the film, with the cult's hippie-like members being portrayed as dangerous and violent.

The film also taps into the fear of small town corruption. Redstone is shown to be a town where everyone knows each other's business, and a sense of unease builds throughout the movie as Corey discovers just how deeply the cult's influence reaches. This fear of corruption and the breakdown of societal norms was a common theme in horror movies from this era, and Enter the Devil handles it well.

Despite its violent content, Enter the Devil is a well-made film with an interesting story to tell. It may not be for everyone, but for fans of the more extreme end of horror cinema, it is definitely worth checking out. The film is a fascinating snapshot of a particular moment in American culture, and a stark reminder of just how far horror movies have come in the last few decades.

Enter the Devil is a 1972 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 21 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.0.