Riti, magie nere e segrete orge nel trecento (1973)

User Rating:

4.4/10   

Director:

Renato Polselli

Writer:

Renato Polselli (writer)

Release Date:

17 January 1973 (Italy)

Genre:

Horror

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Witch | Reincarnation | Sacrifice | Inquisition

Cast

Mickey Hargitay	...	Jack Nelson
Rita Calderoni	...	Isabella / Laureen
Raul Lovecchio	...	Occultist (as Raoul)
Christa Barrymore	...	Christa
Consolata Moschera		(as Moschera Consolata)
William Darni	...	Richard Brenton
Max Dorian
Marcello Bonini Olas	...	Gerg (as Marcello Bonini)
Cristina Perrier
Stefania Fassio	...	Steffy
Gabriele Bentivoglio	...	Priest
Vittorio Fanfoni		(as Fanfoni Vittorio)
Anna Ardizzone
Marisa Indice
Dunca Balsor

Also Known As:

Black Magic Rites & the Secret Orgies of the 14th Century (UK) (DVD title)
Black Magic Rites: Reincarnations
La reincarnazione
Rites, Black Magic and Secret Orgies in the Fourteenth Century (USA) (literal English title)
The Ghastly Orgies of Count Dracula
The Horrible Orgies of Count Dracula
The Reincarnation of Isabel

Runtime:

USA:98 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Balsorano Castle, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Company:

G.R.P. Cinematografica

Entertaining Euro-trash...

"Reincarnation of Isabel" is a great example of good Euro-trash. It triumphs over its obviously low budget through a combination of gore, unintentional humor, a great score, flashy camera work, and large amounts of gratuitous nudity. It is surprising that this movie has not received a cult status yet, being that it is better than many cult movies. Thanks must be given to Redemption (the company that put this out) for finding a print of this movie, which was long considered lost, and giving it its first domestic release ever.

The "plot" is as follows: A woman named Isabel is burned at the stake when the Inquisition comes to her small village. Apparently they are not too far off, either, because she actually was a witch. Her husband and another local take her body and put it in the dungeon of a castle. Flip to present day: The husband and some of the locals who were on his side have been reincarnated (no explanation is given), and through some twist of fate know it. The husband then attempts to reincarnate Isabel with the hearts of young virgins in some satanic ritual. There is actually much more to the plot (something to do with vampires, and many unnecessary characters), but it all becomes a confused mess. This lack of plot can be forgiven, though, because the plot is not what the movie is trying for.

"Reincarnation of Isabel" is one of the most enjoyable Euro-trash movies, containing everything one has come to expect from this genre. Well, not quite everything. This movie unfortunately lacks in violence and gore. After the violent opening, the movie contains no more realistic effects (it does, however, contain some unrealistic effects. For example, a few "witches" are scratched with sticks, which is fine and dandy (they were topless, after all), but the effect was so cheap it was unintentionally humorous. It was achieved through the use of rubbing a blunt club with wet paint on the end against the skin of the two "witches."). The fake violence was not the only source of unintentional humor; the subtitles were actually much funnier. On the plus side, the acting was surprisingly good and solid, the music was decent, and the direction was pretty solid. It should also be noted that "Reincarnation..." gets better with every viewing. It should be viewed at least twice to get the wanted effect.

Recommended for all fans of Eurohorror. My rating: 7 out of 10.