L'anticristo (1974) Reviews

• Rip-off Yes, But Still a Decent Film

  CMRKeyboadist2005-12-29

  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

• A Great Horror movie for mature viewers only.

  american2182010-12-13

  A scary 1974 movie with shocking horror scenes that might offend most Christians. These horrific scenes helped to serve the movie.There is exploitation of women as in most Italian Horror movies.It Should Be Rated NC-17 for some explicit content and unseen rare violence. In 1974, it was really rare to see such shocking scenes.For this reason, it was previously banned in many countries.The ban made people more zealous to see and buy this movie out of curiosity. Honestly,it is more horrible and shocking than the Exorcist, but quite as good as the Exorcist.Recommended for those who are 17 years old or above this age. I advise people to buy the DVD and enjoy this great horror movie,especially horror fans who will not regret purchasing this movie. As for religious Christian people,some scenes might shock you,so you got to beware!. For people who can not watch this movie,all you have to do is search for this movie free on line,this is a substitute.You could download it too. Good luck!

• Pretty good "The Exorcist" imitation.

  HumanoidOfFlesh2003-12-02

  Alberto De Martino's "L'Anticristo" is definitely one of the better Italian possession flicks.Carla Gravina is excellent as a wheel-chair bound,sexually frustrated Ippolita.The photography is stylish and the score by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai is outstanding.The special effects are quite mediocre,but there is a nice amount of sleaze to satisfy fans of Italian horror.The infamous goat orgy scene is rather unpleasant and hard to forget.So if you like Italian horror movies give this one a look.7 out of 10.Recommended.

• I have no idea why so many rate this so poorly.....

  christopher-underwood2005-09-18

  I have no idea why so many rate this so poorly, I enjoyed it on video when it lacked the satanic orgy, and love it even more now. The support acting may be lacklustre but Carla Gravina more than compensates in a towering performance as the wheelchair bound possessed one. And what possession, no half hearted measures here - full tilt, in your face, on your chin, verbal and physical, screaming and spewing, hard hitting stuff. It is true the film is a bit slow at first but there is the magnificent and horrifying opening scenes that take some recovering from. It has of course to be acknowledged that this would never have been made were it not for The Exorcist but let that take nothing from this super exploitation gem.

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

  The_Void2008-12-29

  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!