IMDb > The Touch of Satan (1971)

The Touch of Satan (1971) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
1.9/10   1,244 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 4% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Don Henderson
Writer:
James E. McLarty (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Touch of Satan on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1971 (USA) more
Genre:
Horror more
Tagline:
A Story of Exorcism! more
Plot:
A man meets a farmgirl who is actually a witch. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Dreadful & Dull more (47 total)

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)
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Directed by
Don Henderson  (as Don Henderson)
 
Writing credits
James E. McLarty (screenplay)

Produced by
George E. Carey .... producer
Gordon E. Gadette .... executive producer
 
Original Music by
Robert O. Ragland 
 
Cinematography by
Jordan Cronenweth  (as Jordan S. Cronenweth)
 
Film Editing by
Dick Elliott 
 
Makeup Department
Joe Blasco .... makeup artist
Valerie O'Tuohy .... assistant makeup artist
Ron West .... hair stylist
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ron Sawade .... assistant director
 
Art Department
Emil Grieco .... set constructor
Kevin G. Tracey .... property master
 
Sound Department
Ken Carlson .... production sound
Doug Rigney .... production sound
 
Special Effects by
Steve Karlens .... special effects
 
Camera and Electrical Department
Bob Elliot .... key grip
Mike Jones .... gaffer
Nick McLean .... assistant camera
Robert Vose .... still photographer
Donald M. Wolak .... best boy
 
Editorial Department
Stanford C. Allen .... assistant editor
 
Other crew
Abel Baca .... production assistant
Ellen Bailey .... associate director
Susan Nicoletti .... production secretary
Lon Ravitz .... production assistant
Pamela Walshe .... script supervisor
 
Crew believed to be complete


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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Curse of Melissa
Night of the Demon
The Touch of Melissa
more
Runtime:
90 min | UK:85 min (1979) (video)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Australia:R | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Santa Ynez, California, USA

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The windy weather conditions of the California filming locations proved to be quite problematic for recording sound during the shoots. Most of the seemingly 'ambient' wind noise heard in the film was authentic. more
Quotes:
[at the pond]
Melissa: This is where the fish lives.
more
Movie Connections:
Edited into Out of this World Super Shock Show (2007) (V) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
14 out of 22 people found the following comment useful.
Dreadful & Dull, 10 May 2004
Author: Gafke from United States

A young man named Jody drives across country and decides to stop and have lunch in a small town where, he's been told, a "chromichidal maniac" is on the loose. He meets a young pretty girl named Melissa, falls instantly love and follows her home for dinner. Dinner turns into a weekend and we slowly (very slowly) learn that Melissa is no ordinary seventeen year old girl. She's a 120 year old witch who sold her soul to Satan, and the incredibly wrinkled woman she claims is her great grandmother is actually her little sister...and a "chromichidal maniac" to boot. Seems Melissa sold her soul to save the weird old chick from being burned at the stake by an angry mob 120 years earlier. Now, it seems, nothing can save Melissa from the curse...except perhaps for Jody's love. Will he sell his own soul to save her? Who cares?

This 70s effort is filled with bad acting, a terrible script and a story that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. The flashbacks to the 1850s still manage to look like the 1970s and the angry mob is more of a slightly irritated gathering. Everyone looks stoned and delivers their lines in half hearted monotones, eyes glazed and faces expressionless. And Jody has got to be the stupidest kid yet to appear on screen. He hangs around even though he's clearly not wanted and continues to hang around even after things begin to get menacing. Not even the sight of Gramma-Sister eviscerating a cop with a scythe can scare him away for long. No, he's too much in love with Melissa, a drab farmgirl with minimal beauty whose claims of Witchy-ness cannot penetrate Jody's thick skull and sound any sort of alarm bells. And who the hell are those people that Melissa is living with? They're not her parents, but they're in on the Dreadful Truth, so what gives? This is just one of the many glaring plot holes that litter this lackluster film. Not even the horrific murders and the fiery finale could keep me from nodding off. This movie just kind of plods along like a cinematic sedative until it finally peters out and ends with no fanfare whatsoever.

Guaranteed to cure insomnia.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for The Touch of Satan (1971)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
These boards are a joke. josh-462
This is where the fish lives.... avo4077
Her Parents? RyeTheInCatcher
Questions about the non-MST3K version jrware
So, what's the problem? Wannie_The_Sane
'Fromikidal maniacs' and more... ptrschckl
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