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Daughters of Satan (1972) - Blu-ray Review

4 beersTom Selleck is one bad motherfucker. I’m just going to go ahead and throw that out there. Even when he plays an art collector, he still has the skills to smash skulls together. Forget Magnum P.I.; we already know from that show that he is. Daughters of Satan is all you need as proof of just how ingrained that badass ability is.

But first it must cast its spell over you. It’s good then that this flick is so damn creepy and effective. Directed by Hollingsworth Morse and written by John C. Higgins, Daughters of Satan and its witchy ways are pretty damn unique.

Filmed in the early 1970s, this horror film is all about a badly constructed painting that involves the burning of three women at the stake. It’s disturbing enough as it is, but there’s a darker narrative at work here. Early Spanish colonial primitive, says James Robertson (Selleck). Sadism at its sickest, says his wife (Barra Grant). She should know, too. There’s more than a passing resemblance to her in those faces of distress.

The wild terror in this horror flick truly begins with a beating that involves dangling treacherously over some steel blades. The poor woman being strung up and topless is being whipped by another woman – looking like a superhero in red and blue tights – demanding that she repeat the nine principles of darkness. Well, damn! This poor chick isn’t being witchy enough it seems. Obviously, this chick with the knife and the whip is a boss hag of some sort and this dungeon, featuring antique store dealer Carlos Ching (Vic Diaz), is her domain.

 

"Directed by Hollingsworth Morse and written by John C. Higgins, Daughters of Satan and its witchy ways are pretty damn unique."


 

Things, while slow moving in the first hour, get pretty demented after that and all of it is quite effective. Everything – especially the natural dialogue between the couple – works to create a mood made macabre thanks to an art collector who purchases a painting that turns out to be so much more.  You see this 370-year-old painting starts to come alive. Seriously. First a dog goes missing from the painting, only to reappear at their doorstep. WEIRD!

And that’s just the beginning of the journey that lies within this satanic flick of yesteryear.  Chris is slowly becoming the main witch in the picture.  And she's pissed.  

The painting is more than it appears; it’s alive and filled with a cast of characters who seem to be walking right out if it. From a demonic Rottweiler named Nicodemus to a camp of scoundrels threatening James with his very life, Daughters of Satan is an eerie portrayal of witches gone wild.

Scream Factory is proud to present this undervalued horror title on blu-ray with a damn fine transfer. Watch Tom Selleck maul a dude in a Philippine alleyway with an oversized Marlboro box when he discovers just how horrible the return policy is at the antique store.

Daughters of Satan, crawling out of its own artistic clam case, is now on blu-ray.

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Daughters of Satan (1972) - Blu-ray Review

MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime:
90 mins
Director
: Hollingsworth Morse
Writer:
John C. Higgins
Cast:
Tom Selleck, Barra Grant, Tani Guthrie
Genre
: Horror
Tagline:
A secret cult of lust-craved witches torturing with fire and desire!
Memorable Movie Quote: "Sometimes I think I've got a mind full of meringue."
Theatrical Distributor:
United Artists
Official Site:
Release Date:
November 17, 1972
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
April 24, 2018
Synopsis: Be careful what you witch for with this spellbinding thriller that delves into the realms of ancient covens and the conquistadors who loathe them. Tom Selleck delivers a commanding performance as James Robertson, an antique dealer living in Manila. James buys a Spanish painting dating back to 1592 from an art gallery ... because the painting depicts three witches being burned at the stake and one of the witches has an uncanny resemblance to James' wife, Chris. But the similarity turns out to be much more than a coincidence when Chris becomes possessed by the spirit of her evil doppelganger. She soon meets two local women who resemble the other two witches from the painting. The three decide to murder James, as he may be a descendant of the conquistador responsible for the burning of the original coven.

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Daughters of Satan (1972) - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray

Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Shout Factory
Available on Blu-ray
- April 24, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles
: English
Language:
English
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; single disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

Scream Factory provides Daughters of Satan in a fine 1080p release with their handling of this restoration. With an aspect ratio of 1.76:1, the new 2K digital restoration simply slays all you think you know or have previously seen from this movie. The crispness makes fresh again all the classic scenes and the depth of the colors in this motion picture is breathtaking. The shadows and the shades simply do not end, providing a sense of newness to every single moment. Even the dungeon comes alive in the crisp shades. The new restoration of the monaural soundtrack is presented uncompressed on the Blu-ray.

Supplements:

Commentary:

  • None

Special Features:

  • None

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Daughters of Satan (1972) - Blu-ray Review

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