I remember seeing the "world television network premiere!" of this movie in 1978. I loved it, and having watched it a few times since then, I have to say, it is not a great movie, insofar as it goes. It does, however, maintain suspense and mystery, a consistently creepy atmosphere, in the sense of foreboding and doom up through the end. And the ending has to be seen to be believed. I gather it was very controversial, and really still is controversial. Words like tasteless and exploitative appear in reviews. At the very least, the concluding scene is pretty shocking.
Besides the suspense, mystery, and creepiness, this movie has an amazing cast from top to bottom. Lots of great character actors, and other actors who had not yet become gigantic stars but soon would. Although, wow, is this a white movie. There is not a single cast member that I can recall, I don't even think a single extra, who isn't white.
Besides the latter flaw, others include, not surprisingly, a script that does not know anything about Catholicism even though Catholicism is an important part of the plot (i.e., the outdated and all too common incorrect understanding that attempted or completed suicide is a mortal sin that automatically damns you to hell - that belief ceased being a thing after Vatican 2, many years before this movie and the novel on which it is based came out); and other flaws with how damnation is represented (the novelist and/or screenwriter seem to believe that someone with goodness and love in their heart can still wind up in hell, which is a dumb idea for the sheer illogic of it). I just really dislike writing that doesn't do basic research or lacks logic.
In spite of those flaws, when all is said and done, anyone who is a particular fan of 1970s American horror probably ought to see this.
Besides the suspense, mystery, and creepiness, this movie has an amazing cast from top to bottom. Lots of great character actors, and other actors who had not yet become gigantic stars but soon would. Although, wow, is this a white movie. There is not a single cast member that I can recall, I don't even think a single extra, who isn't white.
Besides the latter flaw, others include, not surprisingly, a script that does not know anything about Catholicism even though Catholicism is an important part of the plot (i.e., the outdated and all too common incorrect understanding that attempted or completed suicide is a mortal sin that automatically damns you to hell - that belief ceased being a thing after Vatican 2, many years before this movie and the novel on which it is based came out); and other flaws with how damnation is represented (the novelist and/or screenwriter seem to believe that someone with goodness and love in their heart can still wind up in hell, which is a dumb idea for the sheer illogic of it). I just really dislike writing that doesn't do basic research or lacks logic.
In spite of those flaws, when all is said and done, anyone who is a particular fan of 1970s American horror probably ought to see this.