Beats of the Heart: Chase the Devil - Religious Music of the Appalachian Mountains

Religious music of the Southern Appalachians covers a wide panorama. At one extreme, the fundamentalist Baptists regard any music as the 'the devil's work,' and at the other end, the Holiness Church centers the fervor and intensity of its services on hard driving, highly rhythmic music. The film focuses on the exuberant preaching, singing, gyrations and rituals of the Holiness Church, including footage of enraptured holiness members 'speaking in tongues' and handling snakes as part of church services. 'Chase the Devil' also captures many other aspects and byways of isolated mountain music and culture, such as the haunting archaic religious balladry of Dee and Delta Hicks and Nimrod Workman, the old-time banjo playing of Virgil Anderson, the fiddle-band stylings of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers, a traditional baptism in a river, and a visit with Roy Gunter, a recluse who communicates with Jesus via a broken auto antenna. Features additional sections on the Nashville scene, Herb and Mary's Christian diner, protest singer Hazel Dickens and a performance at the rock and roll church of God.