Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Norman J Warren's gory shocker is much like his other low-budget epics of the late '70s. These films all had a small cast and plenty of graphic violence. In a way I feel that Warren's name has often been overlooked by horror fans, as he is in fact a British equivalent to his Italian contemporaries like Fulci and Argento, a purveyor of graphic low-budget films. While he lacks the style and artistic flair Argento would bring to his films, Warren wasn't afraid to keep his camera running while terrible acts were perpetrated on screen. He has even been quoted as saying that people just couldn't believe this film was made in Britain, most people think of the Hammer films when you say British horror films which are much, much tamer than this gory affair.Saying that, it's not just all about gore as the script is focused on the characters involved in the proceedings rather than just sitting and waiting for the next horrible event to occur. There is a bit of atmosphere built up in the lonely, isolated setting, and the brief glimpses we have of Satanic rituals where hooded figures slay naked women are pretty disturbing. However surprisingly enough Satanism isn't really the main theme of this film, it's more about relationships, particularly paternal evil. Both the female lead and her cousin are victims of their fathers by the end of the film, in different respects but victims nonetheless.Warren has often been accused of misogyny and sensationalism in his films, and this is no different. While I'm not to sure about the misogyny bit (men are killed too) I believe that sensationalism can only be a good thing in a film, it makes things more exciting anyhow. From the opening scenes in this film where a demented pervert runs the point of a pair of scissors over a helpless woman's naked body you know that you're in for something different as Warren really digs into the depths of depravity. What is remarkable is that the perpetrator of these sadistic acts, Martin Potter, actually has a sympathetic character. You see, Potter has been warped by a childhood experience in which he saw his father sacrifice his own mother to try and reincarnate an evil one. Much like the central character in PEEPING TOM, Potter is affected by repressed memories of these events and deals with them in the only way he knows how, i.e. to relive them.The rest of the cast all do good jobs, especially Michael Gough who begins the film as a seemingly respectable man (with a distinguished moustache, no less) and yet is totally evil and ruthless behind this mask. As for the female lead, well I wasn't too impressed with her character. Mainly because she cheats on her boyfriend with her cousin; Potter wasn't really doing much in the way of seduction. Perhaps she was looking for consolation but it was definitely the wrong move. Her character is already a little bit crazy at the beginning of the film, talking about her "premonitions", and really she should have been able to spot what was going on a long time before she did. Yes, I am saying it's up to her.Besides the strong characters and dialogue in the film, apart from the gore there are other elements of interest going on. The sight of some robed Satanists, their faces hidden, is pretty spooky, while the twist ending in which the central character's face returns from the dead and it all turns out to have been a dream, is a sheer stroke of genius. However it's the gore that Warren focuses on and it's just as bloody as in his other films. Most scenes involve women being slashed to death with knives although there is a really graphic eyeball piercing in there too. SATAN'S SLAVE is definitely an interesting film and succeeds in what it set out to do, shock the audiences. One to seek out for those with strong stomachs.

Pretty nineteen-year-old Catherine (Candace Glendenning) travels to the countryside with her parents to visit the home of her Uncle Alexander (Michael Gough) and cousin Stephen (Martin Potter). As they approach the house, the car crashes into a tree. Catherine gets out of the car out to seek help, but both her mother and father are killed when the vehicle suddenly bursts into flame. Catherine spends the next few days in the country, convalescing, unaware that her uncle and cousin are planning to use her in a Satanic ritual that will see her body becoming the vessel for the spirit of a long dead sorceress.David McGillivray's screenplay for Satan's Slave is a mess of hoary old genre clichés and director Norman J. Warren conducts proceedings with very little finesse, but this mid-'70s Satanic horror is still one hell of a fun film thanks to an excess of those basic horror ingredients, gratuitous female nudity and graphic gore. Barely a few minutes go by without one of the film's females stripping off for the camera (there's more bush here than Kew Gardens), while the frequent violence is surprisingly nasty in tone and excessively bloody, which makes one wonder why this wasn't one of those titles hounded by the authorities in the '80s.Assorted gory stabbings, a man falling to his death from a tower block with a satisfying splat, a woman pinned to a door by a knife through the mouth, a naked blonde being flogged and branded, a nail file in the eye, and Michael Gough with a massive moustache: this might just be Warren's most entertaining movie.

