After the Franco dictatorship ended ‘round about the mid ‘70s, Spanish cinema found themselves with a new freedom, through which filmmakers could now express themselves via tales of sin n’ Satan (and death… lots of it) all over that silver screen!
Recently, Severin boxed up a selection of those fearless flicks (and a doc to bring us all up to speed on the genre)… so why not dip our terror toes into Exorcismo: Defying A Dictator & Raising Hell In Post-Franco Spain!
Things kick off with that aforementioned documentary, Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada ‘S’ from Director Alberto Sedano.
Exorcismo takes the viewer on a journey through just what we can expect from the features contained in this box-set (bet you couldn’t have guessed that one), and gives us both a historical understanding of the heavily censoring of filmmakers work under the regime of Francisco Franco, as well as the unbridled freedom they received after Franco’s death in 1975, and the subsequent ending of the censorship in 1977.
Thus appeared the ‘S’ classification that ensured viewers they were going to be treated to boobs, blood, and bad guys like they never had before… and as a result kept daring cinema goers coming back for more and more!
Another documentary follows, Far From the Trees from 1972…
Censored before the fall of the Franco regime, Far From the Trees presents Spain as a place of promised economic development and modern culture, yet the majority of the populace practice violent rites and rituals that combine Christianity with bloodshed, effigies, and sacrifices.
This film does a fine job of showing the cultural powder-keg that was developing in the ‘70s in the region, and also illustrates the public’s demand for the lurid as the film features plenty of that ol’ senseless chestnut; actual violence committed on animals.
Your mileage may vary on that one, but I’m never a fan… but to deny this film’s power and unflinching gaze, as well as it’s further expansion into material touched upon in Exorcismo make it a vital if hard watch.
Besides the aforementioned feature films, disc one contains a trailer for Exorcismo.
Moving on to Disc Two…
First up comes 1973’s The Bell From Hell…
Asylum inmate Juan (Renaud Verley) is released from the hospital and heads back to his ol’ stompin’ grounds.
Once there, he returns to the home of his aunt (Viveca Lindfors) and her three daughters (Maribel Martín, Nuria Gimeno, Christina Von Blanc)… the very same people that had him declared insane in a desperate attempt to acquire his inheritance.
As the days progress, Juan gets going on his revenge long game, and when the games begin it becomes apparent that maybe Juan’s psychosis is all too real!
(Initially) directed by Claudio Guerín, The Bell From Hell is a psychological thriller by way of Poe… A Gothic affair filled with religious allegory, revenge, incest… all transpiring in a world enshrouded in fog that hangs low over ancient forests… forests full of crumbling structures and strange individuals.
The gloom both contrasts the beauty of the cast, and mirrors their desires while adding a sense of the supernatural that gives the picture a surreal quality only emphasized by the picture’s anachronistic nature.
Events were similarly dark behind-the-scenes as well, as Director Guerín suffered a fatal fall from the bell-tower featured in the film’s narrative, and was replaced by Juan Antonio Bardem… and of course the on-screen cattle deaths are a morbid cap to the whole affair.
Also on this disc is Creation of the Damned from 1974…
In the near future, two couples and a third wheel live in a strange apartment which they cannot leave.
The reason for their involuntary internment? The world has been fucked up the ass by a nuclear war, and this is an underground shelter that keeps our heroes from the radiation up top… until their supplies run out that is!
Co-Writer/Director by José Ulloa’s Creation of the Damned is a slow burn involving a small group of people crammed together for way too long, and all of the increasingly negative emotions and tension that come with a sitch such as that… and the actors assembled here are more than up to the task at hand… which is good because there are like six of them in one location…
Speaking of “location”, the atmosphere of the piece is enhanced by the bomb shelter itself. Fashioned to look like a brightly colored, modern apartment… it’s brightness stands in contrast to it’s occupant’s tension and it’s function as, what boils down to, a fancy prison.
Along with the above feature films, Disc Two contains a solid assortment of special features which include:
On The Bell From Hell we get a duo of audio commentaries, one with Author Kat Ellinger, and the other with Rod Barnett, co-host of NaschyCast, along with Writer/Jess Franco expert Robert Monell, an examination of The Bell From Hell courtesy of film scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil, the film’s trailer, and Guerín’s 1965 short film, Luciano.
And on Creation of the Damned we get an audio commentary from Author Antonio Lázaro-Reboll, interviews with Ulloa and Camera Assistant Paco Marín, the picture’s trailer, and a still gallery.
