Rainey Dawn
I love the classic horror films like this one... they didn't have to show lots of blood and guts on screen back then, people were smart knew what was going on even if not shown directly on camera (this is when several things happened off camera was indirectly shown).We have Peter Cushing vs. Donald Pleasence -- two great actors in a good film, it's hard to get better than this! I'll admit that even if Cushing and Pleasence was not in this film I would have enjoyed it but to watch both of them in this film was a great treat - they were the icing on the cake! The film is about a satanic cult, they worship a Minotaur God, lead by Peter Cushing! It's strange to see Cushing as the "bad guy" he usually played the "good guy" in films - so that's another treat to watching this film. Donald Pleasence is the priest out to fight the evil when he learns about people missing in the area and about the cult itself.Great classic film! Lots of Gothic imagery with an interesting story and a good cast (not just Peter and Donald).8.5/10
Leofwine_draca
A little-seen, little-known 1976 horror chiller boasting the tag-team pairing of big time horror stars, Donald Pleasence and Peter Cushing. With such a strong central casting (Pleasence symbolising good, Cushing evil) you would imagine that LAND OF THE MINOTAUR would be a lot more popular than it currently is (i.e. all but forgotten). On watching the movie the reasons become clear: it was shot in Greece, which, although picturesque, automatically gives the (already low budget) movie a rough, unpolished look, making it unpopular with critics at the time who universally panned it on release.In fact the movie is more interesting than its reputation would have you believe. Once you get over the endless scenes of characters walking around uninteresting locations with little purpose – a flaw which also surfaced in the similarly-themed INCENSE FOR THE DAMNED, made in 1970 and another British/Greek production – LAND OF THE MINOTAUR does actually have quite a lot of suspenseful sequences and a strong atmosphere here and there. The film itself is bolstered by heavy, oppressive music, all discordant chords and pretty unsettling with it. The sacrificial scenes taking place at the shrine of the minotaur – an elaborate and shadowy set, the centrepiece of which is a huge, strong, fire-breathing statue of the minotaur, an impressive sight – are expertly shot and pretty gruesome for the period, with bloody stabbings and solemn chanting.The film begins with such a scene, presided over by the gaunt figure of Peter Cushing, here resplendent in a gaudy red robe and hood. Cushing plays his character, Baron Corofax, with a steely determination. In his normal, everyday guise, Corofax is a polite and friendly character, if a little cold. But as soon as he gets on his robe he becomes a messenger of evil, chanting praise to the dark forces and with a glitter of evil in his eye. Cushing is typically excellent in the part but even so the role isn't much of a stretch for him, and indeed he is given little material to work with. All the script requires is that he stands around looking imposing, either in his costume or when wielding a shotgun, but with an actor of Cushing's calibre I would expect a lot more.After a young couple are sacrificed at the minotaur shrine, we're introduced to the nervous Irish priest, Father Roche, as played by Donald Pleasence in one of his rare earlier-than-HALLOWEEN turns as the good guy. Roche believes that a devil-worshipping cult are operating in the area, but the local police force (as represented by Fernando Bislani's Sergeant Vendris) are having none of it and refuse to investigate. This later makes sense when Vendris, along with most of the inhabitants of the village, turns out to be a devil-worshipper himself. A trio of hippies in a camper van arrive in the area to do some archaeology (?) and, despite mutterings and warnings from Father Roche, go on to stay near the Baron's castle. Unsurprisingly they are soon missing, so Roche calls in his old American friend Milo Kaye (Costas Skouras), a brash private investigator, to help. The pair are joined by Laurie Gordon (Luan Peters), the girlfriend of one of the missing hippies, and the newly-formed trio use the local inn as their base of operations as they search for the missing youngsters.Unfortunately after such extensive plot set-up, the film doesn't really progress anywhere after the first half other than to build the shocks and scares with lots of scenes of robed figures lurking around in the woods at night. Director Costas Karagiannis shamelessly shows his exploitation roots by shooting nearly all of his female cast members in the nude at some point, the most effective moment being when Laurie's bath is interrupted by some hooded guys lurking outside the window. Pleasence and Skouras spend most of their scenes wandering around in the dark and after far too long a time, Peters is kidnapped and the full moon rises, setting the climax in motion. The middle part of the film is enlivened by some excellent location shooting (making full use of a genuine ruined temple) and plenty of humour, both intentional and otherwise, from Pleasence. With an Irish accent that frequently appears and disappears and a typically emotive performance, Pleasence is without a doubt one of the film's strongest features.Said climax is rushed and poorly-edited, but nonetheless entertaining. It shows Pleasence entering the shrine of the minotaur and showering the devil-worshippers with a handy vial of holy water he has been carrying throughout the movie. This causes the bad guys to inexplicably explode with the aid of some ultra-cheap and cheerful special effects work. This climax recalls the unconventional ending of the previous year's THE DEVIL'S RAIN, and maybe the distributors thought so too when re-titling the movie for English-language release. And if that wasn't cheesy enough, somebody thought it was to have a dated pop song play over the closing credits! LAND OF THE MINOTAUR can hardly be called a classic but it remains enjoyable enough for the sympathetic viewer, and of course Pleasence and Cushing are always entertaining. It's a shame that the supporting cast are all pretty awful in their parts (with Costas Skouras totally unconvincing as the American; hmm, is that a hair-piece you're wearing by any chance Costas?) and the plot loses focus through the middle section, but nonetheless dedicated fans may get a kick out of this one.
