Blood on Satan's Claw 4K Blu-ray Review

You must have patience, even while people die

Sandwiched between two titans of the horror genre, or more artistically speaking, the subgenre ‘folk horror’, of Witchfinder General (1968) and The Wicker Man (1973), we find quite possibly the best Hammer Horror film that Hammer never made: Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971).

Produced by Tigon (based ironically at Hammer House in London) founded by all round exploitation lover Tony Tenser, the company had been around for five years and in that time had become synonymous with horror; they placed themselves in direct competition with the likes of Hammer and Amicus, and nurturing young talent (in the likes of Michael Reeves), and boundary pushing the censors of the time with flesh and blood the likes of which other production companies feared to tread. Indeed, the runaway success of Witchfinder, and using the tide of protests that it garnered for its depiction of cruelty on both sides of the ocean, Tigon were suddenly taken seriously and were able to bring budgets, talent and stories to the screen, which seemed far beyond their means.

Enter writer and poet Robert Wynne-Simmons and his script, titled Satan’s Skin, written as an anthology horror of three stories: a woman locked in an attic by her abusive aunt; a group of children uncovering a demon carcass in a field; and a man who cuts off his own demon possessed hand, with each of these separate elements being held together in a narrative around a village infiltrated by evil, and all set in the Victorian era. Seeing the validity of the idea, director Piers Haggard worked on the script to bring it more in line with a traditional story than an anthology, and, on the insistence of Tigon, elements of ‘witchfinding’ were also added (the floating of a supposed witch), as well as setting the film far earlier in time, the eighteenth century, lending more towards the village/folk horror motif.

The result is something both startling and horrific, building on previous successes but forging its own path. The story still contains the original elements, and, if I’m honest, doesn’t completely quash the idea that they were originally intended to be separate, but the overarching theme of an unearthed demon building itself from corrupt skin is truly delicious. And the fact that it centres around the corruption of children gives it an even more sadistic and awful taste – even if the actors are clearly much older than their intended age!

Let’s take a deep dive – look out spoilers ahead.

It’s very early spring, there is still cold in the air, the bleak and windswept fields of a rural village are being ploughed by farm hand, Ralph Gower, played with charm and enthusiasm by Barry Andrews. His character is that of willing and daring, intelligent, able and headstrong man, but as his station in life is quite low, being heard is something that doesn’t come easy; which is a shame as it is his unearthing of a monstrous skull that sets in motion all the horrors that are to descend. The shot of the deformed skull is brief but awesome; the glistening eye, the mud and worms that infest it, it is almost stomach turning, and it causes Ralph to cower and run in fear.

It is at this point that we first hear Marc Wilkinson’s magnificent score for the film. His opening theme is haunting, eery, and steeped in undercurrents of horror, while maintaining at air of being light and fluffy. He returns to this theme throughout the run time, in slightly differing guises, to invoke deepest dread, or joyful happiness.

Once back at the manor house, we are introduced to the Judge, played with absolute relish by awesome character actor Patrick Wymark, in what would turn out to be his last film. He imbues the character with a sense of authority, depth, and fortitude; he is not full of bluster, not willing to suffer fools, and neither does he have the tendency to listen to the common folk, unless something sparks his curiosity. He is very unwilling to leave the fireside to go see the demon in the field, lest it ruin his evening sup, but upon insistence he does only to find nothing – all this does is reinforce his suspicions that witchcraft is dead and superstitions need not be heeded.

The Judge is staying at the Banham estate, under the rule of the mistress of the house, and you get the faintest whisper that there might be more than just friendship going on, especially on their joining forces against the mistresses nephew, who brings home his fiancé to spend the night; they make their disapproving feelings well known, and even banish her to sleep in the attic, lest unseemly thoughts enter the young lovers minds. Clearly this is the first of the anthology stories, and it is built upon with the attic being home to unseen dark forces, trying to tie it together with the unearthing of the demon. The young fiancé, Rosalind, is played by Tamara Ustinov, daughter of the famous Peter Ustinov, and was cast primarily for her name, though in the part she does very well; from temptress, to underling, to tormented, to unhinged; indeed in her final walk down the stairs she is genuinely terrifying to watch, the ghastly hand drawing parallels with the unearth demon – that is if you don’t think about it too hard (she is not a child, she doesn’t give up her skin etc.)

