Review: The Devil’s Nightmare

In 1945 Berlin, with bombs dropping everywhere, a woman gives birth to a demon child who is killed by Nazi Baron von Rhoneberg (Jean Servais). You see, the Baron’s family is under a curse whereby any daughter born is cursed to become a succubus, a seductress in the service of Satan (Daniel Emilfork). About 15 years later the story picks up with a group of stranded bus travellers having to take refuge at the von Rhoneberg castle. Jacques Monseau plays a prideful priest, Shirley Corrigan a sleepy blonde, Ivana Novak a lustful tart, Colette Emmanuelle and Lorenzo Terzon are a married couple, Christian Maillet is the gluttonous bus driver, and Frenchman Lucien Raimbourg is a crotchety old cranky pants. Soon after their arrival, another guest turns up; Slinky, sexy, navel-baring Erika Blanc. She’s a succubus set to prey upon each of the travellers who all indulge in one of the seven deadly sins.

 

This 1971 Italian-Belgian cult flick from Belgian director Jean Brismee (the last of six directorial efforts) was a favourite of mine back when SBS used to play all kinds of sexy foreign cult movies. A horror pic loosely dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins, it still holds up pretty damn well if you’re looking for some sexy, trashy fun with a touch of weirdness. The highlights are the sexy-yet-otherworldly performance by Erika Blanc and a hot lesbian sex scene between Shirley Corrigan and Ivana Novak. Corrigan’s body is quite frankly a work of art, and Blanc’s sly, slinky performance as the succubus is a lot of fun. She’s a whole different beast from Mario Bava’s “Kill, Baby…Kill”, bringing an entirely different, otherworldly energy to her here. Her succubus makeup is pretty damn good, too. Also notable is an oddball, creepy incarnation of the Devil played by the peculiar Daniel Emilfork, he’s quite unlike anything you’ve seen outside of an F.W. Murnau film. Perhaps best of all is the cool, 70s music score by Alessandro Alessandroni (“Lady Frankenstein”, “The Killer Nun”).

 

You know you’re in for a wild ride when a baby gets stabbed in the sepia-toned WWII prologue. It won’t take you long to figure out which of the doomed travellers fit the description for ‘Gluttony’ and ‘Sloth’, with poor bubble-headed blond Corrigan dozing off in the van. Look out for the hilarious scene where the butler details the estate’s long, tortured history. It’s a scene you will have seen in other films plenty of times, but never quite so funny. On the downside, it takes a bit too long for the fun and games of the plot to kick in. 40 minutes in and everyone’s still alive. That’s far too long if you ask me. Once the killing starts though, there’s plenty of fun to be had, including such murder devices as a guillotine and an iron maiden (Iron Maiden? Excellent! – Had to, sorry). It’s capped off by an absolutely brilliant, thoroughly mean-spirited ending that you really ought to see coming but likely won’t. The screenplay is by Pierre-Claude Garnier (Jesus Franco’s “Shining Sex”) and Patrice Rhomm (writer-director of “Fraulein Kitty”), who perhaps should’ve clarified just what the old man’s sin was. I don’t think being a crotchety old bastard really counts as Wrath/Anger, at least not the kind that deserves such a brutal punishment from a succubus (Then again neither does being a bit sleepy either, I guess).

 

Classic 70s Eurotrash with a nifty gimmicky plot, some great HLA, and memorably campy performances by Daniel Emilfork and especially Erika Blanc. Silly, sexy, fun, if far from a ‘great’ movie in the traditional sense. Where else are you gonna find Nazis, a succubus, The Devil, hot 1970s lesbians, the 7 Deadly Sins, and the ugliest wallpaper in cinematic history? Highly underrated, highly recommended…if you have the right sensibilities.

 

Rating: B+