Disc Three brings us The Devil’s Exorcist (1975)…
It seems in the ‘70s ol’ Satan was making the cinematic scene with surprising frequency… okay, it’s not surprising… 1973’s The Exorcist and it’s success guaranteed there would be knock-offs, and boy (Captain) howdy were there ever!
Spain got into the act with The Devil’s Exorcist, which concerns rich schoolgirl Sheila (Inma de Santis)… a girl who’s behavior has her family in a state of perpetual worry about her mental state.
Recently our heroine has begun writhing sexually and looking at dirty mags in church… you know, the norm, but as violence begins to erupt all around her, folks begin to think there is a serious screw loose upstairs and she’s assigned a doctor, Vionnet (María del Puy), to try and help her work through her psychosis.
To that I say “Good fuckin’ luck” as ol’ Sheila isn’t insane at all, rather she seems to be possessed by a demon of some kind or another (dude looks like The Tall Man… all dressed up, struttin’ around evil-style) and she’s getting more dangerous each day!
Jorge Darnell delivers here with a solid Exorcistploitation entry that manages to deliver a more subdued, yet equally creepy, experience than it’s inspiration.
Our Regan for this go-around is the aforementioned Inma de Santis, and she is absolute demonic dynamite… though she is presented way more lasciviously than is comfortable… but that’s kinda the point…
While there are few effects present (and none that involve turning into a puke-spewing monstrosity), the possession casts an eerie shadow that is accentuated by the film’s Gothic estates and murderous actions as much as it’s contrasted by the Modern churches with their psychedelic stained-glass mosaics and gorgeous Spanish locales… the dichotomy gives the entire affair a fever-dream atmosphere that is spell-binding, especially when accompanied by the experimental soundtrack provided by composer José Nieto.
Special features for The Devil’s Exorcist include an audio commentary from Author Shelagh Rowan-Legg Film Critic Simon Laperrière, interviews with Actor Jack Taylor, Cinematographer José Luis Alcaine, and Composer Nieto, the film’s trailer, and an alternate opening sequence.
Disc Three also includes the documentary After… Part One Can’t You Be Left Alone which details the turbulent and unsure political climate that existed while the films in this set were created by talking to people on the street engaged in demonstrations and protests.
Disc Four contains two cuts of The People Who Own the Dark (1976)…
A cadre of wealthy elites… politicians, scientists, surgeons, models… maybe a couple of high class prostitutes… gather in a remote Spanish villa to engage in a weekend of perverted pleasures inspired by their hero, The Marquis de Sade!
As the various players gather, there is a rising tension in the outside world that leads to a nuke being dropped on Spain which results in the populace of the nearby town to turn into blind psychos that are more than happy to stumble their asses to the villa to kick the collective asses of the rich bitches they feel contributed to their current state!
Ever wanted to see Eyes Wide Shut all slapped and tickled by a healthy dose of Night of the Living Dead? Well this is that… with Paul Naschy.
As the tension mounts and the blind begin to smash their way into the villa, our “heroes” begin to absolutely fall apart and the strong acting on display makes their descent from high society ne’er-do-wells to in-fighting (in some cases almost literally) animals… which they weren’t too far away from being in the first place.
The People Who Own the Dark also comes with an audio commentary on the Spanish version (the truncated U.S. cut is present here as well) featuring Film Historians/co-hosts of NaschyCast, Rod Barnett And Troy Guinn, Film Historians/Co-Hosts Of NaschyCast, an interview with Actor Antonio Mayans, a retrospective of the film from Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming at The Sitges Film Festival, and the picture’s trailer.
Kicking off Disc Five we get Battered Flesh from 1978…
Berta (Esperanza Roy) is a woman incarcerated, and while her crimes weren’t violent she’s tossed right on in with murderers, addicts, and sex offenders. While behind bars she suffers abuse, finds love with a fellow inmate, and must confront the wicked warden Maria (Tota Alba).
While based in part on a true story, the film keeps it’s Women in Prison tropes on full display, so there’s lesbian trysts, sadism, showers… all the Greatest Hits… which give the historical accounts of real-life abuse the ol’ Grindhouse treatment.
The accompanying picture here, The Priest, also from 1978, delves into similar shock territory as it involves a man of the cloth, Father Miguel (Simón Andreu) whos constant horniness results in him having a crisis of faith that pits him against his duties to the church, and his desire to enact his private desires.
