The Devil's Rain (1975)

I'm not going to write much on this film, since it's pretty well-known ('infamous' might be the term). The main draw is the idiosyncratic cast: Ernest Borgnine, William Shatner, Ida Lupino, and Tom Skeritt. I think the film is actually cast perfectly if you're willing to let go of the oddness and take it seriously. Borgnine is really menacing as a villain, especially when he goes all he-goat on you. Shatner as the blustering, gun-toating son isn't a far stretch from Captain Kirk and is therefore thoroughly believable.

The main fault of the film is the plot. It's not that the idea for the plot is bad in itself. However, it seems more like the plot for a video game: the villain wants a book (the Holy Book of McGuffin, in case you're wondering), kidnaps guy's mom, guy goes after villain with gun. Then the other son (Skeritt) goes to rescue mome and bro. I've seen games on the NES with a plot like that! The problem is that either Fuest or the studio cut the film badly, very badly, and things don't make a whole heck of a lot of sense. The film rushes through things and the haste shows in how the characters are forced to behave.

What does work for me is the atmosphere. That's one thing Fuest gets right. When Shatner first arrives in the ghost town, no music plays; it's just silence. He speaks to Borgnine in mostly silence, with just the sounds of the wind breezing through the remnants of a former community. The film has a few moments rich with atmosphere like this and they're beautiful. But they don't save the film from the general incoherency.

It'd make a great double-bill with Argento's Inferno.