Mad, seemingly possessed nuns are butchering other nuns in a convent, leading to a wave of panic and hysteria. Seeking some help, Father Inardo (Andrea Aureli) is called in to try to cleanse the convent and rid it of demonic forces, but his efforts prove futile and he is engulfed in flames before he can complete his task. Feeling drastic measures are needed, an unorthodox young priest/investigator named Father Valerio (Carlo De Mejo) is drafted to get to the bottom of things. A self proclaimed "ecclesiastic detective," Fr. Valerio begins investigating the murders, scouring the convent for clues and going through the nun's personal belongings looking for some reasoning behind the senseless slayings. Initially doubtful that demons are actually involved, he senses something is a little off with stern, overprotective Mother Superior, Sister Vicenza (Franca Stoppi), who tries to keep her fellow sisters from talking, seems to be hiding something and refuses to let anyone get near the attic. Is it indeed a case of possession or are the nuns just finding therapeutic new ways to deal with their repression?
Even though it drags from time to time, L'ALTRO INFERNO still has many things going for it. First off, the performances are actually pretty good. Stoppi, who has a very expressive, somewhat sinister looking face, gives the standout performance as the secretive head nun. De Mejo is also tolerable as the hero and all of the smaller roles seem to be done with some skill. Secondly, there's some imaginative set design inside the convent. One corridor is lined with hundreds of skulls, leading up to a secret alchemist's lab (?!) complete with a fiery cauldron, bubbling test tubes, beakers and coffins. Upstairs is another strange Bava-esquire room full of cobwebs and angelic-looking mannequins hanging from the ceiling. Another memorable thing about this one are some truly tasteless touches, notably when a crazed nun cuts the vagina (!) out of a corpse and a flashback sequence where a newborn baby is tossed in a pot of boiling water. The movie seems a little overloaded when it comes to the plot, incorporating most of the religion-themed horror bases; possession, stigmata, voodoo, the birth of the antiChrist... Surprisingly, there's almost no nudity. The score by Goblin I believe is mostly lifted from BUIO OMEGA (BEYOND THE DARKNESS).
Even though it drags from time to time, L'ALTRO INFERNO still has many things going for it. First off, the performances are actually pretty good. Stoppi, who has a very expressive, somewhat sinister looking face, gives the standout performance as the secretive head nun. De Mejo is also tolerable as the hero and all of the smaller roles seem to be done with some skill. Secondly, there's some imaginative set design inside the convent. One corridor is lined with hundreds of skulls, leading up to a secret alchemist's lab (?!) complete with a fiery cauldron, bubbling test tubes, beakers and coffins. Upstairs is another strange Bava-esquire room full of cobwebs and angelic-looking mannequins hanging from the ceiling. Another memorable thing about this one are some truly tasteless touches, notably when a crazed nun cuts the vagina (!) out of a corpse and a flashback sequence where a newborn baby is tossed in a pot of boiling water. The movie seems a little overloaded when it comes to the plot, incorporating most of the religion-themed horror bases; possession, stigmata, voodoo, the birth of the antiChrist... Surprisingly, there's almost no nudity. The score by Goblin I believe is mostly lifted from BUIO OMEGA (BEYOND THE DARKNESS).