The Devils (1971)

This early 70's art film is a controversial look at Christianity and the inquisition in the middle ages. It is quite a twisted tale and it sticks with you for a while after viewing.

I really do have a soft spot in my heart for any movie that makes religion look scary. Films like Lucio Fulci's Beatrice Cenci and Bad Boy Bubby are amongst my favorites and now this crazy British flick. Anything you have read about The Devils will not prepare you for the insane vision that Ken Russell pans out across the screen for us. It is unbelievably maddening, relentless, disturbing and I guess offensive to religious folk but then again mentally challenged religious freaks probably have no place watching art films in the first place. They are probably better off reading the same book they always read once again.

For me The Devils was sort of like a cross between Witch Finder General, Beatrice Cenci and Holy Mountain with elements of a Nunsploitation flick thrown in. Of course The Devils ranks above the average exploitation movie in just about every department but the depraved and deprived nun thing is still there.

One of the things that made The Devils such a great experience for me was the fact that there really was no good guy in the whole movie. This is at least by the bibles standards. Sure our main character is better then others in some ways but what it all comes down to is that everybody is a sinner and most of the maniacs in this movie use religion as a shield for their own evil doings. This goes from womanizing to torture, rape and even murder.

In the most memorable and controversial scene a whole convent of nuns are tortured and brainwashed (as if they could be brainwashed any more then they already are) by the inquisition. The bastards who hide behind their robes and cloaks of imaginary good convince the nuns that they are possessed. The nuns go bats-crazy and indulge in a giant orgy. They take a statue of Christ down from his cross and let him in on the fun. They ride the nails in his hands, his torso and even his face (Crown of thorns and all). If the scene in The Exorcist bothered you, where little Reagan sticks a crucifix in her cunt, well then I recommend skipping this one at all costs. Next the women of god are forced to help the inquisitors wrongfully convict a priest who they want out of their way. The priest is brutally tortured into confessing his own blasphemy which is quite ironic and for me very tongue in cheek. We see the priest being beaten to a bloody pulp with hammers and yes it is all in the name of god.

I think it is safe to say that if there is a hell and the inquisition was not it, that everybody who had anything to do with The Devils would be going there. Or they could always just say ten hail Mary's and call it a day.

The Bloody Judge (1970)

Jesus Franco digs back into British history and basis The Bloody Judge off of King James The II and his murderous followers in the Clergy. Christopher Lee, who most remember best for his Hammer Studio's work like Horror Of Dracula also has appeared in some nastier Foreign stuff like Mario Bava's The Whip And The Body. Lee plays The Bloody Judge in this trashy film and it is amongst the nastiest of Christopher Lee's body of work.

Christopher Lee himself claims he has never seen The Bloody Judge due to the fact that he is offended from what he has heard from critics upon the brutality and eroticism of the films nature. The truth is that The Bloody Judge is almost a bit tame as far as Franco goes. Sure there is torture, rape and full frontal nudity on display but the director has far surpassed The Bloody Judge in bad taste on previous films and features to come. For me The Bloody Judge plays like a less violent and over the top version of the cult classic Mark Of The Devil, which would be released in the same year. Which film came first I'm not exactly sure but it is safe to say that both of these burn-witch-burn movies cashed in on Vincent Price's Witchfinder General and took it in a more exploitative and ghastly direction.

And speaking of exploitation, The Bloody Judge went under the ridiculous title of Night Of The Blood Monster in America not to be mistaken for the awful Corman flick Night Of The Blood Beast. The American title is not only a misleading title but just a bad title in general. Jesus Franco and Christopher Lee alike were both disgusted by the American distribution and retitling of the movie and I can't say that I blame them much.

Even if I were lucky enough to catch this thing on 42nd street or in some shit-hole theater somewhere I would be expecting something more like a John Ashley movie like Brides Of Blood rather then a Franco telling of the Inquisition and witch burnings.

Well they don't call em exploitation movies for nothing and for those poor unfortunates who thought they were going to see an all out monster-fest... That's just another battle scar that comes with the territory for us life long devoted drive-in movie fans and cult film enthusiasts.