Peter Edmonton, the nephew, is played by Simon Williams, initially a fop, his own transformation is terrific to watch. After seeing his intended carted off the to the asylum, he takes it upon himself to stay in the attic and face the horrors that took his darling away, cue slow walking up the stairs, timid exploration and horrific glances as the light goes out. The floorboards rattle and open – now I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be putting my hand into an unknown place even now, let alone in an 18^th century attic, who knows what’s in there, rats, spiders, all sorts of unknowns! But our intrepid protagonist isn’t so scared, he gropes around only to be pulled down – fortunately managing to escape and place a trunk over the offending hole, finally exhaustion overcoming him he falls to sleep. But what’s this? The third of our anthology stories! Attacked in the night, Peter defends himself from a monstrous hand trying to kill him; only when he is rescued by his aunt and the Judge, it is not a demon hand at all, but his own …

Such behaviour stirs the doctor to show the Judge a book about demons and witchcraft; initially very sceptical, the Judge finally begins to take notice, and upon reading the tomb, decides to leave the village to make further study; leaving behind a stern warning that the villagers have to allow the evil to grow before it can be stopped – alright for him, leaving in his ornate carriage, while our poor villagers are left to the whims of a dullard of a sheriff while the deaths mount up!

Our final story of the anthology now takes centre stage, while playing in the furrowed field, Angel Blake, played with pure evil delight by Linda Hayden, only just 18 at the time, finds a claw, and with it is seduced by the demon and spreads its plague with the skin beginning to grow on the children of the village. Angel becomes enthralled to the demon Behemoth, conducting black masses, murdering her classmates as she cuts the skin from them to enable the demon to take form, and seducing the Reverend Fallowfield, future Doctor Who alumnus, Anthony Ainley, in one of the more infamous scenes, and when that doesn’t work falsely accusing him to remove him from the picture.

Perhaps the most notorious scene is the rape and murder of Cathy, one of Angel’s school classmates, played with wide eyed wonder by Wendy Padbury. Trying to secure more adult roles after her stint as Zoe on Doctor Who, this character was actually quite typical of the young innocent that Padbury was already playing in her career; it was just the fate that was so shocking. The fact that it is quite graphic and that the characters are supposed to be children makes the scene all the more distasteful.

And all the while you have that haunting score, and Dick Bush’s lustrous cinematography, giving energy, and a sweeping majesty to the visuals. Indeed, you have to love the fact that during the filming time (from April through May) the landscape becomes visibly lusher and more overgrown as the spring blossom gives way to rich fertile growth. Except when a scene is filmed out of order and suddenly its barren trees and no undergrowth!

And I simply love when the Judge comes back to the village with his promise to “use undreamed-of measures” to stop the evil; with that enigmatically covered talisman at his disposal – what could it be, what has he looked up, what does he know, and what mysterious forces will he bring to bear to best a fully formed demon? Nothing but a giant sword and some stabbing motion! Oh, made me laugh back when I first saw it years ago, and still amuses me now.

However, in the same scene we see the corruption of young Ralph, our erstwhile farm hand, who has been nothing but courteous and easy of address since we first met him; now, with his leg formed in the demon skin, and that big breasted seductress teasing him to sever the limb for the demon, he finally succumbs and begins hacking away, finally, all traces of good in the village are gone, corruption is complete, that is until the Judge and his massive weapon (oooh-er) turns up to save the day.

It was this good-defeats-evil that Tigon wanted to ensure the likeability of the film; the original bleaker one being deem unsuitable. It kind of works, even though it does seem a bit rushed, and, of course, there is no supernatural element to any of it, which does somewhat fly in the face of what has come before, and yet it just about gets away with it.

Whilst the film wasn’t the runaway success that Tigon expected it to be, it has, over the years, garnered quite the reputation, it being championed by several horror fanatics due to the pacing, score, effects, and overall tone. As I said right at the beginning it is quite possible the greatest Hammer horror that Hammer never made, and in that regard, I stand firm.

The Blood on Satan’s Claw. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Blood on Satan’s Claw shot on 35 mm film and has had the benefit of a comprehensive 4K restoration from the Original Camera Negative with the resulting 4K DI forming the basis for this UHD.

The discs present a native 3840 x 2160p resolution image, in the theatrically correct 1.85:1 aspect ratio, uses 10-bit video depth, High Dynamic Range (HDR), and is encoded using the HEVC (H.265) codec for both Dolby Vision and HDR10.

We reviewed the Region free UK Ultra HD Blu-ray release of Blood on Satan’s Claw on a Panasonic TX-65HZ1000B Ultra HD 4K TV with a Panasonic DP-UB450 Dolby Vision HDR10+ 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

Blood has always been treated pretty well when it comes to transfers, numerous 4K scans having been done over the years, so don’t be expecting a dramatic increase in quality from previous incarnations. Oh, it’s better, and the best release to date, but more to do with subtlety and colours.

