Newcomer Ed Nelson has a unique way of making friends... and losing them. He introduces himself to town-folk as the nephew of a recently deceased resident whom nobody liked, a hermit who was found dead covered in blood along side a goat which obviously had its throat slit. Bizarre goings on reveal that Nelson isn't the nice man he appears to be, and the town doctor and sheriff try to discover what is really behind all of the recent tragic events. The sudden attack of the rival to Nelson's attempt to win the doctor's daughter by his devoted dog, the discovery of a trampled body of the town drunk, and other bizarre happenings prove that something spiritually evil is taking place.Nelson, a cult actor who found romantic leads on the soap operas "Peyton Place" and "Capital", is a bizarre presence, his easy going demeanor hiding something truly foul. The poor drunk gets a first hand view, and his terror in realizing what he's witnessed isn't a hallucination is truly frightening. This is the type of horror movie that probably sent viewers immediately to church to pray or home to shower. It's cheaply made, adequately acted, and truly disturbingI can't watch films like this and praise them simply for that reason, even though I think that later horror films like " Rosemary's Baby" and "The Omen" are classics among the genre. This has an element of trashiness to it that puts it in the classification of exploitation rather than a piece of art.

I must admit that I usually have a soft spot for movies where people get great powers and start eliminating their enemies one by one, so I thought that I would like "Devil's Partner". But in the end I thought the movie was a letdown. I will admit it gets off to a decent start, with some intrigue and even a little eeriness, plus also a little style injected by the director. However, after the promising opening, the movie loses its way. It becomes a real slow-moving story (despite having a running time of only 72 minutes), and it is seriously lacking bite. The movie really needed a harder edge; as it is, it feels too soft as well as slow. While I wouldn't call the end results terrible, the movie all the same is a big disappointment.

In a small rural town an unpopular old hermit sells his soul to the devil. He dies and his mysterious nephew subsequently turns up. A string of bad events follow in his wake.This low-budget occult horror film is pretty decent considering its obvious lack of resources. It has a fairly by-the-numbers set-up but it maintains the interest just the same. Ed Nelson, who plays the evil nephew, is good and certainly looks the part. Interestingly, he uses animals to do his evil bidding - sometimes, possessing them, other times shape-shifting into them. This includes a dog, a horse and a snake. The scene with the horse is the best one in the film. In it, a wino is chased in the moonlight by a black stallion, which catches up with him and tramples him to death.The movie on the whole is well handled and should please those with a taste for old cheap black and white horror flicks. Although a word of warning – don't be fooled by the cover art that is often used. It has a scantily clad woman riding a centaur…sadly, there's none of this to be seen anywhere.

Enough has been said regarding the summary of this flick. Sure, the plot doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I'd even go so far as to say the the makers may have switched stories 20 minutes into filming this movie. The deal with the guy coming back and not seeming to know anyone in the town he's lived in all his life just makes me think there was another version of the story at one time... Maybe not though. Maybe the plot just wasn't thought out enough. But what the movie does have is atmosphere. From the opening shot of a sinister shadow on a decrepit shacks wall with a scared goat bleating in the background , to a faithful pet going berserk and attacking it's master this movie is creepy. All you folks who like these old spook flicks know...That's the important thing. The Alpha Video version is very cheap but is in pretty bad shape especially at the beginning of reels. Sinister Cinema has a better copy but you'll pay more for it. I'd say at the very least get the Alpha Video version. You can't go wrong spending $6.00 and getting a quality spook.