Devil Times Five (1974)

By George R. Reis

Horror films concerning children behaving badly, either under supernatural or psychological circumstances, have always been fascinating and sometimes controversial in nature. Unsung and rather overlooked by the masses, DEVIL TIMES FIVE (also known as THE HORRIBLE HOUSE ON THE HILL, the title seen here) is one of those films that could only have been made during the glorious grindhouse days of the 1970s, complete with catfights, nudity a colorful cast of characters and assorted killings carried out by an unlikely bunch of pint-sized assailants. With a troubled production history that can now be told, Code Red gives this neglected gem the DVD release it deserves.

A small bus passing through some snow-filled mountains overturns, injuring the driver. The five passengers on the bus – all children en route to a mental institution – escape unharmed, and proceed to take off on foot. The kids consist of David (Leif Garrett) who fancies himself a child actor, military-obsessed Brian (Tierre Turner), pyromaniac Susan (Tia Thompson), albino nun wannabe “Sister” Hannah (Gail Smale) and little Moe (Dawn Lyn) who tugs around a plush fish. They eventually make their way to a large cabin house owned by wealthy industrialist Papa Doc (Gene Evans), there for a weekend gathering with his sex-starved wife Lovely (Carolyn Stellar) his daughter and her boyfriend (Joan McCall and Taylor Lacher), a boneless doctor and his inebriated wife (Sorrell Booke and Shelley Morrison), and Lenny-like mentally retarded handyman Ralph (John Durren, who also wrote the original screenplay). The adults have no choice but to take the innocent-seeming kids in for the night, but when bodies are found dead in inexplicable, gruesome circumstances, they question the innocence of their strange little visitors.

Originally filmed as “People Toys,” DEVIL TIMES FIVE takes the “killer kids” genre to a chilling, disturbing level without having to resort to the paranormal to explain their psychotic, sporadic behavior. The film’s low budget is evident (you’ll notice more than a few continuity flubs), but adds to the effective minimalism that 1970s drive-horror often thrives on. On first view, the film appears to take a while to really connect and convey the appropriate mounting tension, but the latter half explodes into a rewarding experience. The childrens' initial attack on a victim in a dark cellar is shown in brown tinted black and white and is unspooled in slow mo, dragged out to six minutes! Whether it was meant to pad the running time or not, it certainly sets up the dark mood of things to come. The subsequent inventive death scenes (including piranhas being tossed on a naked woman in a bathtub!) lead to a twisted, unpredictable ending which was probably meant to set up a sequel.

Tough guy character actor Gene Evans (as the humorless, constantly grumpy Papa Doc) heads a decent cast of characters. TV veteran Sorrell Booke, proving he was more than just a hickish slob on “The Dukes of Hazzard,” stands out as a cowardly little man who has to finally confront and stand up to his boss, and Shelley Morrison (a busy TV actress who in recent years landed it big as a regular on “Will and Grace”) is also memorable as his lushy, unaffectionate wife. The child actors all perform their parts unflinching and believable. Most of them had vast experience before this outing: Future teen idol Leif Garrett around the same time was playing Felix’s son on “The Odd Couple”, and sibling Dawn Lyn had just been on the final few seasons of “My Three Sons” (it must have been pretty shocking for theatergoers of the time to see them in an R-rated feature of this sort). Keeping it in the family, actress Carolyn Stellar is their real-life mother.

Transferred from original 35mm elements, Code Red presents DEVIL TIMES FIVE anamorphic in an appropriate 1.78:1 ratio. The image looks quite clean and good, with very bright colors, vivid detail and very few blemishes. The mono audio has some hissy parts, but is still a strong enough track.

Supplements include an audio commentary with producer Michael Blowitz, co-director David Sheldon, actors Joan McCall (GRIZZLY) and Dawn Lyn. According to Blowitz, the original director’s cut only ran 38 minutes, and director Sean MacGregor was more than a disappointment. Months later, the cast was brought back to shoot new footage, mostly directed by Sheldon (this explains why Garrett is seen wearing and removing a very bad wig in several scenes). All this is addressed in the commentary, as well as just about everything else about the production, and moderator Darren Gross does a fine job, throwing out all the right questions to keep things interesting. The participants from the commentary are joined by actor Tierre Turner for an anecdote-filled featurette, and three Easter Eggs will lead you to even more candid interview footage! Other extras include a poster/video cover gallery, alternative opening credits, the original trailer, and trailers for other Code Red DVD titles (BEYOND THE DOOR, SWEET SIXTEEN, WELCOME TO SWEET SIXTEEN, SCHOOLGIRLS IN CHAINS, DON’T GO IN THE WOODS and LOVE ME DEADLY).

From: http://www.dvddrive-in.com/reviews/a-d/deviltimesfive74.htm