While not nearly as over-the-top as some of it’s American or Italian counterparts, it’s fascinating to see aspects of exploitation cinema starting to come to the fore that never would have been seen years previous.
Special features for Battered Flesh include a commentary from a returning Shelagh Rowan-Legg and Spanish Cinema Professor Alejandro Melero and an interview with Actress Sandra Alberti… while The Priest features interviews with Actors Emilio Gutiérrez Caba and Martín Garrido Ramis, and a short film.
This examination of sex on screen continues on to Disc Six which begins with 1979’s Sins of a Nympho which examines the fallout of being involved with sex parties of the elite, and features an absolute avalanche of nudity and tacky Dionysian debauchery while putting our fairly innocent heroine directly through the fuckin’ wringer.
The co-feature, 1980’s Dimorfo, deals with the same themes of the irreparable damage caused to an innocent who is also flung into the midst of depravity… this time being a Jewish man (Rodjara… who also wrote and directed the film) who has escaped the Nazis only to find himself at the mercy of a very strange family.
As usual both films are accompanied by bonus material with Sins of a Nympho featuring an interview with Assistant Director Alejo Loren, and the picture’s trailer… and Dimorfo features a retrospective of Rodjara’s films courtesy of Spanish Film Scholar Dr. Álex Mendíbil, and alternate credit sequences.
Disc Seven begins with Bloody Sex… as so many things do…
A medium named Norma (Rosa Romero) convinces her gal pals Laura (Diana Conca)and Andre (Viki Palma) to go to a remote house to get their séance on.
The house isn’t empty however, as María (Mirta Miller) lives there with her weird-o of a son (Ovidi Montllor) and things begin to go south for our heroine in ways stabby and diabolical!
Functioning as a Spanish giallo, Bloody Sex is chock full of murder and mayhem, supernatural over-tones, and plenty of that now-familiar post-Franco lesbian sex.
Adding to the over-reaching dread, the main locale is a space of deep shadows and hidden peril… and extra fun will come to fans of Goblin’s score for the Italian release of Dawn of the Dead (Zombi) because some of it accompanies the ribald n’ violent action at hand.
Accompanying all that Bloody Sex is some good ol’ Morbin’ Time with 1983’s Morbus…
Dig this cats n’ creeps… a pharmacist (Joan Borràs) concocts a formula that can resurrect the dead, and he definitely goes all-in on using it!
Meanwhile, after a zesty session of tits-out recitation of Snow White, a duo of prostitutes run afoul of the walking dead… I wonder if there is a co-relation of some sort?
Anyway, one of the ladies, Anna (Carmen Serret), escapes the grabby clutches of the horny dead and ends up in the remote cabin of horny author Juan (Ramon Ferre) and his crazed man-servant Shiu Shi (Victor Israel)… by the way, he’s horny too…
As all of that goes down, an orgy-centric Satanic Cult crosses paths with our heroes!
Now this is where it’s at!
Director Ignasi P. Ferré and Writer Isabel Coixet seemingly took every Grindhouse element they could think of (minus gore) and chucked it directly at the screen as hard as they could!
We get an absolute ass load of naked flesh, Satanic shenanigans, lunatic sexagenarian action, bearded authors… a lil’ bit of everything for everyone (of a certain mind-set)… with a minimum of story to get in the way!
The star performance here is courtesy of Israel who’s Shiu Shi is an absolute whirlwind of evilly chuckling menace!
Special features for Bloody Sex include an audio commentary from Film Critic/Historian David Flint. an interview with Producer Gloria Sancho, and a lobby card gallery… while Morbus gets interviews with Director Ignasi P. Ferré, Actress Carmen Serret, and an archival documentary about Victor Israel.
Arriving at Disc Eight we get Faces (1978)…
Artist Juan (Juan Pardo) is having a bit of a creative crisis… nearly every face he sees appears blank!
This doesn’t last however, as Juan soon becomes beguiled by a strange woman (Carmen Sevilla) who becomes the muse for his sculptures… but things begin to go South quick as hell as blood and ritual begin to reveal something darker afoot!
Director Juan Ignacio Galván (who co-wrote the picture with Cecilia Bartolomé) delivers a hazy, surreal narrative that packs plenty of atmosphere for the viewer that is willing to take the journey… but let’s be honest, if you are on Disc Eight of this set you are willing to view all manner of things!
