Demon Rage, which can be found under many other names like Satan’s Mistress, is a film about a woman and her ghost lover who may or may not be a ghost, may or may not be Satan and may or may not be simply a dream. Suffice it to say, it is a film that features little horror and a lot of sex.

Starring none other than Lana Wood, most famous for her role in Diamonds Are Forever, she finds herself lonely as of late, unable to connect with her husband whom she has loved for a very long time. They are like strangers now and one night, Wood’s character Lisa, is visited in her room by a strange presence who decides to have sex with her. Being as lonely as she is, she goes along with it and for most of the movie, she continues to do just that, finding passion and pleasure in the arms of a bearded person who could be Satan, though it is never confirmed whether he is or not. As it all rolls on towards the end, Lisa’s husband decides he is tired of being ignored, discovers what is wrong and decides to do something about it. Sadly, it would not turn out to be the ending he was looking for, unbeknownst to him.

For those wanting a good dose of fright, that would not be found here though the director does paint the proceedings with a moody brush, while a bit of tension woven in though little to really capture the attention of those who watch. That is to say, other than Wood. One can see what director James Polakof might have been going for, yet he bogs it down with far too many love scenes and not enough horror. Sure, there is a bit of blood and a spooky cat and a build-up to what ended up being a fairly tame conclusion despite best intentions. Having an atmosphere that works well is great but an atmosphere without horror in a horror film is a problem. If there was one thing that might have made it even better, it would have been Satan killing off the entire family one by one until it was just Lisa and himself, ready to reign in Hell or some such.

Making this better than it might have been otherwise was a cameo by horror legend John Carradine. The man would have little to do but just seeing him appear would raise one’s hopes that something considerable was about to take place, even though sadly, it would not. Still, the man always makes things a little more interesting with his presence and if there is one thing that Demon Rage needed, it was that. For better or worse, this movie was okay and nothing more.

2 out of 5