I Watch Films: Mark Of The Devil

 

Mark Of The Devil

Hammer House Of Mystery And Suspense

Frank Rowlett (Dirk Benedict) is going to marry Sara (Jenny Seagrove) which will, amongst other things, sort out his financial position. Unfortunately the local loan shark wants repaying £7000 within 24 hours. He decides to gamble, but they won’t take his watch, so he goes down the street to see Hai Lee (Burt Kwouk). Lee, half-Haitian, half-Chinese, is a pawnbroker and fence, a tattoo artist and also does some voodoo on the side, he’s seen leading a group in a ritual. All this in rambling premises filled with weird bric-a-brac in a slightly seedy London alley.

He spots a bundle of cash and decides to steal it; alerted by voodoo Hai Lee confronts him. The two fight; Hai Lee is killed but not before stabbing Frank with a tattoo needle. Frank takes the money to the gambling den and wins big, enough to pay off the loan shark.

Both police and loan shark are suspicious, the loan shark immediately connecting the dots and trying to shake him down, the police slowly working the murder of Hai Lee and finding the watch. Frank moves the wedding up but finds that somehow the tiny spot on his chest keeps growing. Becoming an elaborate Chinese-style tattoo that covers more of his body every time he looks.

A creepy first entry in the anthology series, that shows how close low life and crime are to the great and the good. It can’t escape the orientalism of the idea that magic and curses come from abroad, despite the broad swathe of London society shown to be part of Lee’s voodoo group. It’s just another community activity!

Watch This: Creepy TV film horror that makes Dirk Benedict taking his shirt off suspenseful
Don’t Watch This: Lazy stereotyping, drags a bit towards the end