उपयोगकर्ता समीक्षाएं

Known in the UK as Black Candles, the original Spanish title Los Ritos Sexuales del Diablo sums it up a lot better. The characters in this 1981 film from Jose Ramon Larraz spend most of the time naked and jumping on one another. Saucy German actress Helga Line, pushing 50 when the film was made, leads the way with an erotic, knicker-shedding performance as a middle-class woman at the centre of a Satanic cult. Drawing heavily on Rosemary's Baby and set in England, this is a daft piece of soft core in which the devil's work is done largely by the genitalia.

I know and like Vampyres, another movie directed by José Ramón Larraz in 1974. That one mixes softporn scenes with some bloodthirsty female vampires. Los ritos sexuales del diablo aka Black Candles mixes some satanic witchcult with, well, softporn. So all in all I dare to say that both movies by Mr. Larraz are only of any interest to you if you like your movies sometimes sleazy and dirty, in that oldschool softporn way. The by other viewers mentioned "goat act" is so obviously fake, it's rather funny than shocking. Anyway, entertained I was. Recommended if names like Jess Franco or Russ Meyer don't let you run away screaming in terror and pain ;)

Extremely thin 'plot' of satanic rituals or some such mumbo-jumbo provides the hokey excuse to thread copious amounts of sex scenes together. Straight vanilla sex, masturbation, lesbianism, S&M, bestiality, incest, and a few other sexual proliferation's all get their time in the spotlight here. The problem is the storyline is so dull that the rampant sexuality gets pretty tedious after awhile. Who knew that a film with an intimate goat/ girl encounter could be so damn boring? Well now I do.

Eye Candy: Venessa Hidalgo shows all; Helga Line provides T&A (both on display quite frequently); women viewers get the occasional penis.

My Grade: D+

Region 1 DVD Extras: Trailers for "Pick Up", "Legend of Eight Samurai", "Don't Answer the Phone", "Prime Evil", & "Sister Street Fighter" (also the same DVD holds a second feature movie "Evil Eye")

I'm not ruining anything when I inform you that you get to see a woman have sex with a goat in this movie. If that is your thing, then your movie has arrived.

A woman and her husband go to see her estranged sister in the family mansion in the woods. Her sister is a creepy lady to say the least, and she seems to have interests that go beyond family love. On the side a group of unsavory characters show up and begin enacting all kinds of pagan rituals.

The plotting is pretty weak and the characters are pretty dumb. The woman sticks around even after her husband starts turning into a jerk and hanging out with the pagans, even continues the have sex with him. On the exploitative side of things, there is much bared flesh and a couple of kinky couplings, but nothing that hasn't been better somewhere else. Oh, and the aforementioned goat-sex scene.

Most viewers won't make it to the end. Exploitation fans will ride it out, but will be left wanting more.

4/10

Jose Ramon Larraz's "Black Candles" is a rare Spanish horror/sleaze film about a young woman named Carol who finds out that various family members are involved with a satanic cult.The film is loaded with sleazy sex and satanism,so I wasn't disappointed.Still it's not as memorable as Larraz's erotic masterpiece "Vampyres".The lighting is poor and the acting is amateurish.The sex scene between a black goat and a woman has to be seen to be believed.There is also an incredibly nasty moment which has a man killed by having a sword shoved into him between his legs.To sum up,if you are into European exploitation cinema give this one a look.However if you like your horror without sleaze avoid this one like the plague.7 out of 10.

Not a pretty film, this rather vigorous satanic sex film is filmed on location in England with a cast of largely unknown Spanish and English 'actors'. Actually the fact that this is such a mixed cast and of such mixed age does add a little something to what is otherwise not a lot. The leading coven lady was coming up 50 when she made this and that doesn't stop her stripping for sex at regular intervals. Similarly the men, they don't care if they might be fat and hairy. So plot wise this is a non starter but as a representation of a small countryside satanic group ready and willing to excite their goat into some mixed action, this is probably more realistic than many. Basically this looks like lusty amateurs giving it their sleazy all.

Those expecting another VAMPYRES from director Jose Ramon Larraz are in for a huge disappointment with BLACK CANDLES, as it's a big step-down from that atmospheric masterpiece. Instead, here we are treated to a poorly-lit, cheaply-made sex film masquerading as a full blooded horror. Much of the film's running time consists of ugly actors and actresses heaving over one another which doesn't make for very pleasant viewing. In fact it's downright disgusting. The Spanish actresses here look about ten years too old to be engaging in these kind of kinky activities and the men are all sleazy, hairy types; enough to give you nightmares! Once again the film is set in England, but this time little use is made of the picturesque British countryside. Most of the action takes place in what looks like the same room being refitted over and over again.

