Sukkubus

 

Sukkubus: Den Teufel im Leib

1989 (from Germany)

Director- George Tressler

Cast- Pamela Prati, Peter Simonischek, Giovanni Früh, Andreas Voss

            This movie is about the Alpine legend of the Sennentuntschi. In the legend, herdsman, alone in the mountains, get drunk and make a doll resembling a woman. They talk to it, treat it like a person, and eventually try to have carnal relations with it. The doll comes to life and punishes the herdsmen quite severally for their sinful behavior.

            In this retelling of the story there are three herdsmen; a boy learning the trade; a very serious herdsman who tends to be self-righteous, and a lecherous herdsman who’s not above anything, even attempting to rape the boy. The boy finds a root that looks vaguely like a face and keeps it. Later, when the herdsmen make their doll, the root is used for the head.

Beyond being a retelling of the legend, the movie takes a pretty good dip into folklore with lots of little things like the men’s superstitious rituals, all intended to protect them and their herd from harm. The lecherous herdsman drapes a whore’s stocking over his ax, believing it will protect him from any witch. He dips his rune etched knife in milk, announcing “Milk on steal, the Devil has no deal”, His righteous fellow herdsman spreads milk on the grass as a kind of primitive offering to God. At one point, when they pass a crude picture of The Devil etched into a rock wall, one man protects himself with the sign of the cross, while the other draws a pentangle.

The film does a good job of showing how Christianity and pagan customs mix so thoroughly that the practitioners don’t see any contradiction or irony. Its all just magic really, rituals practiced to produce a desired effect The whole legend revolves around the idea of sympathetic magic, in this case, treating the doll like a person creates the person, similar to the Greek myth of Pygmalion.

The succubus that appears (Pamela Prati) is wild eyed and feral. Her mane of red hair will probably make you think of Erika Blanc’s succubus in The Devil’s Nightmare or Nicole Fortier’s red haired succubus in The Unholy. Maybe there is something about succubae and red hair?

Rather than the “typical” succubus behavior of appearing seductively in dreams or demurely offering to fulfill the men’s fantasies, this succubus appears in broad daylight, taunting the men, practically daring them to do something about her. Even though there is a fair amount of nudity in the film, none of it is presented as particularly tantalizing. Indeed, the nature of the herdsmen (mean, perverse, self-righteous) make the idea of sex seem unappetizing.

How the herdsmen deal with her tells us a lot about them and in that respect the film serves as a character study. Their reactions to her range, at various times, from trying to stubbornly ignore the succubus to devising a cruel bestial torture for her. By the end of the film, you’ll probably be rooting for the succubus.

One note for potential viewers. A lot of folk horror movies attempt to show the everyday lives of people in the cultures depicted. This is a movie about cattle herdsmen. There is a scene where a cow is butchered. I don’t know whether it was special effects or real, but given the budget of the film, I suspect the latter. I don’t think it should turn you off from the film, but there may be about 10 seconds you need to fast forward through.

Sukkubus is a very small film (four actors) that provides the viewer with a peak into a different culture with lots of interesting folklore. Look for it if you are a fan of the genre or are looking for something different on your viewing list.

Fun fact: another German film, Sennentuntschi.(2010) uses the same legend as the backdrop for a mystery.

Malabimba

Malabimba- The Malicious Whore

1979

Director- Andrea Bianchi

Cast- Katell Laennec, Patrizia Webley, Enzo Fisichella, Giuseppe Marrocco, Mariangela Giordano, Elisa Mainardi, Giancarlo Del Duca, Pupita Lea Scuderoni

            

     The story begins with a rich aristocratic family participating in a séance. The medium summons up Lucrezia, the spirit of an old, and apparently horny, family ancestor. The spirit begins by sexually assaulting all those present before settling down and making itself at home in the body of Bimba (Katell Laennec) the developmentally arrested and sexually naïve teenage daughter.

            

     Bimba quickly turns into a foul mouthed pervert. Her behavior is made all the more shocking because the family tries to maintain an air of prudery. However, Bimba has some competition in the horny department. Nais (Patrizia Webley) is married into the family and is a take charge kind of lady, especially when it comes to seducing the various men in the family. Bimba spies on Nais and gets some ideas of her own.

