It's Raining Devils

 

 (imdb)

THE DEVIL'S RAIN-1975-After credits are shown over paintings by Bosch, Mark Preston (William Shatner) goes up against "Satan's minister on Earth" Korvus (Ernest Borgnine) and his eyeless worshipers for possession of a book. Meanwhile Sam Richards (Eddie Albert) and Tom Preston (Tom Skerrit) demonstrate a type of telepathy using Preston's wife Julie (Joan Prather). Preston returns home to find his mom (Ida Lupino) and brother Mark missing. The sheriff (Keenan Wynn) blames a flood. While Mark is tortured, Preston & Julie go to a ghost town where caretaker Charlie told them Mark was headed. While snooping they are attacked by an eyeless guy. Julie seems to have a psychic connection to the coven and sees a flashback to colonial times. 

It turns out the wife of Preston's ancestor Martin Fife (also Shatner) betrayed the satanists who are burned at the stake. Preston infiltrates the gathering where Mark is to be sacrificed and Korvus transforms into a goat man. Unfortunately Preston is found out but escapes. Somehow Richards gets the book and tells Preston what's going on. When Korvus captures Julie and plans to convert her, Richards and Preston go back and find some kind of orb that holds all the souls Korvus has taken. After they are attacked by the possessed sheriff, the duo break up the party. It's a TV show star battle with McHale vs. Capt. Kirk vs. Mr. Douglas in the finale where the rain makes the group melt. Korvus seems to melt too but evil wins out!

Director Robert Fuest (THE ABOMINABLE DR. PHIBES) made this high profile horror movie that later exploited then unknown cast member John Travolta (the less said about him the better). It's a good little horror movie with a nice cast and surprise ending. Charlatan Anton LeFay (also credited as a technical adviser) has a cameo as a satanic priest.

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Dr. Death and Mr. Howard

DOCTOR DEATH, SEEKER OF SOULS-1973-Fred Sanders (Barry Coe) tries to find a way to bring his wife Laura (Jo Morrow) back from the dead. After consulting a phony medium and meeting a bug eyed old man and the society of the dead, he meets a woman named Tana (QUEEN OF BLOOD'S Florence Marley) who takes him to see Dr. Death (John Considine) who she says can bring back the dead. During a demonstration the doctor he and his assistant Thor (Leon Askin) saw a scarred woman in half (like a magic act) then bring her soul back in another body. Sanders remains unconvinced but after seeing his wife’s apparition and hearing her voice, he agrees to have the doctor bring her back. The doctor then relates how he got the power (in sepia flashback) 1,000 years before (I think his voice changes too). He decides to kill Tana and use her soul but when he attempts the soul transfer it doesn't work. Sanders’ wife refuses it and Sanders decides it's better that way but the doctor has other plans. He and Thor go around killing innocent women, trying to transfer their souls into Mrs. Sanders body. To no avail. Meanwhile Sanders romances his secretary Sandy (Cheryl Miller). When the doctor is stabbed his blood gushes out and disintegrates his attacker. After deciding that the secretary has the strong soul he needs, doc decides to bleed her to death!  The predictable ending has the doctor's soul in Mrs. Sanders body and plotting revenge. 

This movie is very boring in spots and very stupid in others. Considine is ok in the over the top main role spouting a lot of platitudes about singular soul transfer but the rest of the cast isn’t very good. The real reason to see this is for the appearance of Moe Howard as a member of the doctor’s audience! He seems to flub one of his lines. 

This was director Eddie Saeta only full length film however he was assistant director on many films going back to the late 1930's. Former actor Sal Ponti wrote the screenplay. Co-star Barry Coe was in lots of TV show episodes and LOVE ME TENDER (with Elvis). A year after this John Considine made another low budget horror film THE THIRSTY DEAD. His father John W. Considine Jr. was a producer in the 1930's and '40's. His most famous was MAD LOVE in 1935.

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