Director: Jess Franco
Year: 1974
Country: France
Alternate Titles: Les possédées du diable; Linda, A Devilish Nightmare; Exorcism
Genre: Supernatural
Plot:
Wanting to get away, a man takes his family on a vacation to a special resort to get better acclimated to everything going on in their lives, but when he realizes that a special demonic pact from a witch has come due involving his daughter, he sets out to save her from the deal.
Review:
Overall, this was a fairly solid if still problematic erotic horror effort. What works the best for this one is the immensely likable setup that allows for the film to provide the kind of unhinged atmosphere that works nicely here. The central storyline works far better than expected, with the whole idea taking on the idea of the Faustian bargain gone wrong, with the deal with the witch to sacrifice his daughter to her on her eighteenth birthday, and that falling in line with the family vacation being disrupted by a changed destination that upsets everyone. The more that this unveils the true extent of the deal and what the conditions were about, spelling out the motivation for the trip, what everyone is looking for, and the means of trying to ensure the deal is unsuccessful, the film manages to provide a great setup that serves the film nicely enough.
As a work-through of the fine setup here, the film is loaded with a slew of effective and generally sleazy sexual antics. Opening with an extended and full-on view of lesbian shenanigans that comes complete with the usual scale of close-ups, zoom shots, and openness with frontal nudity that comes complete in these types of films, there’s a great starting point to witness the rest of the interactions that take place. With interactions involving the father and his wife or the daughter taking the main girl to bed in an extended sequence that has some of the most haunting and uncomfortable imagery in his catalog featured, the frequency of it all makes everything come together rather nicely, as the usual assortment of performers getting involved here are well-equipped to provide such material, with the hardcore nature of everything on display making this stand out all that much more.
The other factor here, which is most certainly a viewer preference as to whether it’s a detriment or enhancement, involves the eerily slow and hypnotic atmosphere present. Way too much of the film unfolds in elongated, dream-like shots where the characters wander around in extended sequences that try to present an unnatural state that depicts everyone here going through the motions as if in a daze. Not just with the way they interact with each other, but with the overlong sequences that continually drag on regardless of whether it’s just interacting normally or engaging in a sexual encounter, causing this to run on far longer than it should. Those who appreciate this kind of content won’t mind at all, but it’s fairly easy to be distracted and underwhelmed by this, especially if you’re already put off by the flimsy production values and lack of gore on display.
Overview: ****/5
One of the more effective entries in his catalog, this is a fairly strong effort in the erotic horror scene and has enough to like that it manages to offset some of the viewer preference issues on display. Those who appreciate this kind of genre fare, enjoy this sleazy style of Eurohorror, or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like, while those turned off by those issues should heed extreme caution.
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