L'amante del demonio (1972)

... aka: Amante del demonio, La
... aka: Ceremonia Satanica
... aka: Demon Lover, The
... aka: Devil's Lover, The
... aka: Lucifera: Demon Lover

Directed by:
Paolo Lombardo

Of all the dumb "I'm just asking to be killed" set-ups I've seen in my day, this one registers pretty high on the ole totem pole. In modern times, three young women in miniskirts go to visit an old castle because - get this - they heard a rumor that it belonged to the devil and want to see if that's true or not. Not only that, but once they get there they insist upon spending the night. These ladies are just asking for it, no? The only person around seems to be a strange butler (an unbilled John Benedy). He serves them dinner and, strangely, there's an extra place setting at the table for an unaccounted fourth guest the butler claims isn't coming. Each girl is put into a separate bedroom and, as a thunderstorm rages outside, one of them - Helga (Rosalba Neri) - moseys on out to the corridor with a candelabra. She finds a painting on the wall in her likeness, starts complaining about her skin burning, hears strange noises, screaming and then laughter coming from a hole in the ground and then promptly passes out. What follows is a lengthy dream sequence which lasts until the last few minutes and tells what happened to Helga in her previous life as we're then swept back to the 16th Century for a little cut rate Satanic soap opera.

The 16th Century Helga is set to be married to the strapping nice guy Hans, but bosomy blonde barmaid named Magda (Maria Teresa "Pietrangeli" / Pingitore), who's also in love with him, becomes intent on destroying the union. Helmut (Robert Woods), who's in love with Magda, decides to help her out, but for a price: sex. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure in a black cloak and red hood is lurking around. He sees Helga's wedding gown, thus "contaminating" it and cursing her, leading Helga to seek the aid of a backwoods sorceress. The evil old woman has Helga gather up two of her virginal gal pals, Eva and Wilma, and tells them to go to a mountaintop. When they arrive, Helga looks to the sky and utters something to someone named "Selena;" which promptly scares her friends away. The witch then leads Eva and Wilma into the woods, where two masked men grab them and drag them into a cave. Suddenly, the two actresses become two other actresses and a bunch of dirty people in rags strip them naked for a rape / orgy in scenes clearly grafted on later. A blonde, caped woman (who we never again see after this one brief scene) then enters, bears her fangs and drinks their blood.

Helga's friends show up as silent, pale-faced vampires trying to nibble her neck, but it may all just be a nightmare. Our heroine also learns the identity of the man with the red hood. He's Gunther (Edmund Purdom) and he's determined to seduce her over to the dark side because he's actually Satan. Meanwhile, the scorned, jealous barmaid tries to convince Helmut to murder Helga. He refuses so she also goes to the old crone. The witch gives her a special necklace that will cause a heart attack to whomever wears it but before she has a chance to give it to Magda, Gunther shows up to murder her. Helga - now not quite herself and in an aloof, trance-like state - goes through with the wedding ceremony, but Gunther shows up with a special gold dagger and an ultimatum; it's either him or Hans.

By 70s Italian Gothic / period horror standards, this is not only disappointing, it's downright pathetic! There's some, but not a whole lot of, nudity and the bloodshed in incredibly mild. Even stabbings, axe blows and tongues being cut out don't register more than small trickles of blood. Worst of all, the costumes and sparsely-decorated sets both look extremely cheap. I'm talking small town community theater cheap. And just so the filmmakers don't have to worry about pesky things like props and art direction, the majority of the action is filmed in fields, on dirt roads and in forests. Hell, even the background scenery in this one isn't any good. 

As far as the photography's concerned, we have yet another problem depending on what version you watch. Some prints appear to be OK, but on others (including the one I watched), there's a serious screw up involving the print, and I'm not just talking about the flickers, missing frames, jumps, abrupt cutaways and grain which are all here in abundance. The entire film was shot during the day, and clearly many of the scenes taking place at night were meant to be tinted at a later point. On one of the well-circulated prints, all of the scenes are in broad daylight. That not only makes lines of dialogue like "It's so dark!" unintentionally comic but it also makes the overall cheapness of this production even more glaringly obvious than it otherwise would have been. Still, night scenes or no, this is still one of the least atmospheric Italian genre films of its time.