            

     

     The family goes through the usual hand wringing typical of exorcism movies including calling in a doctor who assures them that nothing is wrong. On staff at the family’s estate is a nun-in-training, Sister Sophia (Mariangela Giordano who you may recognize from Killer Barbies, Satan’s Babydoll and The Devil’s Daughter). Sister Sophia correctly diagnoses the problem as a spiritual malady and tries to help Bimba, only to find out that she was in fact the evil spirit’s target all along.

            

      Malabimba is one of the many, many exorcism films that came in the wake of The Exorcist, some better than others. Malabimba’s script is basically a stripped down version of The Exorcist; all the outrage with none of the suspense or character development. At first glance it’s just a pornographic adaptation of William Friedkin’s movie. At second glance, it’s still just a pornographic adaptation. But on third glance, this is a really clever, chance taking film.

            

    

    The film takes shots at hypocritical sexual attitudes. Nais is viewed as a wanton harlot, yet the men in the family don’t seem to have a problem with helping her satisfy her sexual appetites. It also has fun with its exploitation nature. In the Exorcist, Regan shocks her family by peeing on the carpet during a dinner party. Here, Bimba gives the guests some full frontal nudity. Instead of the demon jumping into the priest at the end of an exorcism, here that is accomplished via a lesbian sex scene.

           

     Though Katell Laennec ,as Bimba, is supposed to be a Lolita figure, I don’t think that goal was realized. Though she was only 18 when the film was shot, she doesn’t have that Lolita look that you see in something like Don’t Deliver Us from Evil. She is convincing as the sexual predator. She seduces a nun, tries to seduce her father and kills her sick uncle by felating him until his heart gives out. She’s also hell on her collection of stuffed animals.

 Despite all of this perversity, Bimba’s scenes are overshadowed by the buxom blonde, Patrizia Webley. She steals every scene she is in. Patrizia was in several exploitation films during this era and also did some layouts in “men’s magazines.” Her character of Nais is an interesting departure from a lot of the vixens in sexploitation films. She’s not the victim, she’s the aggressor. She demands that her partner’s make her happy and she never suffers a single consequence for her sexual antics. How many times do we see characters murdered or otherwise punished after engaging in salacious behavior; not here!

       

     

     It was not uncommon during this era for multiple versions of the same film to be released, one version for mainstream audiences and another version with hardcore sex. The works of Jess Franco are a good example of this. This film has a few hardcore inserts but they add nothing to the film. Not only are they obviously “stunt genitals” not belonging to the actors, but the film was already pretty erotic without actual penetration.

            

     This movie is sometimes thought of as nunsploitation and I suppose, in the loosest sense, it is. It has a nun and some lesbian sex, which seems to be the two main ingredients for the genre. However, nunsploitation usually comes with a healthy dose of cynicism toward the Church and other conventions that are not present here. The nun in this film is, at best, only the 4^th most important character.

            

      If you want a scary film, this is not it. If you want something deep and thought provoking, this is definitely not for you. But if you want a great example of 70s Euro sexploitation, and don’t mind a ton crotch close ups, this film is for you.

 

The Black Gate

The Black Gate

2017

Directors- Guillaume Beylard, Fabrice Martin

Cast- Jeanne Dessart, Nicolas Couchet, Jonathan Raffin , Fabrice Martin, Antony Cinturino, Benjamin Combettes, Michel Coste, Patricia Flecher, Charles Gréa, Carl Laforêt, Jaques Langlois

From France

            

     Sarah and David (Jeanne Dessart and Nicolas Couchet) are orphaned siblings. They have an uncle, Simon, who was known to be a little weird and Sarah receives word from him that hints that he may know something about the death of their parents. They journey to the picturesque remote village where he lives to find out what he knows. They soon find out that not only is their uncle dead, they realize that he was involved in something sinister.      

           

      In his youth, Simon found an ancient grimoire in a cave. In the years since he had devoted his life to unraveling its mysteries. He discovers that he book holds the secret to opening a gate to a dark dimension. He opens that gate and evil cloaked entities pour through, killing the members of the town.

            

     Thrown into this mix is Jeff (Jonathan Raffin), one of a trio of murderous bandits that are on the lam after a heist in which they killed a cop. His two fellow thieves soon meet with grisly ends and Jeff has to strike an uneasy alliance with David and Sarah.

