Monday, October 28, 2019

The Devil's Wedding Night





The Devil’s Wedding Night (Full Moon of the Virgins, Il plenilunio delle vergini)
1973
Director- Luigi Batzella, Joe D'Amato
From Italy
Cast- Mark Damon, Rosalba Neri, Esmeralda Barro, Xiro Papas, Enza Sbordone
            
    I have to confess, I came across this movie by accident by way of Elvira’s Movie Macabre, which is fine by me. If I had my way, all B movies would be hosted by Elvira. And make no mistake, this is a B movie. Its super confusing sometimes but this movie stands out not because it is well put together but because it is so original. It definitely wasn’t written by formulaic studio executives cashing in on tried and true tropes.
            
     Franz (long time Hollywood veteran, Mark Damon) is a scholar in search of the fabled Ring of the Nibelung (yes the same Ring that is at the center of the Wagner operas, bet you weren’t expecting that!) So he sets out on a quest for Castle Dracula in Transylvania where his research has told him that it has ended up. Franz is familiar with the region’s vampiric reputation so he takes some protection. Does he take a cross? No, he takes an amulet of the demon Pazuzu (yes, that Pazuzu, the antagonist of The Exorcist).
            
    Franz arrives to find he is on the eve of a night that the local villagers fear, The Night of the Virgin moon, a night that occurs once every 50 years. On that night, virgin girls disappear to who knows what end. Franz goes to the castle and rather than finding Dracula, he finds a beautiful countess and her exotic servant girl. The Countess seduces him and turns out to be a vampire herself. She turns him into one too and at this point the movie goes a little off the rails with some vaguely psychedelic montage that does include some hot Elizabeth Bathory-esque imagery.
            

    Did I mention that Franz has a twin brother? Taking a page from Twins of Evil, Franz’s brother shows up (also played by Damon). The Countess uses her magic Ring to summon up some hot virgins, invokes various Lords of Hell, and has herself a Black Mass with lots of nudity and virgin sacrifice, all for the purpose of enabling the dear departed Dracula to inhabit Franz’s body. His brother of course tries to foil this scheme.
           
    The movie feels like the product of loving fans, the same kind that write fan fiction where Superman fights Galactus or Indiana Jones teams up with Hellboy. I mean, in one movie we get Norse mythology, Pazuzu, Dracula, and Satanism all with a heavy Hammer influence and generous helpings of nudity. If only more movies were this gutsy (crazy?)
  



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