Les possédées du diable

Lorna the Exorcist (1974)

*** (out of 4)

One of cult director Jess Franco's best films, Patrick Mariel (Guy Delorme) makes a deal with his ex-lover (Pamela Stanford) that if she grants him riches that she can have his daughter when she turns 18. Now 18-years-old, the witch Lorna comes to visit Linda (Lina Romay) in a very sexual way. LORNA THE EXORCIST is around in many different versions but the recent release from Mondo Macabro presents the film with a running time of 100-minutes. This here is about twelve-minutes longer than the previous version I watched and I must admit that I preferred the shorter one. Several of the scenes in the longer version just drag on a bit too much and there's really nothing added except for the one legendary and talked about scenes that finally appeared in the film. This of course is the much discussed dildo sequence, which is perfectly executed by Franco who manages to milk every painful moment from it. The same is true for the crab sequences, which are among the most memorable and creepy from any film the director has made. These two scenes alone certainly stand out but the film offers up much more. I think the atmosphere is what the director really nails and this is especially true during the sexual scenes where we're given a dream-like quality to them. The film really does seem like a nightmare that has come to life and all the credit must go to Franco. It certainly doesn't hurt that we're given some fine performances with both Stanford and Delorme really standing out in their parts. Romay clearly steals the film as her sexuality and beauty are perfectly captures on screen and it's easy to see why her and Franco would become partners. There are some problems with the film including the already mentioned longer version but I also think that the film does drag in both versions. There's just not too much going on in the story to really warrant the extended running time. Still, LORNA THE EXORCIST is one of the director's best and most hypnotic films.

No, this is not another European cash-in on "The Exorcist", unlike what it's title may suggest. It is, however, the most disturbing and shocking Jess Franco film I've seen. Hell, it is one of the most disturbing horrors I've seen, which is surprising considering this is a virtually bloodless film. It's horror relies, instead, in it's totally demented instances of psychosexual hysteria that can also be found in works such as "Possession" or "Dr. Jekyll and his Women". Franco haters tend to dismiss his work as amateurish and crude, and this criticism can be applied, in a way, to this film in particular. However, in this case, it works in favor of the film, coming across as making it's raw, gritty atmosphere all the more authentic. André Bénichou's haunting, experimental score also adds a lot to it. And for those who think Lina Romay has little to do in the director's works other than having to masturbate in close-ups, her performance here is a truly stunning tour-de-force that has to be seen to be believed, up there with other portrayals of sexually frustrated women in horror films, such as Catherine Denueve in "Repulsion" or Mimsy Farmer in "The Perfume of the Lady in Black". Her sex scenes with the equally bewildering Pamela Stanford (the titular villain), though graphic, are anything but sexy, and her final, extended "intimate" sequence is bound to make your jaw drop to the floor, not only because of what is shown, but also because of it's context. And that's not even the film's most shocking bit to begin with (anyone who's seen the film know about THE particular scene I'm referring to, and I dare not spoil it for those who haven't seen it). "Lorna the Exorcist" seems to have some kind of popularity with Franco haters, so I beg you to give it a shot. Even if you don't like it at all, one can't deny it will haunt you for days to follow.

This Review Is Only For The Full 100 min UNCUT Version of "LORNA, THE EXORCIST"... Imagine a perverted old man director like JESS FRANCO (who directed close to 200 movies in his career) not having learned a thing about filmmaking in all that time. Seems unbelievable doesn't it? His last movie was as incompetent as his first. Why then did he make so many films for so many years? Probably because it was his personal perverted fetish fantasies realized in his film after film. Foreign producers were able to make profits from this deranged sick old man's fantasies and daydreams. This was his 1974 sickie known as "LORNA, THE EXORCIST". First of all, there is no exorcist or exorcism in this movie. Most of it is incomprehensible. It's obvious it's just a perverted old director's excuse to fill the screen with scene after scene of graphic fetish lesbian porn. Under the cloak of a story about some whorish witch who makes a bargain with some old creep that she will make him wealthy and fulfill his perverse desires IF he promises her his first born, the day he finally has his own child. He has one, and 18 years later on the child's 18th birthday she comes to collect. The rest of the film is director Franco's own perverted fetishes filmed. Director Franco even appears on camera as a depraved doctor. In 1974 this film could only have played in X RATED Movie Theaters for its graphic female depravities. You can tell Franco is nothing but a talentless old perv holding a camera. All the males in the film are either old or grotesque. Leaving only naked women to be drooled over and only with each other. 35 years after making this garbage Franco was still making the exact same kind of movies only he was around 90. Talk about the depraved and talentless living the longest lives. This entire movie LORNA has only 1 minute of anything you could call "acting". It is the last 60 seconds of film. I still think he gave the girl drugs to achieve the scene because at no time during the entire run of the film did she ever show a shred of talent. Final Comment : A Real Curiosity Like Visiting An Old Time Carnival Freak & Deformity Show.

A very young Lina Romay stars in this Jess Franco classic about a wealthy business man who makes a deal with a female demon; in exchange for wealth and prosperity, daddy promises his first born daughter to the sexy, mysterious Lorna. He doesn't take any of it seriously, until 18 years later, when Lorna returns to claim his nubile 18 year old daughter (Lina Romay in an early role) for her own. "Lorna the Exorcist" features wall-to-wall style, typical of director Jess Franco. Swanky casinos, nightclubs and beautiful homes and fashions, combined with a sultry and bizarre jazz score. And bizarre this film is; weird, even by Franco standards. It is never really explained why Lorna wears the crazy green eyeshadow halfway up her forehead; but the story is good, and there are some nice twists and surprises. The sex is extremely graphic here, bordering on hardcore. if you want to see ALL of Lina Romay, this is the one to seek out. I think the film would have been a bit better without the open clitoris scenes, as those elements take the viewer a bit out of the story, as things are put on hold for close-up vaginal shots. They are sexy, but unnecessary in a film that is good enough to maintain interest without them. The original language seems to be French, and the version I have seen is the longer 97 minute cut. For Jess Franco fans, "Lorna the Exorcist" is one to track down. And for fans of Lina Romay, this film is mandatory viewing! Romay, barely 19 years old here, has long hair, instead of the short cut that she sported later on. And Lorna must have kept her promise, because the home they live in is an absolute palace. The scene where Lorna "takes" Lina's soul is shocking and unforgettable!

This is Franco so u know your In for something powerful, different, Memorizing, and Sexy! This has beautiful Cinematography I love what Franco did with this take on a Exercise type film not what you Expect very original I highly recommend it to Franco fans or to the ones that love different. 10/10.