All that said, I didn't have a huge issue sitting through this. Despite the ultra low-budget, unconvincing period detail and other issues, worse scripts have been filmed. I liked how the story was framed and set-up and it's all mildly entertaining if your expectations are low. Neri is so smoking hot she could command attention on that alone, but she should also be given credit for her skills as an actress; evident even in a low grade production such as this one (which she almost single-handedly manages to hold together). This film (finally on DVD from Mya Communications in 2009) is recommended mostly for her fans... Well, after they've already seen just about everything else she's ever been in!

Also in the cast are spaghetti western star Spartaco Conversi, Maria Teresa Vianello (The Horrible Dr. Hichcock) and Laura De Benedittis (Dr. Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks).

★★

Marquis de Sade's "Justine" (1968)

... aka: Deadly Sanctuary
... aka: Justine
... aka: Justine and Juliette
... aka: Marquis de Sade: Justine

Directed by:
Jesus Franco

Just as its nubile protagonist deals with her own 'misfortunes of virtue,' director Franco also met similar misfortunes on the set of this Marquis de Sade adaptation; his first of many attempts at bringing the controversial author's work to life. For starters, Franco's preferred choice to play Justine (Rosemary Dexter) was overturned by the producers. Instead, he had inexperienced 17-year-old Romina Power, the daughter of ill-fated Hollywood star Tyrone Power, imposed upon him at the last minute while Dexter was relegated to a minor supporting role. While Powers' wooden performance (the director would later compare her to a piece of furniture in interviews) certainly doesn't help matters as she's unable to either elicit much sympathy for Justine nor bring any real dimensions to the role, in this context she doesn't actually do that much damage. The character is supposed to be clueless and extremely naive, and there's a certain earnestness to Power's amateurism that is actually far less offensive than several of the big name, scenery-chewing guest stars who later show up in the film. However, Franco would blame the casting change for the backers' insistence that he tone down the material, though that might actually have more to do with censors snooping around on the set and shutting down the production several times before it was completed than Powers being added to the cast.

Despite all of the above issues, and despite the fact that this is far from his best work, the film would go on to become one of Franco's best-known and most-viewed efforts, likely because of the cast and the production values. Franco had a much higher budget here than in any of his other films, and this is evident in the cinematography, costumes, art direction and location work (all about on par with any big budget studio film of the time), as well as the large amount of extras during some scenes.

Set in France in the 18th Century, things begin with a delirious flurry of images as de Sade himself (Klaus Kinski) is carted off to prison where, in an imaginatively presented series of fades, blurs, zooms and jerky camera movements, he begins to write the story we are about to see.

Because their parents have fled the country, virtuous and virginal Justine and her wicked sister Juliette (Maria Rohm), polar opposites in both look and demeanor as the narrator informs us, are given a small pension and are kicked out of their convent home. Juliette immediately heads to a brothel and tells Justine that if she doesn't like it, she'll have to go elsewhere. Justine wanders off, encounters a priest who steals her money and then ends up at the home of miserly weirdo Mr. Du Harpin (Akim Tamiroff), who spies on her changing clothes, sells her dress and has her working as his maid dressed in rags. Du Harpin's neighbor Desroches (Gustavo Re) unsuccessfully comes on to our heroine and after his advances are rebuked he frames Justine for stealing a broche and has her arrested. She's given the death sentence, is taken to prison and ends up meeting teeth-grinding murderess Madame Dusbois (Mercedes McCambridge) who decides to enlist Justine's aid in escaping. The two ladies manage to get out of there with help from four of Dusbois' henchmen, but like in most of Justine's other nihilistic misadventures, things end in another attempted rape.

