I was quite impressed by this film! Surprised actually, by how involving it was on a problem solving level. Just by reading the box you more or less know going into the film that a young woman (Kelly Curtis, who is a dead-ringer for sister Jamie Lee at times) is going to be inducted into some kind of satanic cult, and that she will be used for some kind of blasphemous purpose to bring forth a new son of Lucifer. The fun is in watching her otherwise staid life spiral out of control after she comes in contact with a weird old man (Euro Horror legend & Captain Nemo actor Herbert Lom) who "isn't ready to die yet".
Sure, it's ROSEMARY'S BABY all over again with production by Dario Argento, but the film is completely unpredictable the first time through in ways that were quite engaging: One endeavored to puzzle out the meanings of otherwise unrelated mundane things like blue strands in glasses of water, demonic bunnies, plumbing design, trees decorated with ornaments glittering in the sun, pelicans, fuzz falling from the sky, truck stops, rows of numbers, nasty old napkins, suicidal doctors, basements that are bigger than the houses upstairs, beds crawling with worms, giant fishhooks with finger handles, and the use of America's "A Horse With No Name" two years before the song was released.
I mention the latter because it was the first instance of the movie stumbling, and took place about forty seconds into the proceedings. The only other time when the film stumbled was about two minutes before the end when a seemingly random event interrupted what was otherwise supposed to be someones pre-destined fate. If her fate was pre-destined, how could that have changed? The answer is that it was a plot device perhaps demanded by a producer who thought that the script was getting a bit long in the tooth. But up until then it's a riveting example of Euro Horror from the end of it's cycle: Post-Argento Italian horror. The film might be a bit too methodical in it's unraveling than fans of DEMONS or THE BEYOND might prefer, but stick with it!
The movie pays off a bunch of times and once more to be clear, right up until the last few minutes is as good of a film about this subject matter as you can ask for. It also has an interesting agenda about the power of evil being beyond what any mere one of us can resist, though we can play a role in carrying out it's wishes if we so choose. The rest of the world will turn a blind eye preferring not to believe and finding other answers, starting with "you're just imagining things". Here is a movie that knows this is what we expect and plays with it, unveiling a mythical subversive alternate culture within our own bent upon bringing Satan back to Earth once again, and untouchable due to social considerations we ourselves take for granted. That their plans could be averted by a plot device is somewhat annoying, but if that's the trade off for 110 minutes of otherwise crackerjack horror I'm happy to pay the price.
8/10; Seek it out, you can find old videos for the price of the change between the cushions of your sofa.
Sure, it's ROSEMARY'S BABY all over again with production by Dario Argento, but the film is completely unpredictable the first time through in ways that were quite engaging: One endeavored to puzzle out the meanings of otherwise unrelated mundane things like blue strands in glasses of water, demonic bunnies, plumbing design, trees decorated with ornaments glittering in the sun, pelicans, fuzz falling from the sky, truck stops, rows of numbers, nasty old napkins, suicidal doctors, basements that are bigger than the houses upstairs, beds crawling with worms, giant fishhooks with finger handles, and the use of America's "A Horse With No Name" two years before the song was released.
I mention the latter because it was the first instance of the movie stumbling, and took place about forty seconds into the proceedings. The only other time when the film stumbled was about two minutes before the end when a seemingly random event interrupted what was otherwise supposed to be someones pre-destined fate. If her fate was pre-destined, how could that have changed? The answer is that it was a plot device perhaps demanded by a producer who thought that the script was getting a bit long in the tooth. But up until then it's a riveting example of Euro Horror from the end of it's cycle: Post-Argento Italian horror. The film might be a bit too methodical in it's unraveling than fans of DEMONS or THE BEYOND might prefer, but stick with it!
The movie pays off a bunch of times and once more to be clear, right up until the last few minutes is as good of a film about this subject matter as you can ask for. It also has an interesting agenda about the power of evil being beyond what any mere one of us can resist, though we can play a role in carrying out it's wishes if we so choose. The rest of the world will turn a blind eye preferring not to believe and finding other answers, starting with "you're just imagining things". Here is a movie that knows this is what we expect and plays with it, unveiling a mythical subversive alternate culture within our own bent upon bringing Satan back to Earth once again, and untouchable due to social considerations we ourselves take for granted. That their plans could be averted by a plot device is somewhat annoying, but if that's the trade off for 110 minutes of otherwise crackerjack horror I'm happy to pay the price.
8/10; Seek it out, you can find old videos for the price of the change between the cushions of your sofa.