La possédée

Italian soft X Exorcist clone.

Woman buy statue of crucified thief. Said thief comes to life and turns out to be the Devil with rape fantasies.

Ivan Rassimov plays the Devil brilliantly. Mostly due to his gift of evil looks. And Because he was never above doing nudity. Good on him.

The actress in the lead did a decent job. Her wide eyed innocence and the fact that she looked great naked helped.

This one has a similar plot element to most Italian horror films. The girl's parents are filthy rich, and depraved. Watch it to get the details.

Laura Gemser's husband, Gabriel Tinti, also appears as a random stud. His part is basically phoned-in, but like a cheap beer, it did the job.

Fault the director for its failings. This could have been a horror/sex classic.

Out of the handful of alternative titles in English, "The Sexorcist" is definitely the most appropriate one, since this is basically just a shameless rip off of William Friedkin's classic horror film in which they replaced 13-year-old Linda Blair with the 19-year-old Stella Carnacina only so that she could gratuitously show her ravishing naked body. I'm not sure what exactly Satan tries to accomplish here, but he exclusively seems to possess the young girl to play sexual tricks on her! Poor Danila masturbates around the clock and tries to seduce priests and even her own father into having sex with her. The young girl is introduced as a smart and ambitious theology-student with an odd-looking boyfriend (driving a stupid yellow car) and loving, albeit adulterous parents. When she takes a peculiar crucifix home to renovate, the ancient relic comes to life and no less than Satan himself (played by Ivan Rassimov of "Jungle Holocaust" and "Planet of the Vampires") starts to torment her. The overlong masturbation sessions and some bizarre nightmare sequences cover about three quarters of the movie, and then finally director Mario Garriazzo begins with the actual exorcism. That final segment is even more embarrassing and amateurish! The priests don't really do anything apart from saying some vague prayers but, somehow, Danila seems cured all of a sudden. There isn't much gore, the dialogues are horrible and the producers seem to compensate every little flaw by adding more sleaze! This is one of the strangest Italian exploitation efforts of the seventies (why the hell are they referring to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show"?), but definitely not one of the best. If you fancy clones of "The Exorcist", I recommend "Demon Witch Child", "Beyond the Door" and "The Antichrist".

Surprisingly good film made in the wake of the Exorcist concerning a young woman who becomes possessed by a spirit after she goes to a de-sanctified church to restore a life size and life like crucified man . The piece was Christ and the two thieves, however Christ was long ago sold off. Trouble starts once the figure is removed from the cross and it seems to come to life and seduce the woman. From that point on it becomes a battle for the girls soul. Creepy, scary and much better than you think the film works because its cast sells the events which are decidedly adult. It helps that these are real people who are flawed so its easier to relate to them. I really liked this film, and seeing it again for the first time in at least a decade I was shocked at how good it is. Definitely better than any of its myriad of schlocky titles makes it seem.

After the release of The Exorcist in 1973, it was really only a matter of time before somebody realised that 'ex' sounds a bit like 'sex' and ended up coming up with a film called 'The Sexorcist'. Unfortunately that person was Mario Gariazzo; and while he may well have gone on to contribute to the script of the best Emanuelle film (Sister Emanuelle) and direct the seriously sleazy 1979 Giallo Play Motel - he apparently is not so well suited to ripping off The Exorcist, and The Sexorcist will surely go down as being one of the most pointless Exorcist rip offs of all time; and in a 'genre' that includes films such as Exorcismo and Naked Exorcism - that really is saying something! The trouble in this film starts with a strange wooden statue that is apparently Satan on a cross. It comes alive and a young theology student by the name of Danila ends up getting possessed by the devil. The Devil doesn't seem to have any particular plan in mind; he just gets the young girl masturbating and making sex offers to anyone who will listen...but hey, what else could you expect from a film that puts an 'S' in front of 'Exorcist'?

