5/10
Semi-skimmed Exorcist
15 March 2018
C'mon Satan, get the finger out. You started off okay with Beyond The Door and The Antichrist, then totally fumbled the ball with Magdalena possessed by the Devil. You're supposed to be trying to take the souls of the human race from that of God, so why are you settling on making teenagers randy foul-mouthed rebels? That's what they are anyway!

This one starts quite good, with art student Danila getting involved with restoring a very life-like figure on a cross that her university have purchased. Danila's got some domestic problems. Her father (Chris Avram) is drifting away from her mother (Lucretia Love), who is having an affair with hunky Gabrielle Tinti. Lucretia's a bit kinky too, so it doesn't help that Danila happens upon Gabrielle whipping the crap out of Lucretia with a bunch of roses, and Lucretia screaming for him to do it harder. Danila goes off to concentrate on her work, restoring some art back at college.

This is where perhaps the best scene of the film happens, as while Danila is working away on her project, the man on the cross behind her suddenly starts moving, comes to life as a Satanic Ivan Rassimov, and makes sweet sweet love to Danila on the floor of the studio while a weird wind blows about. Then again, shortly afterwards, Danila regains her senses fully clothed, restoring her painting. So what's going on? And what creepy bastard is following her around.

Of course Danila starts acting possessed and indulges in some furious self-abuse witnessed by her parents, so soon begins the jibber jabber about real illness versus possession and the whole film descends into boredom, save for a nightmare sequence where Danila enters a demonic ceremony and Ivan Rassimov (who makes a good Satan) nails her to a crosss. Sadly, after this bit, it's off to Exorcist-lite territory as Danila gets shipped off to a convent and priest Luigi Pistilli is brought in to sort her out in a very underwhelming finale.

This of course happens a lot in exploitation cinema, but it doesn't do us fans much good to track down a film and find it's a weaker version of the film it's trying to rip off. You could probably watch the first half and just switch it off, because up until then it's a fine film. Umberto Raho has a great moustache in this one, however.
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