Obscure, strangely hard to find Spanish mid seventies movie that has been described as the unofficial fifth Blind Dead. This would be over egging things because although this solid and well made film alludes to the Templars and promises us a reprise of the zombie horsemen, in that respect this is a bit of a let down. It is a similar tale to that of the Amando de Ossorio films but despite a fine cast and decent dialogue, this is a bit too 'talky' and although we see a dream sequence of the horsemen tormenting a girl early on, it is brief and bloodless. Indeed the whole film is rather lacking in bite and the limited action half hearted. Its a shame because with everyone working so hard and the film looking so good, this could so easily have been really good.

To begin with, I only became aware of this one last year: I was immediately intrigued, however, due to director Gilling's involvement (which, apparently, irked Spanish film unions and eventually proved to be his swan-song) but also for being an unofficial entry in the popular Knights Templar/Blind Dead series. The script (adapted from stories by Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, a Spanish author of horror tales in the vein of Edgar Allan Poe) was originally supplied by yet another cult figure, Jacinto Molina aka Paul Naschy, who would end up fired by the director (despite the two reportedly having been friends!) both in this capacity and as the film's leading man!! Anyway, the end result may be slow-starting but it subsequently emerges a gripping effort, not to mention a stylish and (undeniably) atmospheric one; incidentally, as was the case with the recently-viewed THE WOMAN WITH RED BOOTS (1974), there was an unexplained discoloration in the image during fog-bound night-time sequences! Another asset with respect to the film under review is that it is well-cast: this extends to Ramiro Oliveros – who replaced Naschy (the latter would, in any case, have been wrong for the part) – whose novelist hero is forever doubting events due to his copious intake of hashish! Even so, the dominant presence is definitely that of bald-headed, bearded and memorably sinister Adolfo Marsillach (father of Cristina from Dario Argento's OPERA [1987]!): his eventual revelation as the villain of the piece was hardly a surprise, but his true identity still provided a sting in the tail! Typically effective, too, is Emma Cohen (who actually leaves a more lasting impression than nominal, and top-billed, leading-lady Carmen Sevilla): she had been equally notable in an earlier Naschy vehicle, HORROR RISES FROM THE TOMB (1972), as well as the nasty Spaghetti Western CUT-THROATS NINE (1972) and, best of all, Jess Franco's restrained psychological thriller THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR (1973; in which Oliveros also appears). Here, she is actually an apparition, doomed to be constantly pursued by the Templars (right from the opening moments of the film, in fact!)…until 'freed' by the hero at the climax, as he fights off her assailants with a sword she had directed him towards found in the very ruins of a monastery where they rise every All Saints' Day! Also on hand are a somewhat glum Eduardo Fajardo, Fernando Sancho (in unusually servile mode) and Monica Randall in a small but pivotal role (she would also be given prominence in the Naschy-directed INQUISITION [1976]).Though its pedigree obviously points in the direction of the Hammer, Blind Dead and the typical Naschy films, with a bit of the Giallo (by way of a masked killer on the loose!) thrown in for good measure, perhaps the biggest compliment one can level at THE DEVIL'S CROSS is that it particularly brought to mind Mario Bava's KILL, BABY…KILL! (1966) – not just in the overall look but also the complexity of its narrative (notably the ironic and downbeat coda). In the end, whatever Naschy's contribution was to the finished film, this can surely be counted among the best Spanish horrors out there and, consequently, ought to be more readily available...

"La Cruz del Diablo" aka "The Devil's Cross" is based on stories by the 19th century writer Gustavo Adolfo Becquer,who was considered Spanish Poe.The film was scripted by Paul Naschy and directed by Hammer veteran John Gilling.The writer Alfred Dawson has opium visions,in which he sees undead Templars on horses pursuing a woman through a forest.One day he receives a letter from his sister,which instructs him to go to visit her in Spain as she seems to be in trouble since she lost the child she was expecting.Arthur goes to Madrid and finds that his sister was murdered.Then he is stalked by a creepy figure in black hood,who kills his people close to him.The figure is the Devil himself and skeletal zombie Templars wielding swords do appear near the climax.Very atmospheric and extremely obscure Spanish mood piece with competent direction by Gilling,rotting skeletons,drug hallucinations and old crumbling castles.The score is haunting as is the main performance of Ramiro Oliveros.7 out of 10.

John Gilling does it again! With a relatively small budget he succeeds in making a good movie. After making several classics in England,Gilling relocated to Spain where he made this one.The movie starts slow,but after a while it had me really excited and the last 30 minutes certainly deliver. Two reasons to like it: Great Gothic atmosphere and the templars are back! I noticed it had me thinking about Web Of The Spider several times and it would fit perfectly next to that one in my Gothic horror collection. I watched the Spanish TV version. It's really a shame this is so hard to find as I think a lot of people would like it.What's keeping a nice DVD release?!