Detail is terrific, throughout, from close up skin texture (check out the wispy blonde hairs, pores and freckles of Linda Hayden’s face in extreme close up) and clothing weaves, to the mud, stones and worms of the ploughed fields, the distant trees against the skyline (leaved or not!) to the crumbling brickwork of the houses, flagstones, soot on the hearths, crispy bark; the whole is awash with keen edges with the only softness coming from soft focus lenses.

Dolby Vision really helps push this image into something special, giving colours a richness but holding on the natural aspect and keeping in tone with the original look; the green of leaves and grassland is beautifully lush (even more so in direct sunlight and when the filming gets closer to summer), while the reds simply shimmer, that of the ornate clothing, or blood. Flesh tones are perfectly natural as well.

Black level is tremendous, perhaps deepest it’s ever been, giving depth to the frame, and holding good shadows as well. Absolute black does occur, but occasion it picks up the surrounding hues, but this has always been the case. The white level give push to the frame, giving presence to the highlights.

Digitally there are no compression issues, and the original source is clean and bright, maintaining organic looking grain that allows that filmic glow.

The English DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono has cleaned up wonderfully, there is a good distinction between the separate elements that gives rise to a decent layering within the mix. Dialogues is clean and clear, never lost and sound very natural, particularly with Patrick Wymark’s silky tones. Effects are suiting sharp and many benefit from some tight bass. Bass itself is, obviously, limited by the source, but is reasonably adept and maintains realism; the track is never shrill or tinny.

Marc Wilkinson’s evocative, haunting, and enigmatic score comes across really well, with decent dynamics and separation between instruments. There is no hiss or distortion, and the whole track feels open and wide, despite its limitations.

Review System: Denon AVR-X4300H, MK Sound LCR750 and SUR55T, XTZ S2 Atmosphere ceiling mounted, SVS PB-12 Ultra.

UHD
Audio Commentary by director Piers Haggard actress Linda Hayden and writer Robert Wynne-Simmons
Audio Commentary with British Film Experts Vic Pratt and William Fowler

Blu-ray
Audio Commentary – With director Piers Haggard actress Linda Hayden and writer Robert Wynne-Simmons
Audio Commentary – With British Film Experts Vic Pratt and William Fowler
Satan’s Skin - Robert Wynne-Simmons on The Blood on Satan’s Claw
The Devil’s Business - Wendy Padbury on The Blood on Satan’s Claw
Folk Horror - Kier-La Janisse on The Blood on Satan’s Claw
Tigon Tales of Terror featurette – With Michael Armstrong, Piers Haggard, Christopher Neame, Tony Tenser and Ian Ogilvy
Reviving Forgotten Horrors - Interview with Piers Haggard
Folk Tale - An Interview with Actor Simon Williams
Folk Art - An Interview with Set Dresser Milly Burns
Folk Sound - An Interview with Sound Recordist Tony Dawe
Folk Music - An Interview with Composer Marc Wilkinson
Folk Dub - An Interview with Assistant Dubbing Mixer Graham V. Hartstone
Folk Promo - An Interview with Publicity Director Tony Tweedale
Return to Bix - Simon Williams Returns to the Church Location
Theatrical Trailer
Reconstructed Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring new artwork by Sean Longmore & original poster

Limited Edition reverse-board gloss o-ring
Booklet Notes by Sean Hogan

Blood on Satan's Claw 4K Blu-ray Review

Blood on Satan’s Claw sits neatly in-between two titans of the ‘folk -horror’ genre, Witchfinder General and The Wicker Man. Whilst not being quite as well know, nor as quite as well regarded, nor, indeed, quite as good; what it does have is an all-pervasive air of dread, the delicious idea of a demon forming itself from the corrupted skin of children, a truly magnificent score, pacing, effects, and some shock scenes, with clean direction bringing it together to form one unnerving whole - which in turn makes it one of the greats.

Delicious

The 4K UHD set from 88 Films is a pretty decent package; the native 4K image has tremendous detail, awesome colouring, lovely blacks, with a clean and tidy source maintaining a great grain structure, meaning, that although Blood has been treated well in past releases, this transfer tops them all. The DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track is engaging, clean with good dynamics and is only limited by the source. There is an extensive extras package, with some limited edition off disc material to boot.

Blood on Satan's Claw is available from 88 Films to buy on 4K UHD with Dolby Vision HDR, and Blu-ray from 25 March 2024.

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