L'antéchrist

There are exactly two elements in this movie that work. The first is a well-done special effect of an imploding screen. The second is the choice to have the saliva of the possessed woman bear an unmistakable resemblance to... another substance. This becomes the only element of the sexual subtext that is genuinely unsettling, rather than just unpleasant and nasty.

Other than that, this is a poorly-made attempt to rip off "The Exorcist". And by "rip off", I don't mean just that this was a possession movie made to cash in on the popularity of "The Exorcist"; I mean that elements from the Blatty/Friedkin production are copied so shamelessly that it evokes disbelieving laughter at the effrontery.

Sadly, "The Tempter" fails to do what "The Exorcist" did, and give those elements a context that makes sense. The Blatty/Friedkin film remains compelling because it is a mystery; it is not about the shocking visual effects but rather of a truth that no one wants to believe. Every scene contains a clue to the mystery; every clue chips away at civilized denial that such a thing could happen. This movie could actually have gone "The Exorcist" one better, by constructing the same sort of mystery and treating the strong subtext of sexual temptation as a piece of the puzzle and not just a chance for cheap thrills. Instead, this movie is made with the vague notion that projectile vomiting at a priest is boffo box office, baby. "The Exorcist" is clockwork inside and "The Tempter" is just Jell-O.

Alberto de Martino is an Italian director who likes to rip-off big box office hits from America and England. He borrowed from the Bond movies for his spy flick Operation Kid Brother; he borrowed from The Omen for his dreadful Holocaust 2000. The Tempter (a.k.a The Antichrist or L'Anticristo) was made in between the other two movies I've just mentioned, and is Martino's inevitable plagiarism of The Exorcist. What's extraordinary is that good professional actors like Carla Gravani, Mel Ferrer, George Coulouris and Arthur Kennedy (yes, the Yankee reporter from Lawrence Of Arabia!) were persuaded to slum it in a shambolic production like this.

Gravani plays Ipolatta, a young wheelchair-bound woman who demonstrates psychic abilities. A psychiatrist persuades her to try out regressive hypnotism to cure her disability; she agrees to give it a try, but inadvertently unlocks memories from a previous life in which she was burnt at the stake for satanism. To make matters worse, she is also possessed by the devil and becomes a foul-mouthed, vomit spouting, sexually hungry bitch! An exorcist (Coulouris) is brought in to rid her of the demon within.

The Exorcist was one of the scariest films ever made, but this dismal clone is just tasteless and boring. The bouts of sex are purely there to give the film a degree of appeal to adolescents who get aroused by the possibility of a glimpse of tit. They certainly don't add to the atmosphere of the film. The so-called horror sequences are rendered hopelessly laughable by pitiful special effects. Still, the image of a toad having its head torn off and a woman performing oral sex on a goat's anus is enough to put you off your lunch for a day or two, and Gravani frequently lapses into revolting drooling which looks (intentionally?) like semen. If that's the kind of imagery which floats your boat, you might enjoy this. However, most viewers (myself among them) will be rightly repelled by this stupid potboiler and will find it a real challenge to sit through.

This filthy and spooky movie results to be a wildly popular ¨Exorcist¨ imitation , concerns Hipolita (Carla Gravina), she's an invalid young with unsettling problems from his mother died for a car crash in an accident along with her father (Mel Ferrer) and then she resulted paralyzed . She only has understanding for his brother (Remo Girone) . Her mental problems and intervention a doctor (Umberto Orsini) lead to an act of possession by an ancestor framed as a witch by the Inquisition . Eventually she's deeply possessed and starts seducing a young and other local men in order to murder them . Hipolita becomes possessed and a strange exorcism seems to be the only solution to stop the craziness and heal the young invalid . An exorcism carried out by a Father exorcist (George Colouris) turns out to be the mean to save her , but the surprising events go awry . What it says is what it means. Deliver her from evil. From the bowels of hell, the serpent has risen, to pour foul evil upon the world

This exploitation picture displays eerie horror , witchcraft , grisly killings , bestiality , satanism and lots of blood and gore . Most often films made to cash in on another hugely box-office ¨The Exorcist¨ tend to be inferior to the template but I have to say, as far as rip-offs of the Freidkin's classic go, ¨The Antichrist¨ is on the better end of the spectrum . Large cast with American actors working in Italy , such as Arthur Kennedy , Mel Ferrer and George Colouris . Revolting , scary scenes and nasty images take place on orgy scenes with goat included . Packs luxurious scenarios with a lush corridor plenty of sculptures and careful cinematography showing glamorous sets by known cameraman/director Joe D'amato , though cheesy special effects on the levitation scenes . Creepy and terrifying musical score composed by classic musician Ennio Morricone and conducted by Bruno Nicolai .

The motion picture was well directed by Alberto De Martino , though it has some flaws , gaps and failures . Martino was an Italian craftsman , working from the 60s in all kind of genres , B-movies and exploitation flicks . As he directed Peplum (Secret seven , Spartan gladiators , Invincible gladiator , Valley of stone men) , Spaghetti Western (Django shoots first , Providence , Charge of seven cavalry) , Warlike (Dirty heroes) , European spy genre (OK Connery , Operation Lady Chaplin) , and Terror (Miami Golem , Horror , Holocaust 2000) , among others. Rating : 6/10, acceptable and passable , though sometimes embarrassing .

A lot of people would have you think that this movie has no value, but I found it to be, in a lot of ways, more ambitious than THE EXORCIST. True, it is a complete ripoff, and it is virtually devoid of any atmosphere of fear. BUT... Technically speaking, the film is more "out there" than THE EXORCIST, boasting some blue-screen effects and frantic editing, not to mention some utterly surrealistic sequences that take it to another level. The whole thing stays cold, but you'll find yourself having a bit of fun anyways -- if you like seeing puke flying about that is!...

I remember seeing this movie when I worked at one of my local video stores back in 1998. The description of the movie on the box was rather hilarious as it is obviously bashing itself by saying "Move over Linda Blair". Yes, this is one of the many rip-offs of the famous Friedkin directed film "The Excorcist". Now, just because it was a blatant rip-off does not mean that it wasn't a decent film.

First of all, this movie has a very good and creepy soundtrack done by Ennio Morricone. If it weren't for the soundtrack this movie would not have been very good. Second, one of the leading stars in the movie is the infamous Mel Ferrer who has been in many Italian horror flicks in the later part of his acting career. Third, the atmosphere of this movie is actually very well done. It was done well enough to keep your interest high.

Unfortuanitly, the down parts of the movie are when the lead actress who gets possessed starts talking just like Linda Blair in "The Excorcist" and she also starts vomiting green crap all over the place just like in "The Excorcist". But if you are a fan of this genre of film making than you can overlook these blatant rip-offs. All in all, I liked this movie. It is nothing great but still enjoyable and worth watching. 7\10 stars