The 1974 American independent horror movie Devil Times Five (originally filmed under the title People Toys, and then initially released under the generic moniker The Horrible House on the Hill, the title that actually appears on the film print used for the transfer on this recent DVD from new label Code Red) has so much wrong with it that it?s tempting to see only the flaws and dismiss the movie entirely ? the intensely troubled nature of the film?s production (more on that in a moment) was so tumultuous that it?s a miracle the project was salvageable for release at all. Yet one can?t write off this strange, uneven shocker so easily, as it remains one of those offbeat little 70s horror movies that possesses its own unique, low-key charm, and it sticks with you, warts and all. Devil Times Five takes a great premise and unfortunately proceeds to squander it for too much of the film?s running time, but when the central concept is allowed to fully take off, the movie really soars ? and it does this enough to be worth a look for
fans of the genre.

The basic idea of creepy ?killer kids? contains a primal power that has undeniably helped create the successes of some of horror cinema?s most memorable films: the Omen films, The Exorcist, The Bad Seed, Village of the Damned, Children of the Corn, various recent Asian horror films, etc.. The most brutal and effective entry in the ?killer kid? subgenre is, alas, a 1974 Spanish film not available on legitimate American home video: director Narciso Ibanez Serrador?s film Who Can Kill a Child? (released theatrically in the U.S. as Island of the Damned) is a neglected masterpiece of suspense, as a married couple faces a deserted village populated only by the sinister tots that have already slaughtered the small island town?s adult populace. Check it out if you can find a copy. Devil Times Five explores similar territory in that the tykes are also simply amoral, sociopath monsters unmotivated by supernatural forces?

The storyline of Devil Times Five finds three adult couples staying at an isolated, snowbound resort house at Lake Arrowhead, hashing out a business deal for a new sanitarium (the irony of this plot point is, alas, not really explored) ? there is ?Papa Doc? (?!), the bullying, wealthy family patriarch in charge of a chain of hospitals (played by Sam Fuller fave Gene Evans), his unfaithful trophy wife Lovey (Carolyn Steller, real-life mother to two of the kids who soon appear in the film), Papa Doc?s daughter Julie (Joan McCall) and her independently minded hubby Rick (Taylor Lacher), and finally, the weak, timid employee Harvey (Sorrell Booke, later of television?s ?Dukes of Hazzard?/Boss Hogg fame) and his alcoholic bride Ruth (Shelley Morrison). Their arrival at the wintry resort (if nothing else, Devil makes for ideal snowy evening viewing?just don?t expect The Shining or The Thing here) coincides with a nearby bus crash that has suddenly liberated five adolescent psychopaths en route to a juvenile mental health facility.

The quintet of pubescent killers ? a precocious narcissist (teen idol Leif Garrett), an albino nun (Gail Smale, the director?s girlfriend, who was apparently in her late 20s when the film was shot!), a sullen pyromaniac (director?s daughter Tia Thompson), an African-American youth with a military fetish (Tierre Turner), and the playfully sinister Moe (Dawn Lyn, sister of Garrett and daughter of Steller) ? make their way to the house, and charm their way into the lives of the six adults?while the kids also cut the phone lines, set up booby traps with piranhas, gasoline, and bear-traps, and generally prepare much mayhem that the adults can?t even
begin to fathom.

Surprisingly for a low-budget genre film, the performances are all uniformly excellent, with the five children being particularly outstanding in their challenging roles, and Devil Times Five has a solid premise for a strong, subversive shocker. Which, of course, makes sitting through the entirety of the movie that much more frustrating ? films that are partially great are infinitely more irritating than movies that are wholly dismissible in their all-encompassing awfulness. When the kids are on-screen, Devil is fantastic, as the five youths share a real rapport and their manic antics are a wonder to behold for horror devotees (in one creepy slow-motion, sepia-toned sequence, they join together to beat their injured bus driver to death with hammers and clubs?for almost six minutes!). But the film is still a continuity mess, with sluggish pacing, subplots that go nowhere, and far too much time spent on the petty squabbling between the six adults. You have to wonder why the filmmakers couldn?t see the strength of their own material?until you take in some of the DVD?s supplementary features and suddenly realize that it?s amazing that the film was released at all?

Code Red presents the film in a serviceable if unremarkable 16X9 1.85:1 transfer with decent monaural sound. Minor extras include a very brief alternate opening title sequence, a stills gallery, and a collection of trailers for other Code Red releases (most of which are forthcoming, and it looks to be an exciting line-up for them in the future). But the highlights are the 22-minute collection of interviews with actors McCall, Lyn, and Turner, along with producer Michael Blowitz and uncredited co-director David Sheldon, and the full-length audio commentary track that also unites all of these participants, with the exception of Turner, who appears in the interview footage only (he also went on from child actor to becoming one of Hollywood?s biggest stunt coordinators). It?s 32 years later, and the participants clearly feel no need to pull any punches with their recollections ? and their stories go a long way towards delineating why Devil Times Five turned out to be so patchy.

Original director Sean McGregor wrote the basic story under the pseudonym Dylan Jones,? and then gave it to his friend, actor John Durren (who plays the resort?s mentally disabled handyman in the film), to flesh out into a screenplay. At some point during production, McGregor and Durren had a falling-out, and McGregor began to tear apart Durren?s script, resulting in an original final cut that ran only 38 minutes ? 38 minutes that producer Blowitz claimed couldn?t even be cut together in useable form since McGregor (who Blowitz didn?t think could direct a feature film even before production began) filmed largely in master shots with no coverage to use for editing purposes. To put it mildly, McGregor and Blowitz did not get along (the producer recalls, with some pride, that he actually severely injured McGregor by once hurling him through a plate glass window), and the director was fired. Blowitz brought in American International Pictures production executive David Sheldon (who worked on some of AIP?s biggest hits in the 1970s, including many famous blaxploitation titles) to shoot new footage for the film (co-written by Blowitz?s wife Sandra Lee Blowitz), and this is how the film was ultimately finished. Continuity is often a mess ? Garrett had already had his hair cut short for another role, so he often wears an absurd woman?s wig for no apparent reason, and the bus driver is played by no less than three separate actors in each of the three scenes in which he appears! ? and there are ridiculous sequences that have obviously been added purely for running time padding purposes (most embarrassingly, a catfight between McCall and Steller that has nothing to do with anything else in the film). Still, given the troubled conditions, it?s a testament to the filmmakers that the project was completed as professionally as it was.

Devil Times Five is a tough film to enthusiastically recommend, as there?s probably more wrong with it than there is right ? it?s essentially one-third of a really good horror film, and for many people, that might not be enough. But there?s no denying the film?s creepy premise and setting, solid performances, and genuinely unsettling atmosphere. For 70s horror completists, it?s definitely worth a look. But unless you?ve already traveled through that territory with thorough perseverance at this juncture in your life?you can just save it for a rental in some distant future.