| “ | Nobody needs a fromikidal maniac hanging around. | ” |
| - Jodie |
- For the episode, see MST3K 908 - The Touch of Satan.
The Touch of Satan is a 1971 occult/horror film that was directed by Don Henderson.
Plot[]
"I haven't understood anything since McKinley went down."
Jodie Lee Thompson is driving to San Francisco from Austin, TX. Stopping at a small town for some supplies, the gas station attendant informs Jodie that there's a killer on the loose, and that a local farmer was recently murdered.
Jodie drives off, taking a detour through a pastoral area. Stopping to eat by a pond, he is surprised to meet a young woman. She tells him that her name is Melissa Strickland. Melissa invites Jodie back to her family's walnut farm, where he meets her parents Luther and Molly.
After dinner, Jodie prepares to go to sleep, when he is shocked when a wrinkled old woman with white hair and a badly scarred face appears in his room. Jodie tells Melissa, who identifies the woman as her great-grandmother Lucinda who was badly-burned as a young girl.
"Wait a minute, the gas station guy forgot to give me my Roman Gabriel cocktail glass!"
The next day, Jodie and Melissa go into town for some supplies. In one store, Jodie is surprised that people are going out of their way to avoid Melissa. Melissa explains that this is because the townspeople say that she is a witch. Jodie finds this laughable and hard to believe.
On the drive back to the farm, Melissa offers to show Jodie where she does her witchcraft. Going to a small shed, the two discuss what Melissa's witch powers are. Luther comes by, and Melissa suspects that Lucinda has gotten out of the house again. Feeling something is wrong, Melissa asks Jodie to take her back to the house.
The two arrive to see that Lucinda has killed a sheriff's deputy, and Luther and Molly trying to restrain her. Melissa manages to calm Lucinda and has Molly take her inside. Luther shocks Jodie when he takes Jodie's car keys and handcuffs him to a pipe in the barn. Jodie recalls the gas station attendant who claimed that there was a killer in the area, and he begins to suspect that Lucinda is the killer.
"You're pretty, you know that?" ... "In a frumpy, Rhoda sort of way."
Melissa comes into the barn to talk to Jodie, who insists that the family should have turned Lucinda over to the police some time ago. Melissa claims she can't do that, and she has to take care of the family, claiming they are cursed. Jodie refuses to believe this.
Later that evening, Jodie is allowed dinner and goes to his room in the house. Melissa goes to the shed, and through her powers, coaxes Jodie to dream a particular dream in which Melissa is a young woman in the 19th century. She is seated with her sister Lucinda and their parents reading a Bible, when some townspeople arrive at their home carrying torches and chanting 'burn the witch!'
The father goes out to see the townsfolk who claim that a plague has struck the village, but left the Strickland family unharmed. The villagers then claim that this is due to Lucinda being a witch. They drag her from the house and prepare to burn her on a pyre.
Melissa pleads for anyone to help Lucinda. She hears a strange wind and a voice asking her if she will accept the devil in exchange for saving her sister. Melissa agrees, and is able to put out the fire. She then lays curses upon the townspeople, who run off. Melissa then unties Lucinda, who has been badly burned.
Upo0n waking, Jodie goes to the shed where he finds Melissa. Melissa explains that she sold her soul to the devil in exchange for saving her sister's life. This resulted in her staying youthful-looking for 127 years, but Lucinda has aged and experiences fits of violence.
Jodie still can't believe what he's been told, and he declares his love for Melissa. Suddenly, Lucinda appears at the door, intending to kill Jodie. Melissa sets her sister on fire, and she and Jodie escape from the shed before it burns down.
The next day, Jodie is given the chance to leave. He promises Luther he will not tell anyone what he saw, but he still refuses to believe that what Melissa said was true.
Jodie drives off, but then has second thoughts and turns back. He finds Melissa in the wooded area where they had first met. Jodie tells her that he still loves her, even if the devil is inside her soul. They then make love, and Melissa tells Jodie that his love has set her free.
Melissa freedom comes with a price. She has now begun to age rapidly, and will soon die. Jodie calls upon the devil, and gives his soul for Melissa. She returns to her to her youthful form, and Jodie now shares in the curse that has fallen over the Strickland family.
Cast[]
- Michael Berry as Jodie Lee Thompson
- Emby Mellay as Melissa Strickland
- Lee Amber as Luther Strickland
- Yvonne Winslow as Molly Strickland
- Robert Easton as Mr. Keitel
- Sharon Crabtree as Young Lucinda
- Ellen Bailey as Sarah Strickland
Notes[]
- This film was not directed by Tom Laughlin, who was often credited under the pseudonym Don Henderson.
- When Satan tempts a character, the corresponding actor's voice beckons them to join him.
- The film's Italian title is L'Ossessa: i raccapriccianti delitti di Monroe Park, which translates to The Obsession: The Horrific Crimes of Monroe Park. The film has no scenes set in Monroe Park.
- Members of the film's crew play the villagers who try to burn Lucinda.
MST3K Connections[]
- Robert Easton portrayed multiple characters in Invaders from the Deep and Kester in The Giant Spider Invasion (for which he also served as co-writer).
- Makeup artist Joe Blasco was also makeup artist for Parts: The Clonus Horror and Track of the Moon Beast (in which he also wore the Moon Beast costume).
- Sound technician Ken Carlson was also sound technician for The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies and sound mixer for Agent for H.A.R.M..
- Special effects technician Steve Karkus was also special effects technician for Parts: The Clonus Horror.
- Assistant camera Nick McLean was also cinematographer for Mac and Me.