Nunxploitation is often called the bottom of the barrel of exploitation genres because they're the cheapest to make and the most devoid of imagination and entertainment. Rent some nun costumes, use a church as your set, use classical public domain music, have some orgies of both blood and sex, cut print done in one take.
The first thing to know about nunxploitation is that they ALL follow the same theme. The secret lives of nuns reveal that nuns aren't really nuns, or even Christians, they're really Satanists. They're also all lesbians, rapists, and murderesses. Yup, ALL of them in EVERY movie! Hence their lives aren't really secret since we all know what's coming.
That's pretty much what 'The Other Hell' is. It offers nothing new as far as nunxploitation other than being directed by Bruno Matti. Let me guess, he's going to title the film 'Terminator 2' and claim it was based on a Peter Benchley novel.
The plot: set in... whenever, it's never explained. Present day? The Spanish Inquisition? We never know. It opens with a young nun discovering that one of her sisters (not literally) has murdered their sister (not literally) because she became pregnant. The crazed killer nun has ripped the woman open starting with her vagina which she says is the "gateway to the devil."
The most amusing element of the opening scene is the vast array of boiling chemistry beakers. Seriously! Dr. Frankenstein never had a chemistry set this elaborate. So is this a lab, has the killer nun been doing unholy chemistry? Never explained! It's clearly just more nightmare fuel to add to the set to make it look scary. The satanic imagery is understandable as the character is a Satanist but why the elaborate chemistry set? All she's missing is the Tesla coils.
So anyway, after confessing to her crime she kills the young nun as well. The convent conspires to lie to the investigating priests that the deaths were accidents. Accidents? She's cut in half! This reminds me of the scene in 'End of Days' when a character is crucified and it's ruled a suicide! Even if someone did try and kill themselves via crucifixion it wouldn't work! They'd run out of hands!
The killer nun is ruled to be possessed by Satan and must undergo an exorcism while a younger priest disagrees arguing the woman is just mentally ill. Either way, shouldn't she be in a padded room somewhere? Not remaining in the convent?
Basically Bruno Matti spends the entire film throwing as much nightmare fuel on the set as possible without explanation. Bedrooms have life size dolls hanging from the ceiling from chains without explanation. Tons of satanic images. There are even pitbulls and Dobermans in cages. All that's missing are the Tesla coils or posters of Chairman Mao to make things scarier. Even the nuns acknowledge their convent is creepy. When a priest tries to bless it they prevent him from fully exploring it. No wonder their sisters are turning homicidal living in a place like this!
In conclusion I've never been a fan of nunxploitation and this film only reinforces my feelings. It's a genre built on cheap scares and no imagination. This is one to skip even if you're a fan of nunxploitation.
Several reviewers have stated that is isn't bad for a Bruno Matti film. Given the true pain of Matti's other films this is hardly an endorsement.
The first thing to know about nunxploitation is that they ALL follow the same theme. The secret lives of nuns reveal that nuns aren't really nuns, or even Christians, they're really Satanists. They're also all lesbians, rapists, and murderesses. Yup, ALL of them in EVERY movie! Hence their lives aren't really secret since we all know what's coming.
That's pretty much what 'The Other Hell' is. It offers nothing new as far as nunxploitation other than being directed by Bruno Matti. Let me guess, he's going to title the film 'Terminator 2' and claim it was based on a Peter Benchley novel.
The plot: set in... whenever, it's never explained. Present day? The Spanish Inquisition? We never know. It opens with a young nun discovering that one of her sisters (not literally) has murdered their sister (not literally) because she became pregnant. The crazed killer nun has ripped the woman open starting with her vagina which she says is the "gateway to the devil."
The most amusing element of the opening scene is the vast array of boiling chemistry beakers. Seriously! Dr. Frankenstein never had a chemistry set this elaborate. So is this a lab, has the killer nun been doing unholy chemistry? Never explained! It's clearly just more nightmare fuel to add to the set to make it look scary. The satanic imagery is understandable as the character is a Satanist but why the elaborate chemistry set? All she's missing is the Tesla coils.
So anyway, after confessing to her crime she kills the young nun as well. The convent conspires to lie to the investigating priests that the deaths were accidents. Accidents? She's cut in half! This reminds me of the scene in 'End of Days' when a character is crucified and it's ruled a suicide! Even if someone did try and kill themselves via crucifixion it wouldn't work! They'd run out of hands!
The killer nun is ruled to be possessed by Satan and must undergo an exorcism while a younger priest disagrees arguing the woman is just mentally ill. Either way, shouldn't she be in a padded room somewhere? Not remaining in the convent?
Basically Bruno Matti spends the entire film throwing as much nightmare fuel on the set as possible without explanation. Bedrooms have life size dolls hanging from the ceiling from chains without explanation. Tons of satanic images. There are even pitbulls and Dobermans in cages. All that's missing are the Tesla coils or posters of Chairman Mao to make things scarier. Even the nuns acknowledge their convent is creepy. When a priest tries to bless it they prevent him from fully exploring it. No wonder their sisters are turning homicidal living in a place like this!
In conclusion I've never been a fan of nunxploitation and this film only reinforces my feelings. It's a genre built on cheap scares and no imagination. This is one to skip even if you're a fan of nunxploitation.
Several reviewers have stated that is isn't bad for a Bruno Matti film. Given the true pain of Matti's other films this is hardly an endorsement.