Veronica

Veronica

2017

Director- Paco Plaza

Cast- Sandra Escacena, Bruna González, Claudia Placer, Iván Chavero, Ana Torrent, Sonia Almarcha, Maru Valduvielso, Leticia Dolera, Ángela Fabián, Carla Sampra

From Spain

           

     If you are a fan of Spanish horror, the first thing you’ll likely notice is how serious this film is compared to other Spanish horror films. Paul Naschy’s films had an overly dramatic soap opera quality that added a sense of fun in spite of the horror. The more modern films of Álex de la Iglesia have a tongue in cheek absurd quality that takes the edge off. Veronica, on the other hand, is so serious it almost seems American.

            

     Veronica (excellently played by Sandra Escacena) is a teenage girl who is both a latchkey kid and the oldest daughter in her family. Her father is dead and her mother works nights so Veronica has the responsibility of taking care of her 3 younger siblings.

            

     She attempts a séance with a Ouija board during an eclipse. Veronica is hoping to talk with her departed father. Well, someone shows up but it isn’t her father. A demon shows up and latches itself on to Veronica. From that point on she starts experiencing all the classic signs of a haunting; strange noises, terrifying visions and the tell-tale bruises and bite marks. Worst of all, it seems like the offending spirit has set its sights on her younger siblings.

           

      Veronica goes to her mother for help but is predictably rebuffed. A creepy old nun in her Catholic girl’s school (who goes by the unflattering name, Hermana Muerte) has a pretty good idea of what kind of trouble Veronica has gotten herself into and instructs Veronica to redo the séance, but to correct mistakes she made in the original. With no one else to turn to, she seems to have little choice but to tempt fate by conjuring up the very entity that is haunting her.

            

     There are a few things that separate this film from other similar films in this sub-genre. The most obvious is that the majority of the cast are not adults. I think this adds a dimension of desperation as kids lack any real agency in the world, and as such, are particularly powerless. Another big difference is the lack of a happy ending. There is no exorcist to show up to save the day.

            

     The movie gets some of the occult elements wrong (such as using an Icelandic rune, vegvasir,  as some kind of symbol of protection). But minutiae aside it’s still a pretty intelligent occult thriller. Veronica is a compact horror film that gets to the point quickly and crams a lot of frights into a relatively straight forward story.

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.

 

Ninja 3: The Domination

Ninja 3: The Domination

1984

Director- Sam Firstenberg

Cast- Lucinda Dickey, Sho Kosugi, James Hong, Jordan Bennett, David Chung

            Ninja Hanjuro (David Chung) is dispatched on an assassination assignment. He completes the assassination but is pursued and eventually cornered by the police. After a long fight he is eventually gun downed by a squad of policeman.

However, before succumbing to his wounds he escapes. He is found by Christie (Lucinda Dickey) and unbeknownst to her, his spirit passes into her body.  The first thing Christie notices is that she has developed a real talent for kicking ass. She also has visions of the police that gunned Hanjuro down. However, periodically, Hanjuro takes control of Christie’s body and uses her to go out and take revenge. He is systematically hunting down the various policemen that killed him. The top man on his list is Billy (Jordan Bennett) a super annoying cop that has somehow become Christie’s boyfriend.

Christie is aware that something is wrong and visits a spiritualist (veteran genre actor James Hong from Bladerunner, Big Trouble in Little China, Golden Child, and a million other things). Another ninja, Goro (Sho Kosugi) is wise to what has been going on and is trying to stop it. He intercedes and manages to have Hanjuro’s spirit exorcised from Christie’s body so that he can be fought man to man.

This is a Canon film and that should just about tell you everything that you need to know. Canon specialized primarily in lower budget films, particularly action films starring Chuck Norris and Charles Bronson. Whenever they ventured away from this formula into other genres, the results were always interesting if bizarre. Though not a studio known for horror movies, they delivered two of the decades more memorable horror movies; Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 and Lifeforce.

The great thing about Canon was that there didn’t seem to be anyone in charge of quality control. While this often resulted in them making crap, it sometimes resulted in unexpected creativity because there doesn’t seem to have been anyone saying “You can’t do that”, like in one scene where Christie tries to turn her boyfriend on by pouring tomato juice on herself (???). Ninja 3: The Domination mixes so many different disparate elements together and does so unashamedly.

The character of Christie is an obvious rip off of Alex from Flash Dance, a mega hit that had come out the previous year. Whereas Alex was a steel worker trying to make her way as a dancer, Christie is lineman (linewoman?) who works at night as an aerobics instructor. The movie is filled with 80s cheese including Christie having an arcade machine in her living room, which for the early 80s would have made you one of the coolest people around.

