Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

Year: 1978

Runtime: 95 mins

Language: English

Director: Curtis Harrington

HorrorHorror

Man’s best friend… or the devil’s spawn? A dog that is a minion of Satan terrorizes a suburban family.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978) – Full Plot Summary & Ending Explained

Read the complete plot breakdown of Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell (1978), including all key story events, major twists, and the ending explained in detail. Discover what really happened—and what it all means.

After their old dog dies in an accident, the Barry family—Mike Barry Richard Crenna and Betty Barry Yvette Mimieux—adopts a German Shepherd puppy named Lucky from a friendly fruit vendor who is secretly a Satanist. The vendor bred the dog during an evil ceremony, turning Lucky into a possessed creature, and the Satanic cult expands its reach by giving away the dog’s offspring to wreak havoc in the world, hoping Satan will overcome good once and for all. The family names the dog Lucky, a choice that will feel tragically ironic as the danger begins to unfold.

Lucky acts very strangely when they bring him home, unsettling the family and particularly the father. The maid who watches the dog is killed in a fire while Lucky is around, which pushes Mike to believe something is terribly wrong. He also barely escapes a horrific accident when Lucky is near as the lawnmower’s blades start turning, underscoring the dog’s dangerous influence. As weeks pass, Lucky displays mind-control powers capable of killing, injuring, or manipulating people around them, turning a normal household into a threat-filled chessboard.

Mike’s fear grows into a fight for the family’s souls as Lucky’s power spreads. Mike’s son Charlie Barry [Ike Eisenmann] uses the dog’s influence to turn classmates against one another, stealing a watch and planting it in a locker to help a friend win the student election—an unsettling glimpse of how far Lucky’s reach can go when family bonds are under siege.

Realizing the danger is anchored in a bigger evil, Mike discovers a hidden Satanic shrine in the attic. An attempt to shoot Lucky fails; the dog remains unharmed, signaling that ordinary means won’t end the nightmare. He travels to Ecuador to learn how to destroy the animal, but discovers there might be no easy kill: a holy symbol held to Lucky’s eye can imprison him in Hell for 1,000 years. Armed with this knowledge, he prepares for a final confrontation.

The showdown takes place at Mike’s work plant. Lucky, now a more terrifying demonic version of himself, pursues Mike. In the climactic moment, Mike raises the holy symbol to Lucky’s eye, and the beast is engulfed in fire and banished to Hell, freeing the family’s souls and restoring their lives.

In the end, the family—including daughter Bonnie Barry Kim Richards—packs the car for a vacation, hopeful to leave the nightmare behind. The film closes with a chilling hint: the vendor sold ten puppies, and where the other nine are remains a question, implying that evil may return in more forms.

Last Updated: October 09, 2025 at 14:10

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The narrative follows a family unit as they discover a malevolent presence has embedded itself within their domestic life. The story unfolds as they slowly realize the threat, attempt to rationalize the strange occurrences, and finally must confront the evil to save themselves, often at great personal cost.

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The story centers on a seemingly benign entity—a person, object, or animal—that is revealed to be a vessel for a patient, intelligent evil. The plot meticulously escalates from subtle oddities to overt displays of power and control, culminating in a desperate battle for the souls of the afflicted.

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This thread unites films characterized by a steady pacing and a focus on psychological manipulation as the primary engine of horror. The similarity lies in the experience of watching a sinister plan unfold methodically, creating a pervasive sense of dread and the terrifying loss of autonomy.

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Characters, Settings & Themes in Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell

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