When Duc de Richeleau (Christopher Lee) and his friend Rex Van Ryn (Leon Greene) decide to pay a visit on their protégé Simon Aaron (Patrick Mower),  they find him hosting a meeting for a strange astronomical society.  After a few minutes of mingling, a nervous Simon, guided by the bidding of his master, decides to shows his good friends to the door, but Duc de Richeleau is susceptive and determined to investigate a hunch.  Following a brief encounter with an unholy presence up in the observatory , the Duc realizes that this little get together is a front for a devil-worshipping sect led by the charismatic Mocata (Charles Gray). The two men barely escaped with an  unconscious Simon and  whisk back to the Duc's home in a bid to save his mortal soul. 

During the night, Simon is summoned by the power of Mocata to escape and rejoin him.  The next day after some further research, the Duc believes that Simon, along with the beautiful Tanith (Nike Arrighi), are to be baptized into a satanic group better known as the Left Hand Path.  Fearing for their lives, Rex is dispatched  to get some information as to when the initiation ceremony will be taking place.  Later that night , as Mocata and his convent assemble in the woods to summon the Goat of Mendes (Aka. the Devil), Duc and Rex swoops in to rescue both Simon and Tanith from the clutches of this warlock, but their battle with the Dark Lord has only just begun. 

Returning to  the home of the Duc's niece, the group begins to prepare for  the evil that awaits them.  A holy circle drawn around them helps repel the horrifying apparitions that manifests, but the slightest break in this protective ring will mean instant damnation for all, especially when the Angel of Death comes a calling. Who will win this classic battle between good and evil???

Based on the Dennis Wheatley's bestseller "The Devil Rides Out", this film directed by Hammer veteran and master of the macabre, Terence Fisher is easily one of the studio's strongest entry in the horror genre. In the fall of 1963, Christopher Lee played a prominent role in convicting Hammer execs to acquire the rights to this story.  After several failed scripts by high-profile screenwriters, Richard Matheson ("Omega Man", Legend of Hell House", and "The Haunting") was commissioned to breath new life into what many considered a very boring story.  At the time, in part due to fears that the film's release may be jeopardized because of content, Hammer felt it necessary to submit their shooting scripts to the BBFC for final approval. The BBFC made it very clear that they would not put up with "any misuses of Christian emblems or any parodies of Christian prayers".  Finally, after many delays the film went into production during the summer of 1967 and was later released in the summer of 1968. "The Devil Rides Out" proved to be a landmark film for Christopher Lee, because it confirmed the audience's acceptance of him in the role of a hero, rather than a monster.  Recent media quotes from the man himself have him citing his return to the role of  Duc de Richeleau in a remake of this film.  Exhibiting a superb storyline, exceptional acting especially by Lee and Charles Gray, and a wonderful score by James Bernard, "The Devil Rides Out is destined to be a prize in your horror collection.