It may be hard to imagine in our modern world where ninjas have thoroughly infiltrated all aspects of popular culture, but there was a time when westerners were just starting to learn about them. The 1980s was the Golden Age of the ninja movie and Canon made a lot of them. Along with the 5 films of the American Ninja franchise, Canon also made 3 films with Sho Kosugi; Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja 3: The Domination. The number “3” might lead you to believe this is a continuous storyline , but the films have nothing to do with one another, other than the fact that they star Sho Kosugi.

In the pantheon of action stars, Sho Kosugi occupies an unusual space. He never achieved the fame of other 80s American action stars, though Sho was probably the most legitimately skilled martial artists of the bunch. He never had the broad appeal of his Caucasian counterparts, but real martial arts enthusiasts always appreciated Sho.

Ninjas in those 80s movies were often credited with mystical, even superhuman, powers and this film is no different.  This plays just fine with the rest of the film which throws any idea of logic or restraint right out of the window.

Ninja 3 has become a cult favorite both among Canon movie fans and fans of bizarre films, but its real long term significance lies not with itself but in what it set the stage for. The director, Sam Firstenberg (who also directed Revenge of the Ninja) went on to direct American Ninja which was insanely popular during that decade. No video store worth its salt would have been without American Ninja on its shelves. This was Lucinda Dickey’s first starring role and  it is without a doubt what got her the lead role in her next film, Breakin’ (Ninja 3 was shot first but Breakin’ came out first because Canon was in a rush to be the first studio to release a break dancing movie).

If you aren’t a member of Generation X you probably don’t know about Breakin’, but it was an incredibly successful film that capitalized on the craze of 1984, break dancing. Lucinda also starred in the comically named sequel, Breakin’2: Electric Boogaloo (which was also directed by Firstenberg). To make the point of just how popular that film was, Breakin’ made more money in the domestic box office that year than Red Dawn, The Terminator or Nightmare on Elmstreet!

If you want something scary, or even coherent, you should probably skip Ninja 3. If, on the other hand, you want something fun with absolutely no regard for rules, then give this movie a chance.

The Devil’s Doorway

The Devil’s Doorway

2019

Director- Aislinn Clarke

Cast- Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, Lauren Coe, Ciaran Flynn, Dearbhail Lynch, Carleen Melaugh

From Northern Ireland

            

     Fair warning, this is a “found footage” film, so if you don’t like that particular sub-genre, you may not like this movie. Although I’m one of only three living people that didn’t think that The Blair Witch Project was the best thing since sliced bread, I do see the virtues of this type of film.

            

     Catholic priests, Fathers Thomas and John are sent to a Magdalene Laundry to investigate a reported miracle. If you’re not familiar with the term, a Magdalene Laundry was a “home” for “fallen women”, that is women that had fallen from grace through sexual acts such as prostitutes and un-wed mothers.  These were popular in Ireland from the 18^th through the 20^th centuries, the last one not closing until 1996. Whatever the original intent was, the end result was that these “homes” became sources of free labor where society’s unwanted women were hidden away and forgotten.

            

     The miracle being investigated is the report of a statue of The Virgin Mary bleeding from its eyes. Father John (Ciaran Flynn) is young and idealistic and believes very much that what has happened is a sign from God. Father Thomas (Lalor Roddy), on the other hand, is old and cynical and seen his fair share of hoaxes. Whatever has been happening, he’s pretty sure it’s not divine intervention.

            

     The Fathers quickly find a culture of abuse and isolation overseen by the cruel Mother Superior (Helena Bereen). She has nothing but scorn for the priests who are snooping around in her territory and don’t respect her authority. Finally the priests find a dirty little secret hidden away in the basement; a pregnant girl (Lauren Coe) is chained to the wall. The Mother Superior says that the girl is insane and has to be in shackles for everyone’s safety. The priests have her unchained and examine her. Various supernatural phenomenon occur and there is mounting evidence, despite Father Thomas’ doubts, that the girl is possessed. I want say more than that because I don’t to spoil anything for you.

            

     The Devil’s Doorway has all the typical conventions of the found footage genre; shaky cameras, things barely seen for a second or seen out of focus, strange sounds occurring off-camera. However, two things elevate this film above other similar films. First the director seems to have some skill in telling a story and she doesn’t rely on cheap jump scares. Second the acting is solid, especially between the films protagonist and antagonist. Lalor Roddy gives us a very believable Father Thomas who seems weary and philosophical.  Helena Bereen’s Mother Superior is a hissable villain who drips contempt.

            

     If you like this film, or this genre, you might want to pair it with The Devil inside, another found footage film with a similar subject.

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.

