La cloche de l'enfer

This is a true unique creepy movie of the early 70's. No Hollywoodtrash, pure sickening. Scene's at an abattoir, incest, rape and that with no blood and almost no nudity. Excellent how this movie takes you to the end, a bit slow the first half but then suddenly it all start moving in the Italian way, sometimes it made me remind of 'The beyond'. Beautiful filmed and great performances. Weird how an open door and some fog combined with "frere jacques" can make your flesh creep. If you can stand animal cruelty search the full uncut of this one, I can't tell if the DVD release is uncut. You will stick until the end...

This is a pretty well done film of its ilk. As is the case with most of these, we have the deep psychological, "Psycho" like motivations. The problem with this one is that we can't answer if we have a true victim or sociopath? Are we to take this young man's trials as an excuse? He spent time in an institution. Did he crack, or was he relatively sane, filled with revenge? Who's to know. What we have is a slaughterhouse film, full of horror and carnage. There is an enjoyment in seeing those who are evil get theirs, but, then, there are normal courses. This movie is pretty well filmed although I think some of the cinematography is a little trite (close up, long shot), but there are some startling images and a fair amount of imagination. The sound on my print is terrible, making the initial conversations virtually impossible to understand. Maybe this one might be worth some restoration.

This fascinating and completely off-the-wall horror/art film is full of memorable imagery and surprising shocks. It's about a man who is released from a mental hospital into the care of his aunt and her daughters. They want to drive him mad again to inherit his vast estate, but he turns the tables on them in a series of surreal and sometimes disturbing "tricks". One of the best scenes takes place in a dungeon. The film is original and you never know where it's going. Worth seeking out.

For much of the time this is a most effective and perverse little horror but there are wayward moments and I am not convinced by the ending. However we have to remember that the poor director died after a fall from the infamous bell tower on the last day of shooting so probably didn't have too much input himself after that! As with much European shock/horror of this period the plot is a little lacking but this one has a most unusual look and feel constantly surprising us as we witness the past and present of a lad who may have been forced into madness by his mother's sister so she could keep the inheritance for herself and her three daughters. Well, all four of them are treated to some tasty revenge before the final denouement and if it doesn't all make complete sense it is a good ride with more than the odd reference to youth disaffection of the time and the lingering effects of Franco who was to live one more year.

I saw this movie when I was about 10 years old on an episode of Shock Theater that aired in Georgia. That would have been in the late 70's. I was at an all-girl slumber party, and the last one awake when it came on TV. Talk about a creepy mix of midnight horror at the age of pre-teen sexual awakening. This movie has stuck with me all these years, and has to be one of the more oddly erotic horror movies that I've encountered. I remember John's bedroom being painted red and having a very erotic, yet unhinged feel to it. And the parts with the girls tied up; I was mesmerized. Maybe it just touched the deranged part of myself. ;o)