Steineded How sad is this?

Executscan Expected more

Console best movie i've ever seen.

Aubrey Hackett While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

AaronCapenBanner A family outing is shattered when they find themselves trapped in a remote desert town, where supernatural forces are murdering townspeople, and an evil cult of elderly Satanists are planning to kidnap the children(including the family's daughter) for a sinister purpose. The parents, a priest, and some others try to stop them before its too late...Though directed with some style, this dispiriting, dreary, and very unappealing film makes little sense, and is vastly inferior to "Rosemary's Baby", which it clearly is inspired by. Strother Martin as a doctor/cult leader is wasted.

sol1218 **SPOILERS** Interesting little film about a Satanic takeover of the little town of Hillsboro California by using the children of the townspeople in the most evil and ungodly ways.This coven of witches are now about to meet their master Satan in the world beyond in that they've reached the age where their no longer needed in his service. The last act of evil left for these witches and warlocks is to have them transfer their souls, if in fact they have any, into the children of Hillsboro and thus continue a new cycle of evil.It's both Ben and Nicki, Charles Bateman & Ahna Capri, together with their adopted six year old daughter K.T, Geri Reischi, who have the misfortune to drive through Hillsboro and become part of this evil plan conjured up by the local and undercover Satanists who are actually in control of the town. With 26 of the town citizens killed in a series of unexplained accidents over the last 72 hours the town's very concerned Sheriff Pete,L,Q Jones, is besides himself in just what's behind their brutal deaths. It's also noted by Sheriff Pete and retired town doctor Doc Duncan, Stother Martin, that those person's, who were killed, children had mysteriously disappeared! It's later in the movie that little K.T ends up missing together with the rest of the towns 12 other children who seemed to have vanished from off the face of the earth!It's the town's man of the cloth Priest Jack,Charles Robinson, who uncovers the reason why all these strange and unexplained event are really happening. Priest Jack uncovered the secret plan hatched by the leader of the Satanic and Witches cult through old manuscripts about the inner workings of Satanism. It also later turns out that the poor Priest Jack really loses it when he witnesses one of the townspeople end up getting decapitated right before his eyes. This by a dark horseman who seemed to materialize out of thin air! It turned out that the now headless and dead man's son joined the other children who disappeared and ended up later becoming part of the evil that's taken hold of Hillsboro! ***SPOILER ALERT*** The films unnerving final sequence has all witches and warlocks get just what they deserve in a flaming and sword wheeling ending with even Mr. Big, the head Satanist, not escaping the carnage. It also turns out that this was the plan concocted by the leader of the cult all along! He ended up dead but in his, and his followers, case death was not the end but only the beginning!

MartinHafer This film seems to be a tad underrated on IMDb--it's not that bad a film despite the current 3.5 rating. However, the reviewer who gave it a 10 also shouldn't be trusted--believe me, this is not GONE WITH THE WIND or CASABLANCA--it's just a cheap but somewhat interesting horror flick! The film starts off very well and it really had me hooked with the concept. A family wanders into a small town where no one can leave due to some bizarre force and now that same force won't let the family leave as well! In addition, many adults have died in the last three days and their young children are missing. Apparently, a Satanic cult wishes to sacrifice these kids so that they may be immortal!! While this is original and very chilling, it did irritate me that despite all this, some townspeople laughed at the minister when he suggested that there were "supernatural powers afoot"--well DUUUUHH!!! Any idiot would have known that, but oddly the scared folks balk at his reasonable suggestion!! Unfortunately, from about that point on, the film kind of fizzled. Now it wasn't bad, but the momentum surely was lost and the whole thing ended in a big anti-climax. The film had a great idea but spotty writing and a few clichéd characters keep this one from being any better than a 5. Worth a look, but not exactly earth-shaking!

Juha Hämäläinen One of the best lesser known occult oriented horror movies of the seventies. It's gritty, exciting, scary, surrealistic here and there and at moments even very smart, which can't be said about many of the movies this kind. I can't help seeing some stinging symbolic and metaphoric points at the seventies society and generation stuff of the time this movie was done. The scriptwriter has obviously been cooking while delivering also some good old "from the crypt" kind of scenes. With a job well done from a creative director the result is entertaining and thought provoking. The simple, yet effective ending specially shows how these things are treated right by those who can.The excellent cast were mostly unknown to me, except L. Q. Jones as the moody but funny sheriff and Strother Martin as the town doctor. Martin, not surprisingly, always ends up stealing the movie. With that voice and skill he is one of the greatest loonies in movies, for me anyway. What an actor!So, it is a little bit of mystery to me why this movie has not gathered far greater recognition. I think it would deserve almost equal place in the occult horror canon alongside Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist. One helluva movie!