Director: Camillo Mastrocinque
Year: 1966
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Un angelo per Satana
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Arriving in a remote village, a restorer finds the area under extreme superstitious beliefs that begin affecting their way of life as well as the means of his stay, and when it’s revealed the cause of everything might be the strange statue unearthed just before he arrived sets out to stop it.
Review:
This was a fairly fun and enjoyable Gothic horror outing. Among the better elements here is the fantastic way this sets up life in the village for everyone that comes unglued when he arrives under the influence of the curse. With his arrival punctuated by the setup of the fishermen recovering the strange statue and what it means to the rest of the village, the impending return of a family member who was off at school studying, and the suspected influence that comes together with these elements all make for a solid start to this one. The concurrent build-up about the history involving the statue and what he tries to accomplish with restoring the damaged object comes about with the two establishing a sort of relationship together based on him needing her to model for the restored statue that brings them together.
That allows for some rather enjoyable moments as we see the influence overtaking her and setting off on a more fervent genre route. With it all starting in the restoration room when the vision of the witch returns to offer up a series of threatening messages that sets the ensuing chaos into motion, it generates the kind of exceptional starting point that feels in tune with the setting. As it slowly becomes apparent that a curse is enacted that’s not just against the villagers but also generates a possession angle with the idea of the witch possessing the daughter with how she reacts to others around her with openly vicious flirtations that grow violent at the drop of a hat when it becomes time to start tormenting the locals. These include a series of encounters where she preys on their vulnerabilities and sensibilities while still offering up the kind of solid groundwork that comes about from the implications of the curse affecting her to act that way.
It all comes to a fine head in the finale where the whole thing starts to become far more obvious about what’s going on. As the possession takes hold and starts to affect relationships not just with the servant who gets seduced under her watch that impacts the boyfriend but also the way she starts in on the art restorer staying there while also taking care of the other women in the village through the other servant under her spell. It’s all brought to a head with a fantastic finale full of great melodramatic Gothic action and reveals that feature some striking visuals and ideas about what’s going on not just in the house but the village as well with everything given quite a fantastic space to breathe which brings about a lot to like. It does have a minor drawback in how the whole reveal comes about, with this one bringing up a villain out of nowhere to save face, and makes little sense as to what’s gone on before trying to make the reveal come together. This is the main issue here as this is a great time overall.
Overview: ****.5/5
One of the finest Gothic horror efforts in the genre, this one has so much to like and barely any damaging flaws that it stands out quite heavily in that regard. Those who appreciate this kind of Gothic feature, enjoy the style presented with this one, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here while those who don’t like these factors should heed caution.
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