The other typical attributes of a Spanish horror film are here too and help to conspire against it. The dubbing is poor and the editing appears to have done without much consideration, or, indeed, attention. The lack of acting skill is appalling, with the whole cast never rising above the level of amateurs. There isn't really much of a plot either, and things drag incredibly in the film's middle. It's just one pointless sex scene after another. A rushed climax ends in yet more ritualised sex, and then a silly twist ending which is probably about the most horrifying part of the entire film!

The horror elements come from a silly 'devil worship' plot element thrown in with all the sex, and there's a lot of mumbo-jumbo to be waded through. One incredibly nasty scene involving a sword is sure to leave a nasty impression on the viewer. As this was the UK 18-rated version I saw, a lot of the more explicit perverse aspects have been (perhaps thankfully?) shorn out, including candle-sex and even some fornication involving a black goat. Aside from this controversial side to the film, there is absolutely nothing to redeem it. It's not scary, it's not sexy and it's definitely not worth bothering with - unless you happen to be a devil worshipper yourself...

What Black Candles lacks in plot and character development, it makes up for in sleaze and overt sexuality. I can't think of the last time I saw a semi-mainstream film this steamy and overloaded with sex scenes and nudity. Most of the time, it's riding a fine line between softcore and hardcore.

Since all the performances have been dubbed, it's hard to judge many of the performances or the dialogue. The story seems to be a take off on Rosemary's Baby with a paranoid woman thinking she's being roped into a Satantic cult for some nefarious reason. These reasons are never made clear and, besides one nasty scene where a man is stabbed by a sword through his rectum, it's light on horror.

After seeing the enjoyable "Coming of Sin" and the horror classic "Vampyres," I decided to give this one a try, despite it's low rating. What a difference a decade can make. This ugly, artless "Rosemary's Baby" rip off, possesses none of the beauty and artistry as the stuff from the 70's. Instead we have synth music, big hair and tons of tacky sex scenes, possibly to make up for everything else this movie is lacking. A woman, played by an actress who can't seem to stop pushing her petrified hairstyle back with her hand, (a pointless gesture as nobody in this crap has hair that moves.) She arrives with her husband at the estate of her brother, who has died mysteriously. She finds that her sister-in-law is not what she pretends, and she begins to suspect that she is a devil worshiping witch. Cue the 'special herb tea' ala 'tannis root' and the naked old people at Satanic sex rituals, and the old shtick about the wife being the last to know etc..

I know the 80's was a time of filmmakers copying earlier, more successful films, and there have been some good ones. But "Black Candles" is really a waste of time. And I forced myself to sit through the entire thing, just so I could say I had seen it..only to find the worst, dumbest, and most incoherent ending I have ever seen. So unless you need to see a woman having sex with a goat, there really is absolutely no reason to waste your valuable time. Just revisit "Vampyres" from this same director, which is a horror classic.

I didn't go into this film expecting much as I've never heard a good word said about it. Black Candles is basically just a variation on the same sort of plot that worked a lot better in the earlier Spanish horror film 'Satan's Blood', as well as a whole load of other films. It starts out interestingly, as we are introduced to the central characters and we start to get an idea of where the plot is going. There seems to be a correlation between devil worshipping in Europe and having loads of sex, and that's something that director José Ramón Larraz (who made a whole load of trash films, including the sleazy 'Vampyres') seems keen to capitalise on, as the actors spend a good half of the film without any clothes on. The plot is, of course, very simple and starts off with a man dying suddenly while having sex after a woman sticks a pin in a voodoo doll. We then get introduced to his sister and her husband, and they travel down to stay with the dead man's husband; her sister-in-law, and it transpires that she's into devil worship (Shock! Horror!)

Everything about this film is completely amateurish! (Which is odd as Vampyres was quite professional for a sleazy slice of Eurohorror. Obviously Larraz didn't get better at film making as he went along!). The acting is terrible; sometimes even cringe-worthy, which is quite shocking since I'm certainly used to watching films with less than great acting. The scene setting is frankly lazy, and Larraz makes practically no attempt to build an oppressive atmosphere or lift the film out of the pits in any way. This would normally stamp out any chance of a decent rating for a film; but Black Candles still deserves a few points as it's actually quite funny, and luckily the director's laziness doesn't extend to the sex scenes; which are actually quite erotic, mostly owing to the fact that the women are nice to look at. There are a couple of nasty scenes too; a sex scene with a goat…which I didn't enjoy too much and a death scene that involves someone having a sword shoved up his backside! Overall, I can't recommend going out of your way to see this film; its obscurity isn't undeserved - but it's not terrible in spite of the fact that everything about it is trash, and that can't be said for every film like this one.

