April 28, 2009 To call this film "forgotten" may not be accurate, because anyone that has seen it surely remembers it. What sucks is that the film is basically unavailable in the USA.



Another Tigon release that for some reason never got a DVD release in the United States, "The Blood on Satan's Claw" has been released in some pretty weak versions in Europe -- non-anamorphic versions that absolutely will not play on U.S. players. It's a crime, because "The Blood on Satan's Claw" is one of the scariest British horror films ever made. Why oh why it has buried in the U.S. is an utter mystery. It even has a soundtrack album available. It has a great soundtrack.



What makes "Blood on Satan's Claw" especially creepy is its realism. The film's witches really do wear the gear that Wiccans do. Only these witches are evil. Leading the pack of young satanists tormenting an old English town is "Angel", played by Linda Hayden, who would never make a better horror movie, despite starring alongside Christopher Lee in "Taste the Blood of Dracula."



Despite its cheesy title, "The Blood on Satan's Claw" is a timeless horror movie that holds up just as well today as it did nearly 40 years ago. The fact that it hasn't been released in Anamorphic widescreen anywhere in the world is a crime. And the fact that it's never been released on DVD in the U.S. ever is an even greater crime. Click here for our review.

I caught this film on Creature Features way back in the 1970s and it scared the hell out of me. A decade or so later, it finally enjoyed a censored VHS release, first from an obscure video company, then in another cut version from MGM. Then, it drifted out of existence -- not even a DVD release in its cut version. The uncut version became a popular bootleg and it's been released on DVD in Europe, but in a non-anamorphic widescreen edition that leaves much to be desired.

Director Haggard isn't really known for horror -- mostly for TV work on shows like "Space Precinct." It's too bad he didn't helm more horror, as this film is a masterpiece. And click here to sign a petition to have the company that probably still owns the rights to this film in the U.S. -- Sony/MGM -- to get off its arse and release it already.


Talk about this story on ESplatter's Message Board


Gotta scoop? Drop a line to Lucius Gore, editor