RITUAL OF EVIL (1970)

After a wild party at the Wiley house, the family psychiatrist David Sorrell (Louis Jourdan) is called there in the dead of night by retired actress Jolene Wiley (Anne Baxter) because she's concerned that her niece Aline has disappeared. The next morning, Aline is found dead on the beach by folk singer and recovering addict Larry Richmond, who was living at a beach house rent-free thanks to Aline. The death is presumed a suicide, though Larry can't believe it. Aline's somewhat fragile younger sister Loey (Belinda Montgomery) feels guilty because she thinks that an attempt by her to conjure up demons caused Aline's death. Soon, demons start popping up all over. Larry mentions that Aline and her friends were involved in devil worship. David meets fashion photographer Leila Barton (Diana Hyland), who was present at the party and she possesses a small statue of a satyr (referred to as Priapus but looking more like Pan), and refers to herself as a witch. Loey starts having visions of a scraggly bearded man being sacrificed at the party. Then Larry dies when his small house goes up in flames, and we see someone using photographs of people in rituals involving the Pan statue whose eyes glow red before bad things happen. As David investigates, he begins feeling lustful urges toward Lelia, who is sure the two of them were lovers in a past life. There's also Jolene's partner and would-be fiancé Edward Bolander (John McMartin) who may be more involved in hedonistic parties and rituals than he has let on. Did I mention the dead dog? 

This TV-movie sequel to FEAR NO EVIL isn’t as interesting as the first film, but it has its pleasures. It takes its devil worship fairly seriously, though specific plot points are rather messy. As in FEAR NO EVIL, the Satanists seem to be in it for decadent fun, not realizing they may be tampering with things they can't control. It's unclear who is the driving force in getting the demonic rituals going, and even what exactly the point of the ritual is. Without going into spoilers, the connection between Leila and the Wileys remains murky. Loey is the focus of the story for a while, until she isn't. The movie's conclusion seems to be a case of the writer hitting a deadline and giving up, though in some ways, it's satisfying enough. Jourdan provides another anchoring performance as the relatively rational psychiatrist who also believes in occult powers. Hyland is quite good as a sexy witch and Anne Baxter is fine, if a bit underused. Wilfrid Hyde-White repeats his role from the first movie as Jourdan's mentor, though he only has one short scene. Georg Stanford Brown, later known for TV roles in The Rookies and Roots, is good enough to make you wish his character had stuck around a little longer. The tone of the proceedings borrows a bit from the Charles Manson vibe of the era. Not quite up to the standard of the first movie, but more than watchable. [DVD]