Charming psycho Stephen (Martin Potter) gets a blonde girl drunk, ties her to the bed and then threatens to do naughty things to her naughty parts with a pair of scissors before she decides she's had enough. On her way out, Stephen smashes her head in the door and then stabs her death in charming close-up. Meanwhile, pretty London teen Catherine Yorke (Candace Glendenning), who is plagued by some odd premonitions, heads out on a week long vacation with her parents to visit some distant relatives she's never met before. Unfortunately, as soon as the car pulls into the secluded Yorke family country estate, the car crashes into a tree in the front yard. When Catherine gets out to get help, the car blows up and kills both dad and mum. Though she's only slightly distraught by the bizarre accident, uncle Alexander Yorke (Michael Gough), who immediately announces he's not only her uncle but also a doctor, decides it would be best if Cathy stayed for a few days to re-coop and get to know him and his son, her cousin… Stephen (the nut from the opening sequence). Also in the house is a bitter "secretary" named Francis (Barbara Kellerman), who is also Stephen's part-time lover.Catherine's premonitions continue, including a strange dream where she's stripped naked by (naked) female cult members, has a pentagram carved into her stomach and a metal staff shoved where the sun don't shine. In another dream, a blonde is stripped naked, branded and whipped by a priest, who is played by writer David McGillivray. A few days after the shock of her parent's death, Catherine feels well enough to screw Stephen (the fact they're first cousins doesn't seem to phase anyone and is never even commented upon once). Francis gets jealous and bitchy ("I won't be rejected for good!") and then decides to get revenge on Stephen by helping out Catherine and explaining the devious plans her uncle and kissin' cousin have in store for her. See, there's a family ancestor named Camilla who is powerful witch that can only be revived by the blood of a direct female descendant. Guess who that is?Shot in Surrey, England, this OK exploitation jumble has gobs of full female nudity (that the cameraman doesn't hesitate to get close-ups on), some gore (sometimes employing an obvious dummy) and surprisingly good acting from the four leads. The script stinks to high heavens and the ending is poor, but it's lively enough to keep you watching for an hour and a half.

Satan's Slave starts with a human (naked) female sacrifice during a Devil worshipping ceremony... Jump to present day London where Catherine Yorke's (Candace Glendenning) 20th birthday fast approaches, she, along with her father Malcolm (James Bree) & mother Elizabeth (Celia Hewitt), has been invited to stay at the country estate of her uncle, Dr. Alexander Yorke (Michael Gough). Just as they arrive at the property Malcolm loses control of his car & crashes into a tree, Catherine is unhurt & runs for help as Malcolm stays in the car to look after the injured Elizabeth unfortunately before Catherine can obtain any help the car explodes & her parents are toast. Her uncle Alexander comforts her & offers her his every assistance & insists that she stay with him, his son Stephen (Martin Potter) & his personal secretary Frances (Barbara Kellerman) who all make Catherine feel very welcome. Despite seeing her parents burned alive Catherine feels OK & decides to take a walk through the woods with Stephen where she experiences a disturbing vision of human sacrifice, torture & her own death. However, this is just the beginning as Catherine discovers her uncle has a sinister plan for her which involves murder, satanic rituals & the resurrection of an ancient witch...This English production was directed by Norman J. Warren & like the rest of his trashy horror exploitation films that have recently been given a new lease of life on DVD I really rather enjoyed it. The script by David McGillivray, who has a small cameo in the film as a Priest in the scene when the woman (Monika Ringwald) is flogged & branded, moves along at a nice pace has a decent story with a few nice twists & turns &, thankfully, never forgets it's sleazy exploitation roots, just the way I like them. I mean Stephen brutally kills women for no other reason than for sleaze value & to bump up both the body count & gore quotient, there's no logical reason for him to kill women totally unconnected with anything else but Warren & McGillivray correctly knew this is the sort of thing us horror fans want to see! The character's are OK but no one is going to watch Satan's Slave for it's dramatic qualities, are they? Some of it's a bit silly like the elevator scene but overall Satan's Slave worked for me on many levels, was entertaining & was a good way to spend just over 80 minutes of my time.Director Warren does a good job here, Satan's Slave has that unique, & frankly priceless, 70's sleazy grimy feel throughout. From the satanic rituals where every female in sight has to be naked to the sexual violence & the free flowing blood & gore, good stuff Norman. The nasty stuff in Satan's Slave is pretty extreme & exploitative, someone has their head bashed in & then is gorily stabbed, a woman is tied to a tree, flogged & then branded, more people are stabbed with blood splattering results, a knife is stuck through someone's mouth & a scene in which someone has a nail file stuck into their eyeball, luckily Warren doesn't skimp on the blood or the close-ups in these scenes either. I also just love the whole 70's look of the film, the fashions, the decor like the horrible orange wallpaper for instance & the cars.Technically Satan's Slave is well made with nice period flashback scenes, good widescreen cinematography, decent music & a great looking central location. On the down side it does look a bit cheap occasionally though. The acting is alright & I quite fancy Glendenning in this although I thought she took witnessing her parents being burned alive rather too well. Michael Craze's acting in the silly elevator scene is just plain embarrassing.Satan's Slave is a bit of a British exploitation film gem that I really liked. The whole look, the feel & atmosphere & the story impressed & entertained me. I think this is a must for exploitation & horror fans, definitely well worth a watch although those with sensitive dispositions may want to give it a miss.