The Devil's Rain (film)

The Devil's Rain was a low-budget horror film shot in 1975, and is remembered primarily for it's gradiose ending, in which a crowd of satan worshippers melt like wax in the rain, and also the fact that satanist Anton Lavey was listed as the technical advisor. It was one of the B-films in which a desperate William Shatner starred, in the hiatus between the original Star Trek series and Star Trek The Motion Picture. The plot involves a curse on the Preston family, caused by their betrayal of the satanic preist John Corbis ( portrayed by Ernest Borgnine ). Corbis has followed the Preston family for generations, in pursuit of a satanic book through which he obtains great power. Corbis first captures the father, Steve Preston, who is allowed to escape home to warn his wife and younger son about Corbis' wrath, and to give the book to Corbis; this is done, at which point Steve Preston then melts into a waxy substance, apparently melting in the rain. Shatner's character, Mark Preston, takes the book, hoping to meet with Corbis and defeat him. They meet in a ghost town in the desert, where Corbis gives Preston a drink of water from an old hand-pumped well; Shatner's character drinks and then spits it out, proclaiming the water to be bitter. Borgnine smiles and replies, "Sweet way to end a thirst, though.". Following that, Preston challenges Corbis to a battle of faith, which ends with Preston resorting to pulling a 1911 .45 pistol on Corbis. Corbis asks, "Is THAT your faith?", at which point Preston tries to escape. Surrounded by satanists, Preston pulls out his cross, which then appears to transform into a snake, and is discarded by Shatner's character, and he is promptly captured by the satanic followers of Corbis. Corbis later begins a ceremony which wipes Shatner's memory clean with the "water of forgetfullness" in preparation for a ceremony later that evening with the devil himself. Preston's older brother, Tom (portrayed by actor Tom Skerritt ), and his wife Julie, have gone to look for younger brother Mark; they are accompanied by a psychic researcher played by Eddie Albert, of Green Acres fame. Tom Preston witnesses his brother's total conversion to a satanic puppet in a ceremony in which Earnest Borgnine's character is so completely taken over by the devil that he looks like a goat. Skerritt's character is discovered but escapes the satanists, and later meets up with Eddie Albert at the satanic church and discover the source of Corbis' power - a porcelian container known as The Devil's Rain, which contains the souls of Corbis' converts. Corbis and the satanists then arrive at the church, and Eddie Albert threatens to destroy the Devil's Rain, which he then does, and makes good his escape. The satanists melt in the rain as a storm rages, and Skerritt's wife holds him, only to discover that it is actually Corbis she is embracing. This film is also the theatrical debut of actor John Travolta, who at the time was also beginning his role as Vinnie Barbarino in the comedy Welcome Back, Kotter.