The Blood on Satan's Claw was proposed for our Halloween programme by our member Helen Gardner, who writes, 'the finest British folk horror of the period and my absolute favourite horror film of all time.The idyllic English countryside never looked so threatening.'

It's rural England in the early 18th century. A deformed skull is discovered - it has an intact eye and strange fur but when that skull disappears the village becomes afflicted by its supernatural power. Starring Linda Hayden and Patrick Wymark, this quintessential folk horror, written by Robert Wynne-Simmons, is a heady concoction of old-style horror and sex, served up in an unnervingly modern visual presentation. It explores and seems to unpick the dawning decade's fears about promiscuity and the generation gap, poking fun at the moral majority's lack of tolerance toward youth culture and non-Christian belief systems.

Content warning: Includes a scene of sexual assault.

Cast:
Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, Barry Andrews, Michele Dotrice