Black Magic Rites

Black Magic Rites

1973

Director- Renato Polselli

Cast- Mickey Hargitay, Rita Calderoni, Raoul Lovecchio, Krysta Barrymore, Consolata Moschera,  Cristina Perrier, William Darni, Stefania Fassio

From Italy

           

Known in Italy by its much longer titles Rites, Black Spells and Secret Orgies in the Fourteenth Century (thank god they shortened that title), this is a hard film to characterize. Some of the performances are so hammy and exaggerated it seems certain that they must have been playing it for laughs. The story proceeds along with not much explanation despite some strange things happening, sometimes to the point of being surreal, so you do have to infer and guess why things are happening. The payoff for this confusion is a continuous cavalcade of beautiful naked women, so you take the good with the bad.

            As for the story, 500 years ago, Isabella was burned for witchcraft. She was also staked through the heart in a pretty long, gruesome scene. All the town’s nobility was present at the burning and it seems like every man present was in love with her. Somehow, Isabella’s power reincarnated all the men 500 years later as vampires. Their primary job was to round up and sacrifice virgins in Satanic rituals that were somehow supposed to bring Isabella back. Along with all of her paramours being brought back as vampires, it seems like the female nobility was also brought back to be their victims. As one of the characters says when this premise is explained, “Don’t try to understand it.”

Skip the film if you want a coherent storyline. On the other hand, if you like lots of nudity with some interesting visuals, then pick it up.