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The Antichrist
Directed By Alberto De Martino
Released: 1974
Starring: Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, and Remo Girone
Running Time: 112 minutes
DVD Released By
Anchor Bay Entertainment
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The bitterness over her paralyzing childhood accident causes Ippolita
Oderisi (played by Carla Gravina) to question her faith in God. After
witnessing a terrible scene at a religious festival in which a young man
jumps to his death, Ippolita begins to behave strangely. She takes offense
to her widowed father’s, Massimo Oderisi (Mel Ferrer), romance with Greta
(Anita Strindberg), a younger woman and takes an interest in Satan. During
hypnosis treatment, Dr. Marcello Sinibaldi (Umberto Orsini) uncovers that
in a past life Ippolita was burned at the stake for heresy and demonic
possession. Without warning, Ippolita is possessed by the devil and it is
up to Father Mittner (George Coulouris) to save her soul.
Alberto De Martino (Formula For A Murder)
directs this stylish and underrated
Exorcist clone. Full of vibrant colors
(red and blue), wild editing, and a trashy atmosphere that even the
original Americna film avoided like the plague,
The Antichrist actually works. The
high-reaching visual effects fall short of the budget by a few million
lira and things get especially silly when Carla Gravina flies out the
window and back. The script is smart while it is tackling questions of
faith and religious zeal but it really craps out when the gobbledygook
about reincarnation kicks in.
An all star Euro-cast from Hell graces the screen. Mel Ferrer (The
Pyjama Girl Case) is barely aware of Mr.
Oderisi’s problems and is a tad too aloof while his own daughter battles
with Satan for her soul. Psychiatrist and hypnotist, Dr. Marcello
Sinibaldi, is played by the studly Umberto Orsini (Violent
City) while the hard-working Alida Valli
(Suspiria,
Lisa And The Devil)
plays Irene, the sympathetic maid to the Oderisi family. Mario Scaccia (Perfume
Of The Lady In Black). And keep your eyes
peeled for supporting roles from the gorgeous Anita Strindberg (Case
Of The Scorpion’s Tail) and the not-so-gorgeous Ernesto
Colli (Torso,
Autopsy).
Bad wig and body double aside, Italian actress Carla Gravina (in one of
her only horror film appearances) puts in a superb performance in The
Antichrist. Able to do more than just scream obscenities at priests,
Gravina’s Ippolita is run through the ringer. An engaging actress, Gravina
doesn’t falter for a moment during her wild and dynamic performance. Not a
very glamorous role to be sure as Ippolita spits up green bile, is covered
in boils, and has inappropriate relations with a goat (thankfully implied
and not shown).
Diehard fans of The Exorcist
will want to check this one out to see just how influential William
Friedkin’s film was all over the world. I highly recommend
The Antichrist for
Italian horror buffs for the splendidly garish sets and the leering eye of
cinematographer Aristide Massaccesi (AKA Joe D’Amato). Although the film
is a blatant and somewhat silly cash-in on a successful film, that’s all
part of its charm. Think of this as "Exorcist Lite" with some clumsy moments of
sincerity and a few insanely sacrilegious images thrown in for good
measure. Oh, that poor goat. There’s no way that was consensual.
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