After a peaceful sailboat ride, four young people, including rich kid Bill, Joe, Fred and Jane, knock on the door of a secluded villa after their dune buggy runs out of gas. Earlier in the day, Bill had given the lovely Jane a pearl necklace with a supposedly paranormal history, and this later opens up a can of worms. They are invited to spend the night at the mansion, owned by Lord Alexander and Lady Alexander, who happen to be hosting a strange ceremony that night attended by a group of eccentrics in black robes. During the evening, Jane exits her sleep chamber, seemingly in some kind of trance, and is lured to a sacrificial alter where the robed houseguests are hovering over her. As a knife is about to be plunged into the young lady, her three friends come to the rescue, but they are also witness to a chaotic mass murder catastrophe in which they flee with feelings of guilt and uncertainty.
Cinematography
That muddy zoom into Camille Keaton's trance face.
Costume
Robe quality screaming 'community theater Satanism'.
Score
Organ stabs that feel like they wandered from a soap opera.
Director
Riccardo Freda
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Riccardo Freda disowned the film and had his name removed from some prints; credited as 'Robert Douglas' in others.
Released at peak 1970s Satanic panic, riding the coattails of Rosemary's Baby but with roughly 1% of the budget.
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