Blood on Satan's Claw – 88 Films (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: UK, 1971
Director: Piers Haggard
Writers: Robert Wynne-Simmons, Piers Haggard
Cast: Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice, Wendy Padbury, Anthony Ainley, Charlotte Mitchell, Tamara Ustinov, Simon Williams, James Hayter, Howard Goorney, Avice Landone, Robin Davies

Release Date: March 25th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 96 Minutes 12 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: 18 (UK)
Sound: DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region B (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: £29.99 (UK)

"It’s rural England in the Early 18th Century. A deformed skull is discovered – it has an intact eye and strange fur but when that skull disappears the village, especially its children, becomes afflicted by its supernatural power." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Brand new 4K Remaster from the Original Negative".

Blood on Satan's Claw comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 61.4 GB

Feature: 60.9 GB

The source looks excellent, flesh tones look healthy, colors look correct, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic. Also, this is another exemplary encode from Fidelity in Motion.

Blood on Satan's Claw comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 45.2 GB

Feature: 25.9 GB

The Blu-ray uses the same source as the 4K UHD does for its transfer.

Audio: 4.5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in English with removable English subtitles. The audio is in great shape; dialog comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced. Range-wise, ambient sounds are well-represented, and this track sounds robust when they should.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include an archival audio commentary with director Piers Haggard, actress Linda Hayden and screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons, and an audio commentary with British film experts Vic Pratt and William Fowler.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a reconstructed theatrical trailer (2 minutes 36 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), a theatrical trailer (2 minutes 50 seconds, Dolby Digital mono English, no subtitles), an extra titled Return to Bix with actor Simon Williams who returns to the church location (1 minute 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with publicity director Tony Tweedale titled Folk Promo (6 minutes 38 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with assistant dubbing mixer Graham V. Hartstone titled Folk Dub (5 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with composer Marc Wilkinson titled Folk Music (10 minutes 32 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with sound recordist Tony Dawe titled Folk Sound (10 minutes 11 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with set dresser Milly Burns titled Folk Art (7 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Simon Williams titled Folk Tale (19 minutes 1 second, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with director Piers Haggard titled Reviving Forgotten Horrors (10 minutes 17 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival featurette titled Tigon Tales of Terror with Michael Armstrong, Piers Haggard, Christopher Neame, Tony Tenser and Ian Ogilvy (26 minutes 57 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with Kier-La Janisse titled Folk Horror (22 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Wendy Padbury titled The Devil’s Business (23 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival interview with Robert Wynne-Simmons titled Satan’s Skin (21 minutes 49 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an archival audio commentary with Piers Haggard, Linda Hayden and Robert Wynne-Simmons, and an audio commentary with British film experts Vic Pratt and William Fowler.

Other extras include reversible cover art, glossy O-ring (limited to the first pressing) and a 28-page booklet (limited to the first pressing) with an essay titled The Kids Aren’t Alright Youth Gangs in British Genre Cinema written by Sean Hogan.

Summary:

In 18th-century England, a rural village is taken over by a covenant of devil worshipers.

Blood on Satan's Claw is part of a sub-genre of films known as folk horror; this genre was at its peak during the late 1960s and 1970s. Set in an isolated rural setting, most of the stories share themes of witchcraft, religion, and superstition. Other notable films from this sub-genre are Witchfinder General and The Wickerman.

Blood on Satan's Claw is a film that slowly builds up to its moment of truth. And though there are several moments along the way that foreshadow where things are going, It is not a horror film that shocks you with grisly kills; instead, it is a film that frightens you because of its characters actions and reactions to what is unfolding.

In its opening moments, a young man working on his family's land discovers a skull with one eye and some fur. Upon inspection, it does not resemble a human or animal skull, so he retrieves a local judge to show him what he has found. By the time they return to the spot, the skull will have disappeared. What appears to be nothing more than an overreaction on the young man's part turns out to be something far more sinister.

Despite the minimal amount of information and the appearance of no immediate threat, this opening setup is a text-book example of how to create a forbidding mood. It also sets the foundation for what follows, a series of forbidding moments that build upon each other towards a fever pitch finale.

The performances are the most surprising aspect of Blood on Satan's Claw. Other folk horror films feature expressive performances that call attention to themselves. There is naturalism to the performances, especially Linda Hayden's (Taste the Blood of Dracula) portrayal of Angel Blake, the ringleader of the coven of children.

Though Blood on Satan's Claw is a film that relies more on atmosphere than moments of graphic violence, the narrative does not lack grim moments involving the sacrifice of some characters. Another strength are the visuals, especially the use of low-angle shots and Marc Wilkinson’s exceptional score; both of these heighten the mood. Ultimately, Blood on Satan's Claw is one of the highwater marks of folk horror and one of British horror cinema’s best films.

Blood on Satan's Claw gets a exceptional release from 88 Films that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a VLC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer