Satánico pandemonium (La Sexorsista)

Satánico pandemonium (La Sexorsista)

1975

Director- Gilberto Martínez Solares

Cast- Cecilia Pezet, Enrique Rocha, Delia Magaña

From Mexico

           

   Even if you haven’t seen the film, you probably recognize the name as Selma Hayek’s character, the voluptuous vampire, in From Dusk Till Dawn. Or maybe you recognize the film’s parenthetical title as that of a White Zombie album. If you’ve seen the film, then you know how it could inspire the likes of Rob Zombie and Robert Rodriguez. If you haven’t seen the film, then prepare yourself for a treat and the best example of the so-called nunsploitation sub-genre.

            The film follows a young nun, Sister Maria (Cecilia Pezet). While walking through the woods, she happens upon the Devil (Enrique Rocha), appearing as a handsome, naked, dark haired man. She runs away and prays, but she can’t get the image out of her mind.

          

       Maria is a kind, compassionate woman. We see her caring for the village animals and comforting another sister who feels alone. But the image of the man keeps returning. The tension builds and it has an observable effect.

            

        This change is one of the themes of the film; frustrated desires, over time begin to poison us and warp our perspective as we seek to, unsuccessfully, satisfy or suppress them. Maria first tries clumsily to seduce a young boy. When that fails she tries to force herself on one of her Sisters. Eventually she progresses to an attempted rape but even that is foiled when she ends up killing the boy out of anger.

           

        At her most depraved, Maria seems to realize how far she has sank and in a truly touching moment asks God for help. She seems to have regained some her virtuousness when Satan appears again to tempt her; this time, not with the empty promise of sex but with a reprieve from the consequences of her heinous actions.  He grants her wishes and in the films orgiastic finale her desires turn to ashes in her mouth as the world around her begins to mirror her own dark soul.

            The film’s ending was left open. According to the film’s writer (and son of the director) Adolfo Martinez Solares, the ending was left ambiguous as a sort of denial mechanism in case of pressure from the church or other groups. The film has a reputation of explicitness and exploitation, but, though there is a fair amount of nudity, it is all relevant to the story and themes and not presented in a purely titillating fashion.

     Cecilia Pezet is excellent as the tortured nun. Few actors can display so

so many different motivations so successfully; piety, compassion, fear, lust, anger, rejection, regret. When she begins down her dark path, we want her to be able to make it back. Cecilia didn’t have a very long career and retired from films soon after she made this movie. It’s a shame because she really is something in this film.

Also of note is the score. Sometimes it’s an arrhythmic, discordant cacophony reminiscent of Forbidden Planet, at others it is calm, pastoral strings and hymns. Sometimes it’s both mixed together.

Anyone familiar with sex addiction can see an obvious analog in this film. Maria’s gradual rejection of her values, and the progression of the lengths she is willing to go to, is something any sex addict could identify with.

The movie often draws comparisons to Alucarda, which is fair I suppose. Both are Mexican horror films from the 70s and superficially deal with similar themes. I think this film though is much more poignant.  Alucarda is ultimately about an outsider who lashes out.  Satánico pandemonium is about the loss of self and all that is important to oneself in the pursuit of unsatisfied desires. A tragic, beautiful story.