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Black Candles. Before we get into it, here are my ratings:

Story - 1.25 Direction - 1.25 Pace - 1.00 Acting - 1.00 Enjoyment - 1.00

TOTAL - 5.50

Okay, so when the film started, I groaned. Though, it wasn't through pleasure. No! I thought Black Candles was to be a weak-assed softcore porn film with a slight occult twist. If so, it would undoubtedly turn out to be a horrid affair. But luckily for me, I was wrong. But how was I to know as a couple of the alternative titles, Hot Fantasies and Naked Dreams, scream 1970s softcore? They don't even mention anything about the occult.

So I continued to watch. As time ticked by and the film rolled, I realised a story was unfolding on the screen. Moreover, it was a good story. A story about greed and power and the lengths people will go to so they can achieve both. I was impressed the writer didn't hold anything back, even the more bestial sex. At its basic, Black Magic and Satanism are about our more primal urges and needs. Sex and control. Therefore the sex scenes, of which there are plenty, are pivotal to driving the plot. The director does an excellent job of shooting the infernal carnel trists. In fact, he's a damn decent director all-around. The only letdown is the flow of the film. In view of all the sex scenes, the pace is a tad slow throughout, and you may find boredom waiting. Even though the women are stunningly beautiful, I still found my attention faltering at the umpteenth coupling. And though I found myself enjoying the story, the Dallas ending left me wanting. It would have been nice to have the story completed. I know the climax is a twist, a what-if? But it doesn't work.

Another thing that shocked me was how good the cast performed. Because of the sex scene at the movie's beginning, I wasn't expecting too much. So when the actresses and actors proved their talent, I was pleasantly surprised. Their performances and the director's skills made this an enjoyable experience.

If you like occult films, then Black Candles is for you. You may have to search for it as it goes by many names - and don't shelve it because of the ones mentioned above. I think they should have gone with the literal translation of the Spanish title - Sex Rites Of The Devil - it sums the film up perfectly. It is well written and skillfully shot, though you think there's too much sex, which dulls down the story.

Feel free to check out my Absolute Horror list to see where I have ranked Black Candles.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Disregard those negative MST3K-era trolls - though not for everyone (what film is?), "Black Candles" is a delectable treat for lovers of classic Euro horror. As with any film, the way to enjoy it is to know what you're getting into, so you can skip if it's not to your taste, or dig in, if it is.

The story revolves around a young couple who visit a beautiful English manor house after a mysterious death in the family, of decidedly UN-natural causes. Each are gradually seduced, sexually and psychologically, by their host and her circle of close friends, whom we soon discover are members of a Satanic cult.

As with other marvelous Euro-Gothic sex films like "Virgin Witch," "Satan's Blood" and "Beyond Terror," sex is a key aspect of the devilish ceremonies. Director Larraz makes this clear with a succession of mostly titillating softcore scenes which unfortunately veer into lesbianism far too often but otherwise keep things percolating. Overall, the film makes these sinister rituals and Coven life look like great fun; you may find yourself wishing you belonged to one!

Cinematography is rich and velvety, ably showcasing the eerie English countryside and richly furnished manor house. The altar scenes are a must, particularly the final one, which is one of the film's most erotic passages.

Highly recommended for adults over 21 who like their films creepy and sexy.

Made by Spanish director José Ramón Larraz. So many thought it was going to be another masterpiece like his Vampyres (1974) sadly for many this is a pure sleazefest.

Every reason in this flick to have sex, they have. When a guy dies by voodoo while having sex his sister goes to London to find out what went wrong. She suddenly finds herself in a satanic cult.

From the first shot you do know what you will get, sleaze and nudity. If you are going to search for this flick be sure to find the uncut version. Two reasons, the sword scene and the bestiality scene with a goat.

The Spanish title refers what you will get, the English title moves away from that part. Black Candles are to see throughout the whole flick but doesn't refer to anything except the satanism.

Strangely not only the director uses a pseudonym, almost all actors have a fake name on the credits.

A bit hard to find this one, mostly dubbed in English, only for the sleaze geeks.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 3/5 Effects 0/5 Story 1,5/5 Comedy 0/5