Another problem with The Bloody Judge is that it runs a bit to long. In its uncut form The Bloody Judge clocks in at 104 minutes and there just isn't enough bloodletting and nudity to fill that amount of space. Instead Franco stages a battle with real cannons, horses and old time wardrobe. In my opinion it all looked a bit amateurish and seemed more like a waste of time and money from a director that we are really just waiting for the next bare breasted whipping scene. None the less it is obvious that the director was given a decent amount of money to make the film and he really tried to take it in somewhat of a respectful direction. This of course being a bit annoying to us true demento's who are looking for the more familiar Franco form of art.

On a more positive note some of the more memorable moments are a Christopher Lee rape scene, hands are lobbed off with an axe in a scene that reminded me of Guru The Mad Monk which would also be released in 1970 and hold some what of a similar plot. Hot tar is poured on the back of a naked women in true Bloody Pit Of Horror fashion. Accused witches are of course burned alive, there are stabbings, hangings and a man has his body chopped up with an axe. Of course we get some naked females and as an added bonus we have a creepy executioner running around in a spandex outfit. As I mentioned before due to the run time these scenes are bit to spaced out and I feel it really harmed the film.

The Bloody Judge is still worth a watch for all Franco fans or for anyone who wants to see Christopher Lee act his hart out in a more trashy role but still I would recommend Mark Of The Devil for a better and more grotesque time with evil fascists and witches.

Beatrice Cenci (1969)

To the average horror buff Lucio Fulci's name usually means one thing... GORE! Unfortunately most of his early films go unnoticed by the true horror community. Beatrice Cenci also known as Conspiracy Of Torture is definitely one of Fulci's great gems that has been forgoten and is never spoken of which is a shame because it is one of his greatest works visually and holds a serious social commentary on the Catholic church.

The setting 1599 Italy. The villain Francesco Cenci... or is it religion? Francesco Cenci is a rich and powerful man with a very sinister side. His daughter who goes by the title name of Beatrice Cenci gets the brunt of his abuse. She is beaten and locked inside a concrete dungeon. Beatrice prays for an escape from the tyranny of her evil father. Her dreams of being sent to a nunnery are shattered when her father tells her she will remain in her cell until he is dead. Plan B... kill daddy. Beatrice and her lover plot out the murder of Francesco Cenci along with the help of her mother, two brothers and a infamous criminal. After the murder is acted out Beatrice and the guilty party learn that the horrors of the church and their brutal form of punishment is far worse then anything they could have imagined.

Lucio Fulci didn't make a lot of friends with release of Beatrice Cenci. Italy being a very religious country viewed the film as an assault on the Catholic church and it was. This caused an outrage that ended with theater goers chanting in the streets "kill the director". Luckily for us gore-hounds these religious psychopaths didn't get they're hands on Fulci and the director didn't live out a nasty execution in the name of god. That really would be life imitating art or the other way around.

Fulci would go on to attack the church more then once through celluloid with movies like Don't Torture A Duckling about killer priests and such but its Beatrice Cenci that really portrays Catholics as scary and horrible people. The black hooded men of god seem no different from the executioners who send severed heads-a-rollin. They are fat, sweaty, greedy and most of all corrupt. Whether or not Fulci knew his film would have such an impact on viewers is questionable but there is no second guessing who the director was pointing his finger at.

Beatrice Cenci almost differs from Fulci's typical misogynist undertones at first with a female lead as the victim but soon falls into familiar Fulci territory with questionable ideals. As the film moves on Beatrice almost seems selfish and to be a manipulator of men and I suppose the film leaves her loyalty to her lover open to sugestion from the viewer.

Beatrice Cenci is a masterpiece from a once brilliant director who would be remembered as The Godfather Of Gore (not to be mistaken with Herschell Gordon Lewis). His talent is here and most wouldn't believe what he was capable of. The film plays in true Quentin Tarantino fashion with a story that is told through flashback and no emphasis between runtime and events similar to movies like Pulp Fiction. It has its share of brutality with a scene that shows a man being mauled by wild dogs. We have a father, daughter incest rape scene, a spike is stuck through a mans eyeball (complete with gore), some bare breasts and decapitation. We also get a fair share of nasty torture from various device's in the same vain as Mark Of The Devil but less exploitive.

Fans of Lucio Fulci need to own this movie and pay respect where it is due.