The Antichrist (1974)

A paralyzed young woman becomes possessed by the Devil when a hypnosis session - intended to heal her disability - accidentally awakens memories of her past life as a witch.

Director:

Alberto De Martino

Writers:

Gianfranco Clerici, Alberto De Martino

Stars:

Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy

Cast

Credited cast:
Carla Gravina	...	Ippolita Oderisi
Mel Ferrer	...	Massimo Oderisi
Arthur Kennedy	...	Bishop Ascanio Oderisi
George Coulouris	...	Father Mittner
Alida Valli	...	Irene
Mario Scaccia	...	Faith Healer
Umberto Orsini	...	Dr. Marcello Sinibaldi
Anita Strindberg	...	Greta
Remo Girone	...	Filippo Oderisi
Ernesto Colli	...	Possessed Man
Bruno Tocci	...	Possessed Man's Friend
Beatrice De Bono	...	Woman healed by statue
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	(credit only)
Luigi Antonio Guerra	...	(credit only)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Viktoria Brams	...	Ippolita (voice) (as V. Abrams)

Storyline

Ippolita is a paralyzed young woman with serious mental problems stemming from the death of her mother. Her crisis of faith and the intervention of a well-meaning psychologist lead Ippolita to remember her past life as a witch during the Inquisition. Eventually, Ippolita becomes possessed and starts seducing local men, only to kill them. An exorcism seems to be the only solution to stop the madness.

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Plot Keywords:

death | faith | exorcism | witch | inquisition | 

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Taglines:

Deliver her from evil.

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

13 October 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blasphemy

Filming Locations:

Santuario della Madonna di Quintiliolo, Tivoli, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Capitolina Produzioni Cinematografiche

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Sound System)

Color:

Color (Telecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Probably the first overt carbon copy of The Exorcist (1973), this borrows many elements from William Friedkin's film, including pea-green vomit and one of the characters falling down a lengthy staircase. Alberto De Martino's film ups the ante a bit more with cruder special effects and generous helpings of nudity.

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Quotes

Ippolita Oderisi: This time I'm going to win. You're all afraid, you stinking pots of shit!

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and video versions were cut by 13 secs by the BBFC to edit shots of a live toad being crushed to death. The Optimum DVD is fully uncut.

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Connections

Referenced in End Roll (2012)

User Reviews

Ripping off The Exorcist - Alberto De Martino shows us how it's done!

I've only seen a handful of Italian Exorcist rip-offs; but I've seen enough to know that this type of film generally isn't very high quality. The same can't be said for Alberto De Martino's The Antichrist, however, which is so far in front of all the other Exorcist rip-offs that I've seen that you could just about throw all the rest of the Italian devil/demons films into the mix; and this one would still rise above the majority of them. Of course, the film has something of a bad reputation for a reason - and how much you enjoy this film may well hinge on just how important a coherent plot line is to you; but if you can ignore that, what we have here is a very good horror film. The plot is not far removed from William Friedkin's 1973 film and focuses on a wheelchair bound woman. Her psychiatrist believes that her problem may be mental rather than physical and sets out to cure her. However, in doing so he brings back memories of her past life; which involved her worshipping Satan, and the woman is soon possessed by the Devil...

This film really is very similar to The Exorcist both in style and execution. The victim here spouts vomit and atrocities just as Regan did in the earlier film and of course we get an exorcism scene to go with it; but the film still rises head and shoulders above most films like it thanks to the visuals. Alberto de Martino really put care into how the film looks and many frames are extraordinarily beautiful. The house in which most of the action takes place is a lavish construction that is a pleasure on the eyes - while sequences such as a devil worship orgy as well as the numerous scenes that depict the result of the possession will stick in the memory long after the film has finished. It's clear that the scriptwriter wanted to shock his audience and some of the things that the leading lady spouts really are quite vulgar and blasphemous, which is a highlight. It all boils down to the big exorcism scenes; and De Martino certainly doesn't disappoint here either as its loud, brash and entertaining throughout. In fact, if it wasn't for the turgid opening scenes - this could easily be considered a masterpiece! Don't miss this one!