Belinda
Montgomery, Diane Ladd, Shelley Winters, Abe Vigoda
Riding the coattails of Rosemary’s Baby (albeit
a few years too late), The Devil’s Daughter actually
manages to capture some of the flavor of Polanski’s
masterpiece. Belinda Montgomery is Diane, an unassuming
(i.e. dim-witted) young lady whose mother (Diane Ladd)
had sold her soul to the devil. At mom’s funeral, Diane is pleased
to meet Lilith Malone (scenery eating Shelley Winters)
who claims to have been quite close to dear ol’ mum. Lilith insists
that Diane stay with her and her creepy mute butler/driver (Jonathon
Frid in an excellent performance). But when Diane attempts to
strike out on her own, Lilith will be damned if she lets her. Or more
aptly, she might not be damned...
Full
of strange characters and a blowsy performance from Shelley that puts
the rest of the cast to shame, The Devil's Daughter is a feast of on-their-last-leg
stars like Abe Vigoda and Joseph Cotton.
At the same time the geriatric cast leaves a bittersweet Love
Boat feel to it. But we’ll forgive any movie that features
a satanic ritual involving someone dirty dancing with Abe Vigoda...
Recapped
by Amanda By Night
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