To The Devil A Daughter (1976)

17% of critics liked it
(6 reviews)
40% of users liked it
(2,074 ratings)

Christopher Lee stars in this weak occult melodrama as Father Michael Rayner, an excommunicated priest who decides to save the world from its decadence by teaming up with Satan. Richard Widmark is on hand as John Verney, out to stop Rayner's satanic rituals and helped along on the path of goodness… More Christopher Lee stars in this weak occult melodrama as Father Michael Rayner, an excommunicated priest who decides to save the world from its decadence by teaming up with Satan. Richard Widmark is on hand as John Verney, out to stop Rayner's satanic rituals and helped along on the path of goodness by friends Anna Fountain (Honor Blackman) and David (Anthony Valentine). The plot centers on distraught father Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott), who has signed over his daughter Catherine (Nastassja Kinski) to Rayner in order to save his own skin and now regrets it. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Peter Sykes
Genres: Horror, Art House & International, Mystery & Suspense, Cult Movies

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1976 Wide
On DVD: Oct 8, 2002

Critic Reviews

Michael W. Phillips, Jr., Goatdog's Movies
A good suspense film that fell apart.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Shockingly bad adaptation of the Wheatley novel.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Hammer goes out with a bang. Not a classic, but enjoyable.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
an odd curtain call for Hammer because, despite the presence of stalwart actor Christopher Lee, it is not like most Hammer horror films

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Featured Audience Ratings

Kylie B

Personally I preferred the plot of this Wheatley adaptation to The Devil Rides Out. The high production standards mean that the special effects are less amusing - but at times there is a lack of atmosphere, meaning that the melodramatic nature of the plot/acting can feel a little… More
Personally I preferred the plot of this Wheatley adaptation to The Devil Rides Out. The high production standards mean that the special effects are less amusing - but at times there is a lack of atmosphere, meaning that the melodramatic nature of the plot/acting can feel a little silly. I rather liked the finale, though it was anti-climatic.
David S

Something of a missed opportunity for Hammer this has much higher production values than their previous efforts and uses some pretty well known actors from the 70's in one of their last hurrahs. Unfortunately despite their best efforts to create their own version of… More
Something of a missed opportunity for Hammer this has much higher production values than their previous efforts and uses some pretty well known actors from the 70's in one of their last hurrahs. Unfortunately despite their best efforts to create their own version of 'Rosemary's Baby' mixed with 'The Exorcist' they are let down by a poor script and a damp squid of an ending. The whole thing looks like it's building up to some great confrontation between Lee and Widmark but as soon as Widmark throws a stone at Lee it is all over. What a let-down! Kinski is very young here and her acting is a bit dodgy (as she is forced to do a completely pointless nude scene at the end) but Lee, Blackman and Goodliffe are good and Elliott does a very good nutter impression. Widmark has obviously been brought in to attract the American market but really Hammer should have gone for someone a bit younger like Hackman or Finney (probably out of their budget) as his presence here doesn't really add anything and his motives are never really clear. In the end the whole thing looks like it's been heavily edited to cut the running time but this leaves too many plot-holes and despite the running time the film still drags. One for hardened Hammer fans only.
The S

The end of the Hammer horror era, this film, based on a Dennis Wheatley novel, is definitely one of their best efforts. There is a strong cast and a serious approach with the pace, action and occult intrigue that you would expect from a Wheatley story. PS. Should be very popular… More
The end of the Hammer horror era, this film, based on a Dennis Wheatley novel, is definitely one of their best efforts. There is a strong cast and a serious approach with the pace, action and occult intrigue that you would expect from a Wheatley story. PS. Should be very popular with fans of Nastassja Kinski.
Marcus W

Before today I was a Hammer virgin, now having experienced it for the first time I feel...pretty much the same as I did yesterday. This is a perfectly okay soft-core porn, horror movie that co-stars a hilarious devil-baby-handpuppet-thing. It was fun to see a novelist battling the… More
Before today I was a Hammer virgin, now having experienced it for the first time I feel...pretty much the same as I did yesterday. This is a perfectly okay soft-core porn, horror movie that co-stars a hilarious devil-baby-handpuppet-thing. It was fun to see a novelist battling the Satanists (lead by the always brilliant Lee) instead of a priest and um, yeah. It hasn't made me want to scour their back-catalogue exactly, though I might try a few more. Not bad, not bad.