Justine flees from them and ends up at the home of kind artist Raymond (Harald Leipnitz). Because of how she's been treated by everyone she'd encountered thus far in her travels, Justine is wary of Raymond and what his intentions may be despite his compassion. Before the relationship can develop any further, the authorities show up looking for her and she's forced to run off yet again. She then encounters the decadent Marquis de Bressac (Horst Frank), who is having a rendezvous with a male lover in the woods when she first bumps into him. He agrees to hire her as a maid in exchange for something he's not quite ready to reveal. That something turns out to be poisoning his wife (Sylva Koscina), who's grown close to Justine the few months she's been employed there. Justine warns her about the husband's intentions, but he finds out about it, kills her instead, frames Justine for the murder and then brands an "M" on her chest before sending her on her merry way. Justine then ends up at a monastery of 'pleasure-in-pain' freaks headed over by a grotesquely overacting Jack Palance, whom Franco claimed was drunk the entire shoot. (Not surprising when you get to see his bizarre performance!) Barely making it out of there alive, a weak and injured Justine ends up back in the city, where she's re-captured by Madame Dusbois and her gang, who force her to exhibit herself naked in front of a leering crowd.

Every once in awhile, the film cuts away from Justine back to the brooding de Sade writing away or to her sister Juliette, who's busy indulging in a sinful - though even emptier - life. Juliette and her lover, fellow prostitute Claudine (this is the role Baxter ended up with), murder the whorehouse madam and one of her tricks, raid her safe and take off on a thieving / murder spree, for which the two become wealthy. After Juliette murders her partner in crime, she ends up settling down with a wealthy nobleman (Gérard Tichy) and finally crosses paths with her sister again during the last few minutes.

Because of the highly variable acting and writing (producer Harry Alan Towers also scripted as "Peter Welbeck"), the film is dramatically uneven throughout, with some ill-fitting attempts at broad comedy along the way, but it has its moments. Despite a run time in excess of two hours (the original U.S. video release titled Deadly Sanctuary was trimmed of about 30 minutes), the film stays so busy there's no real time to be bored. The material is colorfully presented by cinematographer Manuel Merino and it also boasts a truly beautiful score from Bruno Nicolai. As per the director's usual, he's filled the film with many beautiful, naked women, including Rosalba Neri (who'd also appear in Franco's women-in-prison opus 99 WOMEN). Howard Vernon (as one of the monks) also appears briefly.

Still, I'd be amiss not to point out that several of Franco's other de Sade adaptations; EUGENIE... THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1969) and EUGENIE DE SADE (1970; released 1974) - though much lower-budgeted - pack more of a wallop. They're also much more in tune with the dark tone of de Sade's writings than this one. However, this film does drive home the real point of de Sade's source novel: How can a just higher power allow someone good and virtuous to suffer while simultaneously allowing the wicked to prosper?

★★1/2

Il plenilunio delle vergini (1973)

...aka: Devil's Wedding Night, The

...aka: Full Moon of the Virgins

Directed by:

Luigi Batzella

There's really not much to gain from seeking out this boring, nudity-filled remake of Hammer's COUNTESS DRACULA. Sometime in the 1800s, twin brothers Karl and Franz Schiller (both of whom are played by Mark Damon) discuss vampires and the legendary ruby red "Ring of Niebelonion." Legend has it the ring had passed down supernatural abilities to such historical figures as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and Ivan the Terrible. Anyway, Franz the bad boy (who wears heavy eyeliner, has slicked back hair, gambling debts and quotes Edgar Allan Poe) decides to take his horse down the road to visit Castle Dracula and complete his "architectural studies." First he stops by an inn to ignore the locals' warnings and seduce the innkeeper's daughter Tania (Francesca Romana Davila). Once in the castle, he meets a zombie-like maid named Lara (Esmeralda Barros) and then the owner of the castle, seductive Countess Dracula (Rosalba Neri as "Sara Bay). Even though he finds the behavior of both ladies a little strange and off-putting (hell, he even catches Lara lounging in a casket at one point!), that doesn't distract him from the feminine wiles of Mrs. Dracula, as he's easily seduced, vampirized and stuck in a coffin.

