Lisa und der Teufel

Lisa and the Devil features many of Bava's trademarks; a devilish atmosphere, superbly chilling use of lighting and a general foreboding feel to the movie that gives the impression that something bad will happen. However, the movie is also fairly messy; there are too many ideas in the film and all together it comes out more than a little confusingly. The version I saw was the Redemption release of "Lisa and the Devil", which is not to be confused with badly intercepted release, "The House of Exorcism". The plot follows the story of Lisa, a young lady that gets lost in an ancient city in Spain. She then hitches a ride with a couple and their chauffeur, but they end up breaking down and happening on a house inhabited by a blind woman, her strange son and a creepy housekeeper. What follows is a nightmarish and morbid ride that touches on themes such as love, lust and death.

Mario Bava is a master of the horror genre, many of his films have inspired whole areas of cinema, most notably "Bay of Blood", to which slashers owe their existence and "The Girl Who Knew Too much", which is often credited as the first Giallo. But I feel that this is one of his lesser efforts. That's not to say that this is a bad film by any means, it features a lot of nice elements, particularly the spooky sequences with main characters and their dead ex-lovers, which almost touches on necrophilia, and therefore gives the film a very morbid and nasty feel. The actors in the movie are also fairly accomplished; it features Elke Sommer, who also starred in Bava's atmospheric shocker, "Baron Blood", among other films and Telly Savalas, who gives a great turn as the creepy butler of the house. But it seems to have too many ideas going on, and a lot of them aren't really explained, which left me feeling confused.

Overall, Lisa and the Devil is a good horror movie with much to admire, most notably the superb creation of atmosphere from Mario Bava but I feel that if it had concentrated less on putting lots of ideas into it, and more on concentrating on the ones it already had; then it would have been a better film.

Lisa and the Devil makes me think of Susperia. In fact, I think those sheer curtains with the appliqués that hang around the 4 poster bed were later used in Susperia. I've seen that film so many times I recognize those.

Anyway, Lisa and the Devil is very low on dialog and big on atmosphere. Much like Susperia, we have the strange lighting, gaudy set pieces, beautiful sets and props, many rooms with fancy wainscoting and molding, and acting that is just slightly off. Dubbing that doesn't quite match up in a subtle way and eerie, dreamy music while the actors stare off into the distance or right into the lens of the camera.

Dialog? Striped down to minimum. Story? Simple enough with a woman straying from her tourist group in a foreign city, wandering alone because she has heard some chimes. But what happens to her? She becomes ensconced in a surreal setting with people living in an old, Gothic mansion. But is it all real? Or is it all in her head? Are the murders really happening or did they happen many years ago?

It's up to you to decide what the ending means. You'll probably enjoy the ride but don't expect anything too, too intense or deep here.

Lisa (Elke Sommer) is a young woman as tourist in a Spanish old city named Toledo . She then is lost and taken by a marriage (Sylva Koscina and Eduardo Fajardo) and their chauffeur (Gabriele Tinti) . They find shelter into a luxurious mansion where inhabits strange characters , a countess (Alida Valli) , his son (Alessio Orano) and the butler (Telly Savalas).

The picture belongs to Italian horror genre , Mario Bava along Riccardo Freda (Secret of Dr Hitchcock , Vampires , The spectre) and subsequently Dario Argento (Deep red , Suspira , Inferno) are the fundamental creators of Latin terror genre . Mario Bava directed excellent horror movies (Mask of demon , Black Sunday , Black lace , Planet of vampires) and mediocre (Baron of blood , Bay of Blood , Shock) horror films . These movies are characterized by slick edition , usual zooms , special overblown use of colour in a glimmer red blood and utilization of shock-images . The film gets an attractive and enjoyable casting , a gorgeous Elke Sommer (The prize) , an enticing Sylva Koscina (Miguel Strogoff) , a veteran Alida Valli (The Paradine trial) and a sympathetic devil with lollipop included played by Telly Savalas (Kojak) . Magnificent and colorful cinematography by Cecilio Paniagua with intervention by the same Bava like is habitual in all his movies , as he's usually cameraman . The musical background was composed by Joaquin Rodrigo with his famous 'Concert of Aranjuez' and the score by Carlo Savina . There is another version called ¨House of Exorcism¨ for the American market adding some images about a priest (Robert Alda) , rip off from ¨The exorcist¨ , making spells , enchantment , exorcisms which results to be embarrassment and ridiculous . The motion picture will appeal to Mario Bava's hardcore fans .

I love Italian films from the 60s and 70s. I picked up Lisa and the Devil on DVD and then realized that the House of Exorcism is a re-edited, totally different version of Lisa and the Devil. I feel like I need to see the House of Exorcism now.

If you like Bava films, then you will surely enjoy Lisa and the Devil. This is a surreal piece of film making in that you are not quite sure what is reality and what is in the mind of the characters. There is no over the top gore, but Bava uses camera work and generates a creepy atmosphere. I may not reccomend

this film to Mario Bava "first timers" or "gore hounds". While I love to watch a Fulci or Bruno Mattei zombie fest anyday, I still enjoy a classic Bava film the same way I enjoy classical music. They both hit a chord, but a different chord.

During the sightseeing in Toledo, Spain, the tourist Lisa Reiner (Elke Sommer) sees an ancient painting of the devil on the wall and leaves her group for a moment; however she gets lost in the narrow streets. Later she gets a lift with the wealthy Francis Lehar (Eduardo Fajardo) and his wife Sophia (Sylva Koscina). However, their car breaks and stops in front of an old manor. While the driver George (Gabriele Tinti) tries to fix the car, the trio is hosted by the blind owner (Alida Valli) and her son Maximilian (Alessio Orano) that invites Lisa to spend the night in the mansion. During the dinner, they are served by the butler Leandro (Telly Savalas) that resembles the image of the devil of the painting. Lisa seems to be living a strange nightmare, recalling her love from a past life, and trapped in the house with that bizarre family.

The stylish and surrealistic "Lisa and the Devil" is a weird and spooky ghost story developed in a nightmarish atmosphere. The movie is visually very impressive and despite of the flaws and inconsistencies in the ambiguous screenplay, it startles many times. Elke Sommer is extremely sexy and Telly Savalas is very frightening. The conclusion is a little disappointing. My vote is seven.

Fortunately I saw "Lisa and the Devil" first; the opportunist commercial version released in USA with the title "The House of the Exorcism" on the trail of the success of "The Exorcist" is terrible and destroys the creepy atmosphere of the original movie. The good thing is the greater eroticism and exposure of the naked body of Elke Sommer. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Lisa e o Diabo" ("Lisa and the Devil")

Note: On 11 June 2015 I saw this movie again.