Satanic Pandemonium

"Satánico Pandemonium" is probably best known as the name of yummy Salma Hayek's character in Robert Rodriguez' "From Dusk Till Dawn". What remains unknown to many, however, is the fact that when writing the script, Quentin Tarantino adapted the name from the title of this ingeniously deranged piece of Mexican Nunsploitation Horror. The main protagonist, a sexy nun, by the way, does things that easily compete in weirdness with feeding on bikers and truckers, I may add. People interested in Horror/Cult-cinema will sooner or later find out that Mexican Horror cinema has a very specific charm. This is especially the case with the fistful of weird Mexican Nunsploitation flicks, most prominently "Alucarda" (1978). And while "Satánico Pandemonium" of 1975 is not nearly as ingenious a film as "Alucarda" it is definitely a wonderfully deranged little film that is highly recommendable to Exploitation-lovers. "Satánico Pandemonium" delivers the elements we love about Nunsploitation cinema - lots of female nudity, lesbianism, all kinds of perversions, occultism, violence and gore, and, not least, an enormous portion of religious nastiness - all that in a highly bizarre manner. These elements are highly entertaining for my fellow Exploitation fans, and can easily make the viewer forgive that the plot is almost non-existent and most of the performances are awful. "Satánico Pandemonium" is about the kind-hearted nun Sister Maria (Cecilai Peztez) - certainly the sexiest nun I've ever stumbled upon - who, after the lord of the flies appears to her, changes her pious behavior radically... The film delivers all the sleaze and weirdness one could desire in a Nunsploitation flick. In-between it sometimes gets quite boring, however. Still the film is deranged and bizarre enough to be a delight to genre-lovers. Overall, "Satánico Pandemonium" is not one of the best Nunsploitation films I've seen (it has the coolest title though), but it is weird enough, and more than recommended to fans of deranged Exploitation. My rating: 6.5/10

Even though I have ambiguous estimations about this film on the whole, I can only say for sure that "Satanico Pandemonium" is a must-see nunsploitation Mexican flick for anyone who can be pleased about these kinds of movies for their evident ridiculousness. This is one of those flicks that have too many flaws and no plot whatsoever but it's still impossible not to like them, for some imprecise cause. The acting is not exactly Academy Award material and it causes unintended laughter. The special effects in which we see the concept of Satan and temptation itself represented on a laughable guy naked, is by far one of the most hysterical things about this film, along with the outrageously shabby sound effects during these strange apparitions. The whole thing just looks too tacky and the look on the guy's face is simply priceless, so how can anyone not love it?. I know some people could take it as a reason to overthrow the director's gracious effort, but I myself, found it too silly not to like it. Without offering an actual share of real horror, "Satanico Pandemonium" manages to get the attention, even if it is by some means erroneously advertised. There are some noble allocations of gore here and there, but the film mostly focuses on the drama and eroticism. The first half an hour happens to be ineffective in a way and that would be the only reasons why I felt compelled to turn it off throughout the first minutes and leave it incomplete. It contains no dialogs, no action and for the most part only a nice display of beautiful Mexican landscapes, which is not exactly enough to make it endurable. However, it is only a matter of persistence to realize that after the big unnecessary moments of silence and boredom, the story starts to develop some of the most astonishing states of affairs, in which we see lesbian soft-core sex between two nuns, a nun taking advantage of a teenage boy and some enjoyable bloody murders inside the convent. Without anything else to add, I can only recommend "Satánico Pandemonium" to anyone who is in the mood for a decent nunsploitation drama, with some utterly random sexual scenes, a couple of nice murders to attach at least a small share of horror to the story, a badly placed background story of racism and of course...lots of sexy and sinful nuns.

Like most of these once-shocking exploitation movies, the buzz surrounding them today on IMDb comments and online forums is more captivating than the film itself. Blame it on our desensitized 21st century sensibilities but, for whatever reason, if this movie was shocking once, it's not any more, save for perhaps a few sheltered souls that are easily impressed. That's not to say it's a bad film. I just hate to see so many people seek these little known gems out with false expectations.

Another reviewer here says the main character (the nun who falls from grace) engages in "lesbianism, child seduction and heresy." Well, the first part is true, for what that's worth. The last part is a given, but then again heresy committed by a nun is not exactly a tall order. As far as "child seduction," well, here we have the reason why these films are so trumped up: modern day, brow-beaten, "politically correct" types who'll get their feathers ruffled at pretty much anything. There's no child seduction in this film, unless you consider a mildly attractive nun trying to seduce an shy and timid teenage boy who unrealistically rejects her purely for plot's sake, i.e. just to make the nun look even more lecherous.

The film moves slowly, the nudity is brief (and the protagonist's body is not exactly a knockout), the effects, though cheap, are well done, the one brief scene of lesbianism is almost arousing, and that's about it.

The film is worth watching for someone interested in a "study" of a nun's internal repressions and how they affect her view of the outer world (you are never quite sure if the events are happening or if she is deluded) but for anyone expecting some kind of feast of debauchery, ya better forget it. Unless, of course, you're a "politically correct" sissy like so many commentators here.

I found this film rather interesting. It's as cheesy and campy as it could be, acting is rather bad, poorly plotted and special effects are simply ridiculous. However, I got hooked by it. It is a top expression of exploitation cinema (I mean, here in Mexico this flick was named "La sexorcista") full of fake blood, male audience oriented soft core lesbianism and ludicrous dialogs that seem to be copied from a Siglo de Oro play (Spanish Renaisence Theatre).

If you like exploitation films, give this one a try. It has its "artistic" aspirations but, as the director might have, you will forget them rather quickly. Fun fact: Here in Mexico, actor Enrique Rocha has grown a respectable reputation as a prime soap opera actor. By the way, one thing that really impressed me in this one was the lighting. For a 70's Mexican movie it is incredibly well lit!

SATANICO PANDEMONIUM is a "good nun gone bad" film from Mexico about Sister Maria (Cecilia Pezet), who, after an encounter with the Devil (Enrique Rocha), goes on a mad spree of sexual deviance and bloody homicide.

The main reason for this film's notorious reputation is due to Maria's lusting after an underage boy. This was pretty shocking for its day, but is less so in this era of desensitization via the internet and trash TV. Whether she's inside or outside of the convent, Maria is relentless in her search for debauchery, ultimately committing several murders to cover up her sins. It's fascinating to watch her transform from a Julie Andrews / Audrey Hepburn-type nun, into a full-on, eeevil maniac!

Unfortunately, the ending is a swindle, tacked on to placate the church and the censors...