 

Virgin Among the Living Dead

A Virgin Among the Living Dead

1973

Director- Jesús Franco

Cast- Christina von Blanc, Britt Nichols, Rosa Palomar, Anne Libert, Howard Vernon, Nicole Guettard,

From Spain/ France

            

   This movie is one of the best examples of how studio attempts to broaden the appeal of a movie by altering the original vision can lead to the original vision almost being lost.

Originally Franco made Christina, Princess of Eroticism (which I admit is a pretty stupid name). It was a very low key, strange film that was almost reserved (by Franco standards). To boost its appeal, the studio called in another director to shoot some soft core porn, inserted it into the film, and re-released it. The porn scenes by the way were pretty stupid and lacked even the tiniest bit of eroticism. A few years later to capitalize on the Romero inspired zombie craze they called in French director Jean Rollin to shoot some extra scenes of zombies (that absolutely added nothing to the film) so they rebranded it a zombie movie entitled A Virgin Among the Living Dead (which, giving credit where its due, is an awesome name). Well the final name stuck and that’s what  it is best known as, so that’s why I’m listing it by that name.

Christina (Christina Von Blanc) has found out that her deceased father has left her an estate. She arrives to collect the inheritance to find the mansion inhabited by a strange group of her distant relatives. They seem to be very close knit but also have an antagonism toward each other. They also seem threatening in a way that is hard to put your finger on. One seems to be a lesbian (Britt Nichols from Les Demons) who is always trying seduce Christina. Another seems to be an idiot who only speaks gibberish (Franco himself). They all seem to be sharing a private joke with each other that Christina is not in on.

There are several scenes that could be interpreted as ominous dreams including one where Christina sees her dead father with a rope around his neck from where he has been hung. He reveals that his soul is being held by some mysterious “Queen of the Night” (Anne Libert also from Les Demons). Not until the very end of the film do we discover what is going on and the fate of this strange cast.

If you have only seen the “zombie” version of the film, you may be wondering why I included it on a site devoted to infernal films. The “zombie edition” replaced the occult imagery from the original director’s cut. The original Franco version features an occult ritual that has to be seen as analogous to witchcraft or Satanism and one scene rife with archetypal subtext where Christina, naked, kneels before a giant phallus. 

The “zombie” version of the film not only negates the occult symbolism, it adds pointless zombies in scenes that are shot to hide the fact that the main actress was not actually present.  For years, Virgin was the only version of the film that was readily available. Luckily, for completionists, Redemption video has released a Blu-ray that has the original, unaltered, Franco version Christina, Princess of Eroticism and the zombie themed A Virgin Among the Living Dead and as a bonus, the  extras contain the silly soft core porn scenes from the “sexy” version. However, feel free to watch Christina and skip the rest.

Exorcism (Jesús Franco)

Exorcism (Exorcisme)

1974

Director- Jesús Franco,

Cast- Lina Romay, Jesús Franco, Catherine Laferriere, Lynn Monteil

            Not be confused with the Paul Naschy film of the same name, this movie doesn’t actually have any exorcisms, at least not in the traditional sense.

            Anna and Rose are a pair of performance artists who work for an S&M themed magazine. They specialize in live performances of Satanic themed rituals with simulated torture and human sacrifices. They put on these shows for bored rich people who need their jaded sex drives kick started. The problem is they have attracted an unwanted fan.

            Vogel (played by Franco himself) is a writer for that same magazine and rumor has it that he is a defrocked priest. Well, the rumors are true, he was once a man of the cloth but now he takes an unwholesome interest in Anna (played by Franco’s real life longtime lover, Lina Romay). Vogel sees all the Satanic mumbo jumbo as real and starts picking off girls in the periphery of that social circle. He kidnaps them and murders them, sometimes torturing them as a part of their “exorcism”, all in the name of saving their souls. Eventually he works up the guts to go after Anna herself.

            Franco was perfect for the part of the former priest turned sexual pervert. I don’t want to speak ill of the dead, but he really looks like a creep in this film. Lina Romay is beautiful and vivacious, looking like an early goth icon with her long black hair.

            Exorcism could only have been made in the 70s with its mixture of Satanic fascination and pre-AIDS era swingers, who are the movies victims. The movie has a ton of sex and some of the torture scenes are quite prolonged, though they don’t approach anything close to the modern “torture porn” movies. It’s not a particularly scary movie but is a good example of the B grade psychological thrillers of that day.

            Franco’s movies were often re-released with different names after being re-edited to appeal to different audiences. This movie was heavily edited and re-released as Demoniac (not to be confused with the Jean Rollin movie Les Démoniaques). There is absolutely no reason to watch that version as literally half the movie is cut out including the vast majority of the sex and violence.