            

     Sarah decodes the mysteries of the grimoire and realizes that to close the gate they will have to do it on the other side. They journey to the other dimension filled with zombies and more of the mysterious cloaked beings.

           

     Even though this is French, not Italian, there seems to be a heavy Lucio Fulci influence. First there is the whole gate to hell theme as seen in his Gates ofHell trilogy. There is also a fascination with corpses with no eyes, and people getting their eyes gouged /poked out.  The zombies, in their design, are very Fulci-esque. And last but not least, we get some gross maggots (though not nearly as many as a Fulci film). I think a good way to characterize this film would be what if Lucio Fulci had made The Evil Dead.

           

      This is a low budget, independent film and the viewer needs to go in with that in mind. It’s made by people with limited experience and resources, but they make the most of what they have. Some of the action scenes look cheap but they obviously devoted their budget to the gore and make up effects which look as good as anything in any big budget film. The cinematography needed some help. It was too dark to see what was happening in some scenes and so bright it was distracting in others. Some of the individual scenes ,though, were well shot with interesting angles and colorful lighting.

           

     

     The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously. It is more interested with being entertaining than thoroughly realistic. David carries a samurai sword for most of the film and even after two viewings I can’t figure out where he got it. There is even a brief 80’s style montage complete with some hair metal in the background.

           

     I really liked the idea of traveling through the gate to the alternate dimension.  It reminded me of the sequel to the 80s movie,The Gate. If The Black Gate ever gets a sequel, I hope they explore this more.

           

      Over all, the movie has some forgivable flaws, but it’s gutsy and takes chances. And in my book that goes along way.

Les Démoniaques (The Demoniacs)

  

Les Démoniaques (The Demoniacs)

1974

Director- Jean Rollin

From France

Cast- Lieva Lone, Patricia Hermenier, Joëlle Cœur, John Rico, Willy Braque, Mireille Dargent, Miletic Zivomir, Paul Bisciglia, Ben Zimet

           

      If you are familiar with the work of Jean Rollin you may be surprised at how relatively straight forward this film is. His films are often dreamlike, filled with symbolism. This film has a pretty simple narrative and goes from A to B in a pretty straight line. That’s not to say, however, that the film follows our preconceived notions of how the story should unfold. In a Rollin’s film, many things happen that the viewer just needs to accept at face value without wondering why it happened a certain way or why it didn’t happen in a more conventional way.

            

      A group of criminals, called “the wreckers”, make a living by luring ships into the shore and crashing them on the rocks. They then murder the survivors and loot the salvage. The wreckers are The Captain (Rico), his two henchmen and his moll, Tina (Cœur). They come upon two hapless girls (Lieva Lone and Patricia Hermenier) that are survivors of one of their engineered wrecks. The crew of outlaws then brutally rape the girls, beat them and leave them for dead. However, the next day the Captain starts having visions that the girls are still alive and becomes obsessed with finding them again and finishing the job.

           

     

   The girls, meanwhile, have survived and sought refuge in an old ruin near the coast. The girls, who never talk and are never named, are the typical waifs of Rollin’s films; their desperation seems to heighten their sex appeal.

           

     Trapped in this ruin is the Devil (Zivomir). No horns and pitchfork here, however. Imagine a really intense David Copperfield dressed like a 1970s superhero (again, don’t ask questions). The Devil strikes a bargain with the girls. In exchange for freeing him, he will grant them the power to exact their revenge on their attackers. The girls agree and he makes love to them one after the other, granting them his power.

            

     The movie then builds to a confrontation between the girls and the outlaws, but don’t expect it to go the way you think. This is not some supernatural version of I Spit on Your Grave. More sex, violence, and madness are in store for us before the story reaches its conclusion.

           

     As the two protagonists don’t talk, a lot was depending on the villains to progress the story.  John Rico is good as the cruel Captain driven to madness over the memory and guilt of his countless crimes. Stealing the show however (and the person that really makes this film) is Joëlle Coeur as Tina. She is so wild and violent. Her sexuality is uncontrollable and she seems to take a real sensual pleasure in cruelty. I could watch the move again just to see her crazed nymphomaniac.

