Malabimba

Malabimba is a good example about how to do a memorable film, with low budget, and stay present in the mind of the viewers. The idea is present the history of the girl (the only movie of the actress, I don't understand why), when has problems with a subtle entity... And she reacts in a very sexual manner. If you have a little money, and you want to react the Exorcist with low budget, but with dignity, the director choiced the best option. The eurotrash should return: when the people is tired of porn (is always the same, no doubt), if you present a good history with some spice, then the score is so better. I ask all the french, Italian and spanian directors: remember Bianchi, Franco, D'amato, Brass... This is the way.

Wow, this was just great and to think it came from the director of Burial Ground( one of the best zombie films ) made it even better. The storyline is tenuous but who cares, there is enough licentious festivities happening to satisfy the most avid euro-trash followers. This sordid film is almost impossible to find but if you do find it purchase it because you will never see anything like it out there.

Directed by Andrea Bianchi, the man who also gave us the hilariously trashy Italian zombie classic Burial Ground and the magnificently sleazy giallo Strip Nude for Your Killer, Malabimba is a fairly humdrum tale of possession, clearly inspired by The Exorcist but given a massive shot in the arm by the presence of some serious Euro-babeage and the inclusion of several very steamy scenes, some of which even enter XXX territory thanks to the use of hardcore insert shots.

Star of the film is the rather lovely Katell Laennec who plays sixteen year old Bimba Karoli, whose over-protective father Andrea keeps her away from the rest of the world in the family castle, which is also home to several other relatives. During a séance, intended to allow Andrea to contact his dead wife Daniela, Bimba becomes possessed by the spirit of evil ancestor Lucrezia and is transformed into a sexual deviant. Apprentice nun Sister Sofia (Mariangela Giordano) realises the truth, but can she save Bimba without falling victim to Lucrezia's seductive power herself?

Lots of shots of luscious Laennec in the altogether indulging in all manner of perversion; Giordano whipping off her wimple and habit to get saucy; and busty blonde Patrizia Webley (as Bimba's nympho aunt Nais) making a couple of the men in the castle very happy chappies indeed: despite the rather mediocre plot, Bianchi's film has more than enough quality sleaze to ensure a good time, with the added explicit footage only making matters even more seedy.

In the film's predictable finale (if you've seen The Exorcist, that is), Sofia sacrifices herself by becoming the vessel for Lucrezia's corruptive spirit and promptly dives head-first off the castle's ramparts before she is able to succumb to sin. What a waste of a randy nun!

Interestingly, a virtual remake of Malabimba-entitled La Bimba di Satana (Satan's Baby Doll)- was directed the following year by Mario Bianchi (no relation of Andrea, as far as I can find out); the uncut version of that film also featured several equally explicit sex scenes but the torturously slow pacing and shoddy direction made it a far less entertaining affair than it's predecessor.

Malabimba is not just a sleazy film. The film has more depth than people give it credit for. It is one of the more notorious "Exorcist" rip-offs (and the best of them in my opinion). This is of course a matter of taste. I've seen some of them:

"The Antichrist" (cinematographically speaking is the more traditional of the lot and therefore the easiest to please the majority, but being an Italian film (even if tame for Italian standards) it crosses boundaries that Hollywood would never dare to trespass (the goat scene). It's a film that in spite of being exploitative follows the "Exorcist" recipe more closely and with more seriousness.

"L'Ossessa" (The eerie midnight horror show) – See my comment in IMDb.

"Un urlo nelle tenebre" released in English under many different titles ("Cries and Shadows", "Naked Exorcism" "The Possessor" etc..). The film is a hopeless mess. It's very uneven. Sometimes it's visually stylish and atmospheric (good use of scenery – small village on the top of the hill, narrow and gloomy streets, the house and its interiors etc..), but the film seems like a collage of different scenes, losing some steam in consequence. It was directed by two directors: Angelo Pannaccio and Franco Lo Cascio.

Back to Malabimba. A lonely mansion/castle on the top of a hill. There live the Karolis. The Karoli family was once wealthy and aristocratic, but now they are almost bankrupt. Tragedy, resentments, intrigues, decadence... In this place, Bimba (Katell Laennec - mala means bad), a shy teenage girl, lives a secluded life. One day a harsh wind blows into the house. It's the devil – a hoarse whispering wind. It attacks everybody in the household, but it takes possession of the innocent Bimba. Bimba's sexuality till then dormant explodes. Sexual hunger, anger, frustration, she wants satisfaction at any price... but the grown-ups (with the exception of her preceptor, the nun, Sister Sofia – Mariangela Giordano) are too busy with their own problems to realize what's really happening with Bimba. She's passing through hell and the devil in her will convulse the whole house.

"Malabimba" is audiovisually an engaging film – the hand-held camera explores corridors, enters rooms, follows the characters, as well as the hoarse wind (the devil) that prowls around. The gardens are seen from the upstairs windows, and the distant mountains..... There are many sex scenes (already widely commented by other reviewers). Some hardcore porn inserts are present, but not many, and they don't spoil the overall effect. The images are punctuated by a good and effective soundtrack (some of it borrowed from "La morte ha sorriso all'assassino" by Joe D'Amato, but who cares?).

Immerse yourself into the film, and you'll have an enjoyable sexy audiovisual trip.

A Matchflick reviewer recommended this film some time in the past, so I took the trouble of tracking it down. It was not easy, but I finally get to see it.

It is a ripoff of the Exorcist, to be sure. It starts with a séance gone wrong, lots of things go flying through the castle, and we are to assume someone is possessed by the ex-wife Lucrezia. Most likely the teen Bimba (Katell Laennec), as she is acting particularly strange.

Dad (Enzo Fisichella) really starts to worry when she French kisses him and grabs his crotch. Maybe it's not teen phase after all.

The scene with Uncle Adolfo (Giuseppe Marrocco) was pure magic.

But, it is Mariangela Giordano as Sister Sofia that gives the best show with Bimba.

It would have been better had it not had snippets of porn placed here and there. I would have like to see the original.