When bookish Karl shows up later looking for his missing bro, he's encouraged to spend the night, his wine is drugged and he trips out to creepy sculptures, laughing, a soft-focus lesbian scene and (the best bit) Neri being coated with blood and emerging naked from a fog-enshrouded crypt. He also figures out that the Countess is in possession of the ring and plans on using its powers to lure five virginal village girls to her castle to sacrifice; bathing in their blood helping her maintain her beauty and youth. She also wants Satan to possess the body of Franz or something to that effect (it's all a little muddled). There's a a fairly well done ritual ceremony at the end where five naked girls are prepared to be sacrificed by hooded cultists, but otherwise it's just a very slow trip where the rewards are few and far between.

Neri (LADY FRANKENSTEIN) looks great as the Countess, especially in the black wedding gown, but this film isn't a very good showcase for her talents (which, unlike many starlets of the era, extended much further than her nude scenes). Barros (the Brazilian-born star of 1968's KING OF KONG ISLAND) is also pretty good as Lady Dracula's stern lesbian handmaiden. "Ciro"/Xiro Papas has a small, but fun, role as a big bald unibrow-sporting vampire who shows up near the end. Damon, is tolerable, but a bit on the dull side as he usually is. There's only a minimal amount of atmosphere thanks to cheap-looking set design and Joe D'Amato's flat-looking photography. It's based on the story "The Brides of Countess Dracula" by Ian Danby and Ralph Zucker.

.

The DVD from Shout! Factory is a bad print of the film with lots of damage and bad jumps in both picture and sound. There's an optional version taken from Elvira's "Movie Macabre" show, where she interrupts the film from time to time to make her trademark cheesy wisecracks.

★1/2

Bestia uccide a sangue freddo, La (1971)

...aka: Asylum Erotica

...aka: Beast Kills in Cold Blood, The

...aka: Clinic of Shadows, The

...aka: Cold-Blooded Beast, The

Directed by:

Fernando Di Leo

The 'hotel' of the title is actually a secluded country 'loony bin' where rich men drop off their inexplicably beautiful and unhinged wives. It is never made quite clear, but you get the strong impression that the husbands want rid of these women... permanently! How else can you explain a hospital staff so inept they spend more time in the front yard playing croquet than dealing with the patients? Or the fact that a blonde whack-job can attempt to club a doctor over the head with a log and never be restrained or reprimanded? Or a front lobby filled with Medieval torture weapons that anyone can pick up at any given time? A cloaked killer (seen only in shadow until the end) makes full use of the 'tools' and proceeds to whack off a head with a scythe, chop up a body with an axe, shoot an arrow through a neck and more. While this film may be stretching for the surreal (and I'm really stretching by even suggesting that), and there are a few interesting segments, it still is likely to be a big disappointment to many horror fans. Those looking for female nudity or soft-core porn, however, may want to give it a look. Klaus Kinski has very little to do here as Dr. Francis Clay. He basically spends time sitting around and talking to pouty-lipped recovering patient Cheryl Hume (Margaret Lee). But Kinski's the type of actor who could sit there clipping his toenails and still be a great red herring in films like this. Unfortunately, the script relies less on character quirks to make the actor seem like a suspect than it does on his similar hair-style. Oh well, let's forget about Klaus for a minute...