            

     Though Rollin’s preferred subject was vampirism, this journey into supernatural revenge, sex and violence, makes for an entertaining, arousing, and disturbing story.

   

Devil’s Kiss (La perversa caricia de Satán)

Devil’s Kiss (La perversa caricia de Satán)

1976

Director- Jordi Gigó

Cast- Silvia Solar, Olivier Mathot, José Nieto, Evelyne Scott, María Silva

            Clair is a vengeful Countess who has lost her standing. She married a man who was viewed as too good for her by his family. They turned their backs on him and he killed himself out of depression. She teams up with a professor who is not only telepathic, but is also working on a formula to regenerate dead tissue (yep, you read that sentence right). His formula works on the tissue but does nothing as far as actually generating the spark of life and reanimating the dead. They join forces and hatch a plan for her revenge. He operates on a recently deceased corpse, injecting it with serum to repair its cells. She, using occult rituals, summons the powers of darkness to breathe life into the lifeless husk. Using his telepathy, the professor plans to control the reanimated zombie and have it kill the Countesses enemies.

            There is a fly in the ointment though. The professor has a failing heart and his control over the zombie is slipping. One night, the zombie breaks free of his control and kills some people not on the hit list, including the maid in the mansion that the  professor and Countesses are staying in as guests. No problem, just reanimate her right and no one will know. Except that the zombie maid breaks free of his control and murders someone else. Things get out of control and the authorities get involved as the Countesses’ scheme falls apart.

            The movie is pretty low budget and not particularly scary. However, it’s weird plot of a telepathically controlled, Satanic fueled, Frankenstein-eque monster is pretty original. There’s no telling what they could have done with a larger budget. Watch it if you want some out of the ordinary Euro horror.

Exorcism (Paul Naschy)

 

Exorcism

1975

Director- Juan Bosch

Cast- Paul Naschy, Maria Perschy, Maria Kosti,   Mercedes Molina (as Grace Mills)

From Spain

            Not to be confused the with the Jess Franco movie of the same name, which came out around the same time. Given that this movie came out a few years after the Exorcist, it would be tempting to label it as an Exorcist rip off, but the only thing the movies have in common is a climactic battle between a priest and a possessed victim.

            Starring Spanish horror legend Paul Naschy, this is a murder mystery involving a young girl who has been dabbling with a Satanic cult. Like other Italian and Spanish horror films of this time, the movie is more fun than a lot of American films.  It gets to the point quicker ups the sensationalism.

            Paul Naschy is (as always) good as well as Mercedes Molina as the possessed girl.  The possession doesn’t become obvious until near the end of the film, which is too bad because the make-up (especially the milky, marbled eyes) was pretty good.

            Compared to most of the other exorcism movies out there, this one isn’t very scary. The possession almost takes backseat to the murder storyline. So why watch it? Because it has Paul Naschy! You should always take the chance to watch Paul at work, especially when he is out of his trademark wolfman make-up.

 

The Devil's Nightmare

The Devil’s Nightmare 

1971

Director- Jean Brismée

From Belgium

Cast-  Erika Blanc, Jean Servais, Daniel Emilfork, Ivana Novak, Shirley Corrigan, Jacques Monseau, Lucien Raimbourg

From Belgium

            

      The film begins at the end of WW2 with a German officer killing his newborn daughter. Fast forward 20 years and we find out that the officer is the latest descendant of a cursed family where all of the girls are destined to become succubi.

           

      A group of tourists become stranded in the family castle during a storm. They are a motley crew that don’t get along, well except for the ones who are having sex with each other. The fun really begins when Lisa, a beautiful lone read head, turns up. Unbeknownst to all (except for the viewer) she is a succubus who intends to kill each person in a state of mortal sin, thus condemning their souls.

            

      The movie then becomes a sort of morality play with each person being brought down by their weaknesses; the glutton is seduced with a sumptuous feast, the greedy wife with the promise of gold, the unfaithful couple with sex. The plot gets a little lazy when the succubus takes one victim, with no obvious desires, and just tosses him out of a window.

            

       Of course the best reason to watch the film is for Erika Blanc (A Dragonfly for Each Corpse, Mark of the Devil Part 2, The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave). With her red hair, lithe body, and skimpy outfits, she would have made a good choice if they had ever made a movie of Marvel’s Satana.