LAND OF THE MINOTAUR (1977) **
A couple of teens go spelunking in an old pagan tomb where they run afoul of a bunch of hooded Satanists led by Peter Cushing who make human sacrifices. The cult also worships a stone Minotaur that speaks in a raspy voice and shoots flames out its nostrils. Concerned priest Donald Pleasence then sets out to find the missing spelunkers and put a stop to the sacrificing once and for all.
Land of the Minotaur is typical 70’s horror junk. (It would look right at home on Commander USA’s Groovy Movies.) It isn’t terrible or anything like that; it’s just kinda slow moving and uninspired. If you’ve seen one Satanist cult movie, you’ve pretty much seen them all. This one is distinguished by the hilarious talking Minotaur idol and a pair of British horror stalwarts traipsing around collecting a paycheck. That’s pretty much it.
The film was made in Greece by the director of Death Kiss, Kostas Karagiannis. He doesn’t have a distinct style but at least he keeps everything in focus and is able to create a modicum of atmosphere in the sacrificial chamber sequences. Having said that; I have to put Karagiannis on my Shit List for cutting away too quickly from the potential gory stuff. While the exploding Satanists finale was fairly decent, everything else about the picture had Made for TV written all over it. The moody music was by Brian Eno and Paul Williams. How’s that for strange bedfellows?
Best line: “Keep your eyes open for some more funerals!”
AKA: The Devil’s Men.