Devil Times Five — Devil Times Five(Blu Ray)
Devil Times Five is an early 70’s mix of killer kid thriller and slasher. It starts fairly campy/ soapy, before slowly but surely getting more mean-spirited/bleak, before diving into a truly nihilistic resolve. It features a decent selection of both victims and killers, a snowy setting, and one or two fairly impressive low-fi gore effects. Here from 88 Films, as part of their Slasher Classic Collection, is a Blu-ray release of the film. It takes in both new and archive extras, including a brand new commentary track from slasher-loving podcast The Hysteria Continues.
Devil Times Five ( aka The Horrible House on the Hill, Tantrums, People Toys) is from the year 1974. It’s an American production shot mainly around Lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino National Forest, in the wintertime, with a largely very deep snow setting.
It was co-directed by Sean MacGregor & David Sheldon. MacGregor has eight features to his name, including seemingly the same film remade three times- Tiger Cage 1974, 1988, & 2012. His other credits include wrongly accused of a crime drama Camper John (1974), and Viet Nam set action film A Mission To Kill (1992). Sheldon has three features to his name- the other two are high school kung fu action/ meets drug-themed musical Lovely But Deadly (1981), and family adventure Grizzly Adams and the Legend of Dark Mountain (1999)
The film is set in a hillside house and its surrounding woodland. A bus full of patients from a young person's mental health facility crashes in the woods, with only five very troubled youngsters escaping the crash. They make their way to the holiday home of bearded and bossy Papa Doc(Gene Evans), who seemingly has his fingers in a lot of business pies.
Also in the house are a selection of guests- a balding, lacking confidence, moustached doctor and his constantly boozed-up wife. A constantly flirting & belittling brunette. A blonde-haired couple who just want to get away. And a special needs handman, who seemingly gets belittled by everyone.
The ‘kids’ range, I guess, between the ages of six and early teenage- there’s a small African American boy dressed in combats obsessed with time, a sad looking long haired girl who is fascinated by fire, a smartly dressed pre-teen boy, a younger girl, and a teen girl dressed as a nun.
As mentioned earlier, the first part of the film plays out fairly campy/ soapy- as the adult characters settle in, with some great moments of bitchy back talk/ fake fighting, and generally interaction.
The first murder by the five is shown in slow-mo monochrome, at first it’s quite effective/disturbing- but it goes on way too long, becoming somewhat frustrating. When we kick into the killing in a normal setting, these move between a rather tragic hanging, axe to the back of the head, and a few others, most inventive of these being bathtub drowning with piranhas.
The cast for the 70’s exploitation film is largely fine, though I’d say my highlights are the really unnerving large glasses dressing as a nun, Hannah(Gail Smale). And Shelley Morrison, who plays the constantly drunk/belittling her husband, Ruth.
I’ve been aware of Devil Times Five for a long time- but this release is my first watch, and I was largely entertained- as it switched from 70’s bickering campness, to nastiness, and finally nihilism. I’d say my few criticisms would be the overuse of vehicles driving snow road footage at the start of the film, and some of the less rewarding slowed down scenes- like the already discussed first killing, and the bus crash.
Moving on to this new region B Blu-ray, we get an HD scan- as far as I can gather, this is ported over from the Vinegar Syndrome release from a years back. It looks good with great clarity to the colour, in particular reds and shades of white.
As far as I can gather, the only totally new extra here is a commentary from The Hysteria Continues, and as we’ve come to expect from this slasher-loving four-piece, it’s well researched and entertaining track. They start off by commenting on how refreshing it is that kids just kill because they want to. We find out that the film got a pan & scan VHS in the Uk in the 80’s under the title of Traumas. They comment on the ill-fitting wig on one of the child actors. We find out the picture started life under the title of People Toys, with tense and difficult production. They point out moments of reshoots and discuss which of the many titles they like best. We find out the actor who played the army kid is now a stuntman, appearing in quite a few big films. Later on, they discuss other killer kid films, talk about what they changed about the film, and touch on how prolonged the death scenes are in the film. All in all, another great track from the guys.
Otherwise, the next batch of extras are ported over from the Vinegar Syndrome release. They take in: Puppeteering (20.08) interview with second assistant director Walter Dominguez. Daddy’s Home (8.46) interview with Bruce Wank, son of executive producer Jordan M. Wank. Holiday from Hell (26.14) interview with Nightmare USA author Stephen Thrower.
Then we get selection of older extras: commentary track with actresses Joan McCall and Dawn Lyn, producer Michael Blowitz and uncredited co-director David Sheldon, moderated by Darren Gross. Featurette comprising interviews with actors Tierre Turner, Joan McCall, Dawn Lyn, producer Michael Blowitz and co-director David Sheldon. Bonus interview, alternate title card, and trailer.
The finished release comes with an o-ring cover with original artwork. With a booklet featuring new writing by Calum Waddle.
It certainly is wonderful to see the Slasher Classic Collection continuing on, with this 61st addition to the series. If you enjoy early/ proto slashers and 70’s camp, you’ll enjoy what's offered up here. With a decent selection of extras, and a crisp, ‘n’ classy scan.