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:

giallo | actual animal killed | psychotronic film | anti christ | downward spiral | 

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Taglines:

from the bowels of hell, the serpent has risen, to pour foul evil upon the world

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Genres:

Drama | Horror

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

3 March 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

Alberto De Martino would return to the satanic genre with The Chosen (1977), in itself another blatant rip-off, this time of The Omen (1976).

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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

References The Exorcist (1973)

User Reviews

Rip-off Yes, But Still a Decent Film

I remember seeing this movie when I worked at one of my local video stores back in 1998. The description of the movie on the box was rather hilarious as it is obviously bashing itself by saying "Move over Linda Blair". Yes, this is one of the many rip-offs of the famous Friedkin directed film "The Excorcist". Now, just because it was a blatant rip-off does not mean that it wasn't a decent film.

First of all, this movie has a very good and creepy soundtrack done by Ennio Morricone. If it weren't for the soundtrack this movie would not have been very good. Second, one of the leading stars in the movie is the infamous Mel Ferrer who has been in many Italian horror flicks in the later part of his acting career. Third, the atmosphere of this movie is actually very well done. It was done well enough to keep your interest high.

Unfortuanitly, the down parts of the movie are when the lead actress who gets possessed starts talking just like Linda Blair in "The Excorcist" and she also starts vomiting green crap all over the place just like in "The Excorcist". But if you are a fan of this genre of film making than you can overlook these blatant rip-offs. All in all, I liked this movie. It is nothing great but still enjoyable and worth watching. 7\10 stars