EXORCISM
Also Known As
Exorcismo
Directed by Juan Bosch
Spain/1974 – 89 Minutes/Fullscreen
DVD Provided by BCI Eclipse
Article written by Mark Engle

Paul Naschy shreds off the dark facial hair and the brooding persona to don a priest’s robe and become a good guy in EXORCISM, a much underrated Eurohorror film. According to Naschy, his screenplay was penned years before THE EXORCIST became an international success, but he could never get funding until Linda Blair starred in her box office smash. And while both films share some similar themes, I wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s much to compare between them. But then again, just about any possession film gets thrown under the EXORCIST or ROSEMARY’S BABY umbrella. Despite the fact that much of the film was shot in England, EXORCISM has that unique Spanish Gothic horror flavor that most fans enjoy in a good Naschy flick. Being that I'm a huge fan of the man’s horror films and the added excitement of Spanish horror, this may not be much of a surprise, but I find EXORCISM to be one of Naschy’s most accomplished pieces of cinema outside of his Waldemar Daninsky Werewolf sagas (granted, I hold his gialli up a tad higher).

Some Paul Naschy fans may be disappointed, since he is the good guy here and his screen time is somewhat limited, despite being a central character. Much of the movie is centered around Leila (Grace Mills) as one of the youngest of the Gibson family. Her boyfriend Richard has introduced her to the art of devil worship and partying. After partaking in some LSD parties, involving the celebration of Satan and orgiastic behavior, she starts to show more than just a few signs of rebellion. The family starts to get a little concerned, what with mother still dealing with the death of her husband, Leila’s stepbrother being more than a tad reclusive and paranoid, and the sister jumping right onto the possession believing bandwagon. When boyfriend Richard and brother John end up dead, Father Adrian Dunning (Naschy) starts to believe that something more than the usual case of teenage rebellion may be at hand.

Much of the story is character based, meaning most of the more extreme possession scenes show up in the final act. Until then, Leila talks mean, gets into a cat fight with the younger maid, and even comes on to the priest. When the full blown evil hits the screen, her make up is a doozy, sporting some of the coolest looking devil eyes and nasty flesh wounds I've ever seen on screen. Because so little shows up beforehand, the murders almost seem reminiscent to other gialli films from the same time period, with ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK coming immediately to mind due to the involvement of a Satanic cult. There are plenty of red herrings at hand, including several servants working at the house and, of course, both Richard and John, until they end up dead. There is also Udo, the handyman/driver, a huge lug with a penchant for taking nudie snapshots of Leila while she undresses in her bedroom. If you have never seen EXORCISM before, you may even think a certain twist is around the corner regarding Naschy as a possible suspect. I’m not telling, but it is all played off really well. Since the murders are not necessarily committed by Leila or any possessive demon, the unfolding mystery becomes an added bonus and keeps the plot running at a brisk pace.

BCI Eclipse’s Special Edition of EXORCISM is simply gorgeous. Uncut and beautifully transferred, the movie has never looked better. As for extras, I wish we could get a Naschy commentary, since he’s so personable when reminiscing about his earlier works. We get a fun spirited intro by the man himself, but the true gold is the half hour interview with Naschy talking about the Spanish horror industry and re-visiting several of his earlier films one at a time. It’s endearing, informative and entertaining. Also included are the alternate clothed scenes (there’s tons of beautiful naked ladies in the uncut version) and the original Spanish credit sequences. Rounding out the extras is the original U.S. theatrical trailer, liner notes, a photo gallery, and a very nice poster gallery with 19 original theatrical posters and lobby cards. Being a Naschy fan, I’m very happy to recommend this version of EXORCISM to other fans. If you haven’t seen many of his films outside of his werewolf movies, this one is an excellent place to start. Highly recommended.