Actually, that's one of the film's main problems. It's the SEXorcist and there's very little sex to speak of! There's a ton of scenes involving vomiting, loads of religious gabble, scenes set in churches and even a priest being whipped with a chain - but where's the sex that the title promises? Naturally the plot is really very stupid and the director makes no secret of the fact that this film exists simply to cash in on The Exorcist. The Sexorcist is not without plus points, however. The film does feature a rather sleazy atmosphere and a lot of it is set in churches, which blends well. There's also a delicious cast which is headed by the pretty Stella Carnacina - and she gets back up from the likes of Ivan Rassimov (playing the very horny Devil, no less), Gabriele Tinti and Luigi Pistilli who ends up performing the sexorcism. I mean exorcism. The scenes in which the leading lady vomits and prances around 'possessed' are also worth watching. However, at the end of the day; The Sexorcist just doesn't live up its promise and what we end up with is just a really pointless Exorcist rip-off that isn't much worth bothering with.

"L'Ossessa" (released in English under many titles and the eeriest of them certainly is "The eerie midnight horror show") is one of the best Italian rip-offs of "The Exorcist". To really appreciate this film you should have a sense of humor. "L'Ossessa" is at the same time sleazy (but naive), pathetic and sometimes even moving.

Danila (Stella Carnacina), an art student, goes to an old church to see the statue she's going to restore. It's a wooden statue of Christ, a demonic Christ, maybe already overcome by evil, or fighting against it, or perhaps planning dark deeds. The face shows infinite torment. The statue dates from the 15th century. Danila is impressed by the mastery shown by the sculptor - the statue seems almost alive! She lives with her parents. Her mother Luisa (Lucretia Love) lives a dissolute life and doesn't care too much for keeping up appearances. Her father Mario (Chris Avram) observes everything with disenchanted eyes.

The wooden statue will soon assume a human form (Ivan Rassimov) and possess Danila in the carnal and spiritual sense. An amazing scene! The poor Danila, from now on, will suffer the torments of hell.

Danila (the lovely Stella Carnacina) was ravished, violated, possessed by the devil and now following his orders, she will try to seduce others. Ain't she emulating her sleazy mother Luisa (Lucretia Love) who feels great pleasure when her lover whips her with a bunch of roses? There is a scene so ridiculous as to be sublime and moving, when Stella Carnacina runs in despair through the narrow streets (possessed by the devil, remember?) of a small Italian town screaming her heart out. Luigi Pistilli is a very good exorcist. His performance is, as usual, intense. The exorcism scenes (particularlly the final battle) are very, very amateurish, but this will only enhance the fun (and/or emotion?) if you've really got a sense of humor.

Stella Carnacina is beautiful and looks fresh and innocent, and that's a factor that adds to your pleasure when she's naked, but I think that the film could have explored more her natural beauty. Lucretia Love is a very good sleaze companion (her nude scene with the roses... well.:)

Other Italian exorcist rip-offs I would like to recommend for you are:

Malabimba (very sleazy and released uncut and digitally restored)

"Evil Eye" (Malocchio) - "The Exorcist" was the main source of inspiration for "Evil Eye", but others films, like, for instance, "Rosemary's Baby" should also be taken into account. "Evil Eye" is completely over the top. Not that sleazy but with plenty of gorgeous Italian and Spanish actresses. You'll be drooling all over the film. The film is ridiculous, the story doesn't make any sense, but if you see it in the right mood you might feel moved! - a diabolical sect, possession, murders, despair, love, investigation and beautiful women all around. A wild ride!

If you liked "Evil Eye", see also "Ring of Darkness" (Un'Ombra nell'ombra). This film can be found in the alternative market. Search this title in the IMDb. There are good reviews about it.

P.S. - "L'Ossessa" has many different faces. It's exploitative, but it can also be serious and moving. It's cheap, cheesy... sleazy (but not that much) and it has an underlying "moral" message. This strange brew can sometimes be very funny. We all already know that "L'Ossessa" is an "Exorcist" rip-off so why can't we see it on its own terms? Yes, Mario Gariazzo was trying to earn a fast buck, but he was able get the most out of a shoestring budget. The story is well told, the film is atmospheric and overall the actors are committed to their roles. See the film with an open mind and you may discover two or three new things.