While there's never a good time for a person to die, I think it's safe to say that Christopher Lee led a considerably longer, fuller and more varied life than most. As such, rather than be too sad at his passing, I'm more than happy to celebrate his legacy. I feel a rewatch of THE DEVIL RIDES OUT coming on. I've had the Blu-ray on my shelf for months now unviewed, and now seems like the ideal time to crack open the cellophane.
I love The Devil Rides Out. Myself I watched Beat Girl - hardly a film he was famous for, but it was on my planner scheduled to watch so I went with it.
ReplyDeleteFor me, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT is a case of "almost but not quite". I think it's unfortunately hamstrung by the censorial climate of the time which prevents the filmmakers from doing justice to the debauchery Wheatley described in his novel. (For instance, the full-on orgy he describes in lurid detail turns into a bunch of people in robes dancing around in a muddy field.) But Lee is fantastic in it (even though, by his own admission, he was too young for the role at the time), and it's wonderful to see him playing the hero in a horror film instead of being typecast as the Dracula stand-in as per usual.
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