loomis78-815-989034
Set in Greece, a group of young people visit their friend, who is the local priest father Roche (Pleasence). He warns them to stay clear of some land owned by a wealthy business man named Baron Corofax (Cushing). Corofax has persuaded the small Village to worship a stone Minotaur in the old ruins. The kids turn up missing and Father Roche teams up with private investigator Milo Kaye (Director Kostas Karagiannis using a pseudonym) and a woman named Laurie (Peters) who try to stop the devil worshiping cult. This low budget devil film has a few creepy moments; like the black robed cult who stabs to death victims on their altar. The stupid looking stone Minotaur isn't frightening at all and this doesn't help the film. Peter Cushing doesn't have much to do here but still manages to be menacing at times. Donald Pleasence as the priest is fun and predates his turn as a priest in "Prince of Darkness". The end gets suspenseful for a flash, but ultimately it's the weak script that makes this film crumble.
Ultimex_Varptuner
The Devil's Men represents what turned out to be one of the last gasps of the occult obsessed horror scene of the 70's shortly before Halloween came along, tore up the rule book, set fire to it and kicked it screaming through a plate glass window.To cut a long story short a couple of enterprising Greek film makers fancy their chances of nailing together a new film franchise featuring the unlikely double act of womanising, wise talking American investigator Milo and stuffy but kind hearted priest Father Roche. An exiled nobleman is mixed up in some satanic jiggery pokery - offering up tourists as sacrifices to an extremely unfrightening effigy of the minotaur and only Milo and Roche can stop him! Or something like that.The reality is however horribly dull, frustrating and loaded with wasted opportunities. I strongly suspect that the fledgling film makers blew most of the budget on getting Donald Plesance, Peter Cushing and Brian Eno (for the soundtrack) onboard and hoped that would be enough to sway audiences in the English speaking world.It isn't. The Devil's Men looks beautiful with assured, camera-work and fantastic locations. Eno's score, though basically just a one chord drone that he probably cranked out in an afternoon is suitably atmospheric and the movie is laden with cracking 70's crumpet including that Austrailian sort from Fawlty Towers and uber hottie Jane Lyle of Island of Death infamy. But there the positives end. Cushing sleepwalks through it, looking like he has a corn cob up his bum and Pleasance fusses about trying his best, but never quite getting things right. To make matters worse the character of Milo is appallingly flimsy and unlikeable.Okay, so it doesn't look that good. But from there the film simply refuses to go anywhere. There is an insinuation that the local villagers are possessed, but to be fair to them, they never really do anything very much other than shuffle about looking glassy eyed. Perhaps they were just tired? Just when you are sure things will come to some kind of a head Milo and Roche interrupt the Baron's satanic party with laughable ease, sending him on to meet his maker. The statue of the minotaur falls silent and hey presto! Satan is defeated.Yeah right.The inane optimism that The Devil's Men might be the first of a series of films is hammered home by Father Roche's final line mere seconds before the ridiculously rushed ending. "Who knows Milo? Perhaps one day I may call upon you again to help defeat the Antichrist." I'm sure you'll be putting that call in any day now Donald.
