Ritual of Evil (1970)

Ritual of Evil, screened on NBC in 1970, was the second TV movie featuring Louis Jourdan as psychiatrist/occult investigator Dr David Sorell. The original intention had been to make an ongoing series under the title Bedevilled. Unfortunately that series never eventuated. The producer of Fear No Evil was apparently so disappointed that he quit Universal and when the decision to make a second Dr Sorell TV movie David Levinson took over as producer. Ritual of Evil would also have a different writer, Robert Presnell Jr, and a different director, Robert Day.

Ritual of Evil does resemble its predecessor in a number of crucial ways. In both cases there’s an avoidance of horror movie clichés such as monsters, werewolves, vampires, etc. The evil comes from people rashly dabbling in forbidden areas of knowledge. There’s an attempt to make the supernatural elements vaguely plausible and to deal with supernatural subjects in a very contemporary setting.

On a wild night Dr Sorell visits the house of one of his patients. Aline Wylie is twenty-four and she’s a bit of a wild child, and she’s also the heiress to an enormous fortune. Aline doesn’t seem to be home but David sees her aunt Jolene (Anne Baxter). Jolene lives with Aline, and also in the household is Aline’s kid sister Loey. Jolene is drunk as usual, and is muttering something about Walpergis Night.

If we’ve seen the first David Sorell TV movie, the excellent Fear No Evil, then we’re going to find the mention of Walpergis Night rather significant. David Sorell is a psychiatrist but he has an interest in the occult and he takes the occult rather seriously.

The next morning Aline Wylie is dead, an apparent suicide. Loey tells Dr Sorell that it’s all her fault, that she used black magic to kill her sister. Of course teenage girls get crazy ideas like that and nobody takes too much notice, but David Sorell has had personal experience of the results when people try summoning demons so he doesn’t dismiss such ideas lightly.

Loey is now the heiress but until she’s twenty-one Jolene will be her guardian. Loey doesn’t mind that but is she worried about what will happen if Jolene marries the creepy avaricious sleazy no-good Edward (John McMartin).

Everybody connected with this household seems to have disturbing dreams. David Sorell is not convinced that they’re just dreams. He tends to worry when people have dreams about human sacrifices. He’s more worried than ever when someone else connected to the Wylie household, folk singer Larry Richmond, turns up dead.

And then there’s the missing hippie. At least there might be a missing hippie. The sheriff doesn’t think so, but David Sorell not only thinks there is a missing hippie, he thinks there may be a dead missing hippie.

David discusses the matter with Harry Snowden (Wilfred Hyde-White). Harry is David’s mentor when it comes to the occult. It seems likely that there is some kind of demonology at work. There was a wild party at the Wylie house the night before Aline committed suicide but it may have been something more sinister than just a party. It may have been a Black Mass.

Photographer Leila Barton (Diana Hyland) seems to have a growing influence over Loey. Loey had been in the shadow of her more vivacious older sister Aline. Loey is at an awkward stage, starting to become aware of herself as a woman and starting to become aware of men. She’s pretty vulnerable to anyone with a strong enough personality.

Fear of Evil dealt with a mirror that possessed supernatural powers. Ritual of Evil plays a variation on this theme, with photographs being used to exercise demonic powers. It’s a good idea and it’s utilised skilfully and it gives the movie a contemporary feel - this is evil making use of modern technology.

Louis Jourdan is once again relaxed and likeable and charming as Dr Sorell. Belinda Montgomery does well as Loey, a tricky rôle because of the danger that the character woulds come cross as irritatingly precocious or bratty. Anne Baxter is extremely good as the rather sad Jolene, a woman who can’t quite figure out how her life became so messed up.

Like Fear No Evil this second movie is quite impressive visually for a TV movie, although Robert Day doesn’t quite have Paul Wendkos’s flair. Technically it’s still more ambitious and more polished than most TV movies.

There was a definite erotic subtext to Fear No Evil. In fact it wasn’t even subtext, it was right out there in plain view. There’s an erotic undercurrent in Ritual of Evil as well. Leila appears to have several sexual obsessions going and there’s just the faintest hint that she may have sapphic tendencies. Loey’s disturbing dreams, which are obviously the result of some kind of occult influence, definitely contain major sexual fantasy elements.

I don’t think Ritual of Evil is quite as good as Fear No Evil but it’s still definitely a well above average TV movie with a subtly creepy atmosphere and some decent chills.

Both David Sorell movies come on a single DVD or Blu-Ray disc with both movies getting a very informative Gary Gerani audio commentary. The transfers are excellent. This Kino Lorber double-header can be very highly recommended to fans of subtle atmospheric horror. These two movies are not just good movies by TV movie standards, they’re fine horror films by any standards.

I reviewed Fear No Evil here recently.