It is actually Rosalba Neri who has the film's most interesting role and gives the best performance, and she is why this movie isn't a total washout. Handed a throwaway super-slut character (an extreme nymphomaniac named Anne Palmieri), Neri refuses to walk through her role like most of the rest of the cast and injects her character with the proper air of desperation. One of the very best scenes in the film has her writhing in the shower, trying to keep her feverish sexual instincts in check. See, Anne is in such bad shape, she can't even shower without being distracted by thoughts of sex. Wearing an amazing black outfit (which rivals Erika Blanc's in THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE), she tries to sneak off to have sex with the groundskeeper several times, then tries to seduce two orderlies at once. She gets one guy in the sack... errr, greenhouse (her recklessness almost making her an early victim), then ends up slapping the guy in the face because he won't let her stay the night! Alas, Ms. Neri dies earlier than she should and the film comes to a halt without her energy and professionalism.

John Karlsen (BLACK SUNDAY) plays another clinic doctor and Monica Strebel is a lesbian nurse who seduces a young black woman (Jane Garret, who is about as animated as a rock throughout) by massaging her ass, bathing her and dirty dancing to some God awful Euro-pop song. The horror sequences are nothing great (unless you shiver at the thought of ketchup-smeared murders), but the director wears out the zoom lens when it comes to exposing female flesh in extreme close-up. In fact, there are several pretty graphic female masturbation sequences that make this one briefly cross into hard X-rated territory. One even features Ms. Neri. Since the heavy stuff is done in a solitary close-up, it's most likely another actress doing it, but you never can tell.

Original publicity tried to gain an audience by comparing the silly goings-on in this one to the Richard Speck killings! The Shriek Show SLAUGHTER HOTEL DVD release (which uses a print with the title THE COLD-BLOODED BEAST) is a pretty complete version of the film; a good-looking print with most of the nudity, sex and gore intact. It is very well photographed. Unfortunately, there's a major sound problem toward the end where the dialogue is not matched up with the action. Also on the disc is a brief interview with the director, who himself says this film is definitely nothing special but still appreciates the cult following it has. He also harps on the beauty (and figure) of Neri and claims Kinski (despite a difficult reputation) gave him no problems whatsoever and, in fact, ended up giving the entire crew a big tip when he finished filming his scenes!

★1/2

La figlia di Frankenstein (1971)

...aka: Daughter of Frankenstein
...aka: Lady Frankenstein
...aka: Madame Frankenstein

Directed by:
Mel Welles

The Frankenstein saga gets an Italian sleaze upgrade in this fun and highly amusing sleaze epic that’s nowhere near as bad as it’s reputed to be. Top-billed Joseph Cotten doesn't have a whole lot of screen time (only about twenty minutes or so) as weary Baron Frankenstein, but that's OK, his beautiful daughter Tania (“Sara Bay”/Rosalba Neri) has just returned from med school eager to contribute to her father’s experiments. After his first lightning-born creation (played by Paul Whiteman) backfires in a big way - killing him and then escaping the castle to kill some grave-robbers and a few random naked women - Tania decides to redeem the family name (and make sure she is kept sexually satisfied at the same time!) by transferring the brain of her obedient, older doctor lover (Paul Muller) into the virile body of a hulking half-wit. Sure, it's low-aiming exploitation for the most part, but it’s still genuinely fun, the production values are not too bad (there are decent sets, locales and costumes, plus a very good dramatic music score) and Neri is great; an engaging, vicious, demanding, sexy femme fatale who is sick of everyone treating her like a little girl, gleefully attends a public hanging and uses both her brain and her body to manipulate everyone around her to get what she wants. Just as good in a more low-key kind of way is Muller, who manages to be sympathetic amid all the sleaze and puts his heart into a role that really deserves much less.

Former Mr. Universe Mickey Hargitay seems lost as a police captain and Herbert Fux has a good supporting role as a sleazy grave robber. With Renata Kasché, Lorenzo Terzon (The Devil's Nightmare) as Hargitay's assistant, Ada Pometti, Andrea Aureli (The Other Hell), Joshua Sinclair, Herb Andress as a hunchback and Marino Masé. It's also noteworthy as a precursor to Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, mixing the gore, camp sensibilities and sex two years earlier.

★★1/2