Waldo, the punk that defaced the statue of Carl Weathers, was pleading for his life. The Revenging Manta, the ninja vigilante of downtown Orlando, unsheathed his sword and handed it to me. 

“This man has wronged you,” The Revenging Manta said. “Do what needs to be done.”

I held the sword, ready to dispense some street justice when I looked over at Edwige, my kangaroo companion from my misadventures in North America. She has turned her gaze away from me and I knew she disapproved. I handed the sword back to the ninja. 

“I can’t do it,” I said as Waldo gasped in relief. 

“Then his life belongs to you now,” The Revenging Manta said as he sheathed the blade.

— To be continued. 

Tonight’s movie is 1966’s Eye of the Devil from director J. Lee Thompson. This movie has no devil in it if you were expecting to see his eye. It stars David Niven if that’s a selling point. I think the last movie I covered starring him was 1967’s Casino Royale. I consider that movie to be the worst movie of all time, but that’s just my personal taste.

Eye of the Devil begins with a fancy dinner party complete with harp player in the home of Philippe de Montfaucon, Marquis de Bellenac (David Kevin), and Catherine de Montfaucon, Marquise de Bellenac (Deborah Kerr). Wait. What? I’m nor repeating that. We’ll just call them Philippe and Catherine for the rest of this review. Anyway, Philippe and Catherine live an idyllic life in Paris, France with their two young children, Jacques and Antoinette. A mysterious visitor comes to Philippe and says he must return to the family vineyard in Bordeaux. There’s a problem with the grape crop this year and the entire area depends on it.

Philippe leaves for the family chateau, but tells Catherine to stay behind with the kids. Jacques complains to his mother later that night that he needs to be with father and so they’re off to the chateau that her husband warned her about. While driving into town they get the stink eye from the local villagers as they drive up to Philippe’s estate. Philippe plays off everything as normal, but Catherine feels uncomfortable in his family home. A strange brother and sister pair named Christian (David Hemmings) and Odile (Sharon Tate) keep hanging around the estate. Christian is an archer and kills a dove right in front of Catherine.

Meanwhile, Odile seems to have the ability to turn a frog into a dove which she demonstrates in front of the kids. There’s a creepy town priest played by Donald Pleasance and a secret society of robed figures that seem to appear and disappear. Catherine spots Philippe in a secret ceremony with these same robed figures and one of them quietly warns her to flee the town while she still can.

Catherine sticks around only to get drugged and bedridden while a sinister conspiracy with pagan undercurrents begins to unravel. If it were me, I’d get the hell out of Dodge. I don’t want to get bees shoved down my throat or get burned alive in a wicker basket. 

 Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, episode 284, episode 441, episode 442, episode 443, episode 444, episode 450, episode 477, episode 491, episode 492, episode 493, episode 495, episode 496, episode 545, episode 546, episode 547, episode 548, episode 549, episode 575, episode 596, episode 597, episode 598, and episode 599) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.