The Devil’s Men, also known in the US as Land of the Minotaur, is a Greek horror film directed by Kostas Karagiannis and written by Arthur Rowe. Starring two of horror’s most infamous actors, it sees Donald Pleasance (Halloween), as Irish priest Father Roche, face off against the sinister Baron Corofax played by the great Peter Cushing (Hammer House of Horror, Dracula AD 1972).
YGRAINE’S ARCHIVE – THE DEVIL’S MEN (1976)
… less The Wicker Man (1973) and more along the lines of a Carry On film with the protagonists possibly being the least capable and most ignorant in folk horror
In a small Greek village, Father Roche begins to grow suspicious as young people disappear seemingly without a trace at the hands of a devilish cult who worship at a temple of their minotaur god. With the help of a private investigator and the girlfriend of a missing man, Father Roche must come face to face with what he brands as ‘the devil’. Permeating the film are stereotypical elements of British folk horror, with the voyeuristic shifty-eyed locals, new versus old religions and the local cult being run by a charismatic baron. Unfortunately, The Devils Men is less The Wicker Man (1973) and more along the lines of a Carry On film with the protagonists possibly being the least capable and most ignorant in folk horror as a genre, there are many such characters. Donald Pleasance is trying his hardest as an Irish priest but his depiction is comical.
The tone and subtext behind The Devil’s Men can get confusing and almost entirely lost in the poor screenplay, and it’s difficult not to wonder whether through the use of the cult’s pointy hoods was an appropriation of a certain American based hate group in order to comment on religious fanaticism or merely just a nod to the European setting of the film. That’s not to say The Devil’s Men isn’t entirely enjoyable, with its slapstick features being wholesomely entertaining for fans of European 1970s horror.
The blu-ray of The Devil’s Men comes with the original UK cut as well as the shorter version that was released theatrically in the US, and the feature-length super-8 version of the film. Extras include The John Player Lecture with Peter Cushing (1973) at the National Film Theatre in London and a 2022 interview with the producer Frixos Constantine. The blu-ray would be a welcome addition to any die-hard fan of Peter Cushing or those with a penchant for campy occultist nonsensical yet enjoyable fluff.
THE DEVILS MEN (1976) IS OUT NOW ON INDICATOR BLU-RAY
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