• Rating:
• Genre: Horror
• Themes: Demonic Possession
• Director: Alberto De Martino
• Main Cast: Carla Gravina, Mel Ferrer, Arthur Kennedy, George Coulouris, Alida Valli
• Release Year: 1974
• Country: IT
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• MPAA Rating: R

Plot

Alberto De Martino's imitative occult horror film, photographed by Aristide Massaccesi (aka Joe D'Amato), is probably the best of numerous Italian copies of The Exorcist which flooded theaters in the mid-1970s. Carla Gravina stars as Hipolita, 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 Hipolita to remember her past life as a witch during the Inquisition. Eventually, Hipolita becomes possessed and starts seducing local men, only to break their necks. Eventually, she sleeps with her brother, makes a local sorceror lick vomit from her hand, and levitates out the window. It takes an exorcism performed by an aging monk (George Coulouris) and the family housekeeper (Alida Valli) to restore order. De Martino and the talented cast manage a few chilling moments despite the predictable storyline, and Gravina is quite good in the lead. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

Review

The Antichrist is not Italian horror's finest 96 minutes. Long stretches of not-a-lot happening are supposed to create suspense, but all they do is delay the inevitable finale, which was the original audience's entire reason for being there since they knew it was going to include elements of The Exorcist. A Satanic ritual in the woods, which includes a rape-by-goat (you have to look fast and hit the "pause" button to catch the animal in the scene) is sufficiently chilling, but Hipolita's (Carla Gravina) remote cockiness is off-putting from the get-go. The dialogue intervals are maddening and often confusing. As a product of its time The Antichrist probably was intense, but that intensity has diminished over the years. For Italian horror collectors only. ~ Buzz McClain, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Carla Gravina - Ippolita
• Mel Ferrer - Massimo Oderisi
• Arthur Kennedy - Bishop
• George Coulouris - Father Mittner
• Alida Valli - Irene

Anita Strindberg - Gretel; Mario Scaccia - Faith Healer; Ernesto Colli; Umberto Orsini - Dr. Marcello Sinibaldi; Remo Girone - Felippo Oderisi

Credit

Edmondo Amati - Producer; Gianfranco Clerici - Screenwriter; Alberto De Martino - Director; Alberto De Martino - Screenwriter; Vincenzo Mannino - Screenwriter; Aristide Massaccesi - Cinematographer; Ennio Morricone - Composer (Music Score); Bruno Nicolai - Composer (Music Score); Peter Taylor - Editor; Vincenzo Tomassi - Editor; Umberto Turco - Art Director; Mario Vulpiani - Cinematographer; Euclide Santoli - Makeup; Umberto Bertacca - Art Director; Anis Nohra - Producer

Similar Movies

The Exorcist; Abby; Exorcismo; The Asphyx; The Eerie Midnight Horror Show; The Incubus; Ruby; Cathy's Curse