The Reincarnation of Isabel (1973)

A group of vampires keep the body of a witch in a castle cellar. They require virgin blood to resurrect her. A party of people arrive and things kick off.

Director:

Renato Polselli (as Ralph Brown)

Writer:

Renato Polselli

Stars:

Mickey Hargitay, Rita Calderoni, Raul Lovecchio

Cast

Credited cast:
Mickey Hargitay	...	Jack Nelson
Rita Calderoni	...	Isabella / Laureen
Raul Lovecchio	...	Occultist (as Raoul)
Christa Barrymore	...	Christa (as Krista Barrymore)
Consolata Moschera	...	(as Moschera Consolata)
William Darni	...	Richard Brenton
Max Dorian	...	Doctor
Marcello Bonini Olas	...	Gerg (as Bonini Marcello)
Cristina Perrier	...	Glenda
Stefania Fassio	...	Steffy
Gabriele Bentivoglio	...	Priest
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	(as Fanfoni Vittorio)
Anna Ardizzone
Marisa Indice
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tano Cimarosa	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

In the late-1300s, the beautiful and innocent Isabella is tortured and burned at the stake for supposed witchcraft, in front of her lover who swears revenge. Several hundred years later, the well-off Jack Nelson and his niece, Laureen, celebrate the latter's engagement at their newly-acquired and fully renovated castle, unbeknownst to them that in the château's dank cellar, evil occultists participate in ancient black magic rites, sacrificing youthful virgins. What are their intentions? Is Laureen next in line?

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Plot Keywords:

supernatural power | psychotronic film | giallo | sleazy giallo | witch | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Rewind This! (2013)

User Reviews

One-of-a-kind erotic horror flick

A group of people are having a party in a castle one of them (Mickey Hargitay) has just bought. The castle is haunted by the malignant presence of a witch who was burned 500 years earlier and who, not surprisingly, looks just like one of the guests (Rita Calderoni). Yet another rip-off of Mario Bava's "Black Sunday"?--of course, but this movie is much, much more than that. All the male guests are either reincarnations of the earlier historical figures or vampires who have been living for centuries waiting for the opportunity to reincarnate the witch, Isabel. The women meanwhile are all virgins because, not only are virgins necessary for the ceremony, but as one character eloquently puts it, "Vampires need blood uncontaminated by human semen." (This leads one dumb girl in a particularly hilarious scene to give up her virginity to her nymphomaniac friend and a fat, ugly guy with a severe facial twitch).

Obviously, the main appeal of this movie is sex and nudity, but anyone watching it SOLELY for that purpose might be a little frustrated as this a Renato Polselli film, a man whose directorial style can best be described as completely deranged. While there are acres of flesh on display here, Polselli often seems more interested in the bizarro camera angles, the staccato editing sequences, and the pulse-pounding score than he is in lingering on the action like some of his hack contemporaries (or more modern-day "erotic" filmmakers) would have done. All the actors and actresses from Polselli's more famous film "Delerio Caldo" show up again here, and while the latter are even more naked than they were in "Delerio Caldo", some of them turn out to be pretty untalented as thespians(and Polselli doesn't have the good sense to kill them off quickly like he did in the other film). Meanwhile, the stronger actors like Hargitay, Calderoni, and Krysta Barrymore are pretty much wasted in the incomprehensible chaos the film quickly descends into.

Regardless of whether you like this film or not, however, I GUARANTEE you'll never see anything else like it.

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

17 January 1973 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Rites, Black Magic and Secret Orgies in the Fourteenth Century

Filming Locations:

Castello Piccolomini, Balsorano, L'Aquila, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

G.R.P. Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1