Classic Horrors Club

John Gilling directed what, on some days, is my favorite Hammer film: The Plague of the Zombies (1966.) Nearly a decade later, he directed his final film in Spain: Cross of the Devil, or The Devil’s Cross,aka La cruz del diablo (1975.) The subject matter of Cross of the Devil is also zombies, but different from voodoo slave zombies. Instead, they are none other than the Knights Templar, made popular by Amando de Ossorio’s ‘Blind Dead’ quadrilogy of films, one each year beginning in 1972.

I’ve read that people are sometimes confused about Cross of the Devil, thinking it’s another ‘Blind Dead’ film. For me, there’s no real comparison. It’s been a while since I’ve seen Tombs of the Blind Dead, Return of the Blind Dead, The Ghost Galleon, or Night of the Seagulls, but this seems tame compared to them. It occasionally hints at something deeper and darker, but then pulls back. Perhaps once in a while Gilling could have let the shot linger to show the woman who just removed her top. Without that, it’s Eurohorror-lite.

This is even more disappointing considering that the screenplay originally came from Paul Naschy, who wanted to star. In the wonderful book, ‘Human Beasts: the Film of Paul Naschy’, author Troy Howarth writes that when Naschy gave financial control of the film to whom was supposedly a trusted friend, Juan Jose Porto, he was removed from the production and his screenplay rewritten. To add insult to injury, Gilling didn’t cast him and the film began shooting without Naschy’s knowledge.

All this drama does not make Cross of the Devil bad, it’s just lackluster. It starts with promise. A woman is being circled and chased by robed men on horseback. She cries out the name, “Alfred! Alfred!” Then a man whom we soon learn is Alfred (Ramiro Oliveros) wakes from falling asleep at his desk. He’s had a vision that might have been induced by smoking kief, a form of cannabis. His partner, Maria (Carmen Sevilla) scolds him for his drug use, yet encourages him to clear his writer’s block by making his vision a story.

Both concerns are put on the back burner when Alfred receives a letter from his sister, Justine (Monica Randall), in Spain. She’s had a miscarriage and her husband, Enrique (Eduardo Fajardo) blames her. She needs Alfred to help her. Maria wants to go with Alfred to revisit her homeland. Their love seems genuine, but she’s obsessed with the idea that they will not be together forever. They pack for the trip, including the book about the Knights Templar that Maria gave Alfred for inspiration.

However, when they arrive, Justine has died. The man the police arrested for her murder on very little evidence hangs himself in jail, which is proof enough for everyone but Alfred that he was indeed guilty. Therefore, he’s going to investigate to find out what really happened in an area called, ‘the Devil’s Cross,’ where, as legend has it, the Knights Templar rise from their graves on All Hallow’s Day. What a coincidence: All Hallow’s Day occurs within a few days. (We don’t know that, though, until the day before.)

There’s a lot of turmoil among the characters. Enrique doesn’t seem to be the bad guy that we’ve been led to believe he is. On the other hand, one look at Cesar del Rio (Adolfo Marsillach), Enrique’s secretary/assistant for many years, and we know he’s the bad guy. Marsillach’s performance gives the movie a little life, but it’s more exaggerated than the others’. Alfred is often in shocked silence. Maria is often standing by his side stoically. 

There’s a subplot that I originally thought was a tale or a flashback. Inigo de Ataide (Tony Isbert) and Beatriz (Emma Cohen) are young lovers who experience the supernatural at the Devil’s Cross. Then Alfred and company meet them in the present. She’s the girl who was calling, “Alfred! Alfred!” so maybe he’s not having visions of the past, but of the future. You tell me. Coupled with its ambiguous ending, Cross of the Devil is a strange film… just not strange enough to be truly interesting… or satisfying.