Answers come slowly as the film plays out, and as bizarre characters weave in and out of the sordid affair we are bombarded by naked flesh, splashed blood, and arcane rites but little in the way of solid character development… but no one came into this wanting My Dinner With Andre…
Next comes Triangle of Lust, also from 1978…
A beautiful woman bails out of her plane ride and parachutes onto a remote island… which just so happens to be the hideout of a few criminals and their ladies!
As attempts at escape are made, things get ever more horny resulting in lust, triangular and otherwise…
Trinagle of Lust is a solid little adventure yarn with an absolute ass load (often literally) of nudity and softcore screwin’.
The locations are breathtaking, and there is a fascination with light reflecting of water and mirrors that give things a surreal quality (some of which is enhanced by the relative roughness of the print used here, which was the best that could be sourced).
Special features for Faces include an appreciation of the film from Ángel Sala, Head Of Programming at The Sitges Film Festival, and the picture’s trailer… while Triangle of Lust features an audio commentary from Author David Flint, and a collection of extended/alternate scenes.
On to Disc Nine baby!
First up we get That House in the Outskirts (1980), one for the whole family…
A young married couple arrive at a villa outside Madrid so the lady of the pair can spend the final months of her pregnancy relaxed as fuck.
Relaxed she shan’t be however, as her memory is jogged that she’s been to this exact location years before… it’s where she had her top secret abortion!
Imagine her delight when she discovers the abortion doctor’s assistant still lives in the house!
Her past is going to return in unexpected ways as she frets within those wicked walls!
While the subject matter may be rough for some viewers fret not; this flick eschews shock value to present a Neo-Gothic thriller stocked up fully with a remote, opulent locale with a dark past, a haunted heroine, and family secrets threatening to come to the surface… all topped off with some supernatural overtones.
This all pairs well with the accompanying feature, 1981’s Supernatural…
Julia has started a new life far away from her overbearing husband.
Said spouse isn’t so willing to let Julia out of his clutches however, and upon finding her location, speeds forth into the night, only to meet his demise in a fiery auto accident!
That horrible hubby doesn’t remain resting in piece for long however, and is soon driving Julia bonkers from beyond the grave… and as much as her close circle tries to protect her, her husband’s preternatural powers may be too much for them to defeat!
Coming from Director Eugenio Martin (who directed That House in the Outskirts as well), Supernatural is a pleasin’ paranormal shocker full of seances, new age pseudo-science, and some fun, hand crafted effects that fall right in line with flicks like The Entity (minus all that demon fuckin’) and Poltergeist!
While the effects don’t rival what big Hollywood bucks can afford there is some excellent business at hand including solid make-up on our arcane antagonist, hand drawn lightning effects, and an attack by floating electric knife that make this pic a great time!
As is the way, this disc contains a selection of bonus content including an interview with Actress Silivia Aguilar and a trailer for That House in the Outskirts, and an audio commentary (from a returning David Flint), an interview with Actor Máximo Valverde, an alternate English title sequence, and a trailer & TV spot for Supernatural.
Wrapping up this whole sordid affair is Disc Ten which begins with 1984’s Poppers…
Musician Santos (Miguel Ortiz) is wrongly accused of murdering his girlfriend and sent to prison… but he gets sprung after two years on account of his model behavior.
Before you can say “The Most Dangerous Game”, he’s given an offer that he really can’t say no to… go to a rural estate, bang a hooker, then be hunted for sport… and if he survives he’ll be bestowed the ol’ bags of riches… good luck collecting on that one Santos!
As mentioned, Poppers is a version of Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game… but this time we get the proceedings filtered through a New Wave/MTV style lens to fascinating effect!
The colors, fashions, and sounds of Santo’s world are 80’s music video awesome through and through (with a healthy splash of fetish imagery)… and their clash with the more Draconian aesthetic of his captors makes for both dynamic imagery as well as the contrast between the new creative movement versus the rigidity of the Franco regime makes this the perfect end feature for this box set!
Speaking of wrapping things up, Disc 10 also contains After… Part Two: Tied Up and Tied Up Well (1983) a documentary that once again takes to the streets to examine life in post-Franco Spain in the early 80’s.
Special features for Poppers include interviews with Art Director Javier Fernández and Assistant Director Eduardo Campoy, and the film’s trailer.
This box set also contains an 186 page book that further explores the films and themes of post-Franco Spain.
Surreal, provocative, and at times exploitative, Exorcismo is the perfect choice for Euro-Horror/Exploitation fans looking for the deepest of deep dives!
