Nonureva Really Surprised!

MonsterPerfect Good idea lost in the noise

Spidersecu Don't Believe the Hype

Brendon Jones It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

Nigel P If you are of a certain age, you may remember Telly Savalas as the hugely popular, lollipop sucking detective from the 70s/80s series 'Kojak'. If you happen to be from the UK, you may also remember Elke Sommer from 1975's 'Carry On Behind' as the genuinely funny Anna Vrooshka. It is no spoiler to say they star as this film's title characters, for, five minutes in, Lisa sees the image of Savalas' Landro as 'the Devil' on a wall mural in Tuledo and keeps running into him, often as he is carrying a suspiciously lifelike mannequin. Suave and charming (he's even sucking a lollipop here too – a contractual clause?), he nonetheless exudes a palpable sense of threat.Lisa, and the audience, then meet a succession of suspicious characters. Not quite grotesques, but a menagerie of people flawed in one way or another, so that a collection of them helps to sustain the feelings of unease. One such character is the ostensibly fey Max (Alessio Orano), who expresses feelings for Lisa. All kinds of horrors are thrown at Lisa, and it seems for a time that Elke Sommers' is merely required to look as terrified as possible as the weird and the apparently dead line up to shock her.Savalas is excellent as Landro. Occasionally carrying scenes alone and talking to himself, a lesser actor would not be able to make such a natural job of it. With Savalas, talking to himself seems simply an extension of his eccentric oddness. His scenes with the many mannequins creates pleasingly perverse overtones.Whilst this a good, unusual horror, the actual scares are pretty tame, despite Sommer's enthusiastic reactions. Methodical, solid and weird, with the overall effect although playful, is sadly lacking in genuine tension.

BaronBl00d Well, by now you hopefully have noticed that Lisa and the Devil AND House of Exorcism(a badly cut film pieced with an Exorcist rip-off story) are counted here as one film only. Bad idea as these really are two separate films. I give Lisa and the Devil a 7 - House of Exorcism a 3. The movies are completely different in tone, point of view, story, values, and virtually any other category you might think of DESPITE the fact that House of Exorcism is made up from Lisa and the Devil for at least 75%. From what I understand Lisa and the Devil was not making money because it is a typical Bava film - dreamlike, artsy, gorgeously painted cinematography, ambiguous meaning, etc... House of Exorcism uses much of that film to support Elke Sommer falling to the ground and being consumed by a demon. She will later vomit, curse, wriggle, spew toads, and turn into another woman sans any garments - we see the peaks and the valley! Carmen Silva is the "actress" and she is beautiful if nothing else - and the only thing in House of Exorcism worth seeing unless you want to see Robert Alda play the blandest exorcist alive or Elke Sommer do all those aforementioned things and say lines like, having been asked by Alda where she came from, "From a c*nt you jerk." She also uses the f word and her breasts are struggling to break out. The House of Exorcism version is classless and void of any continuity. Director Mickey Lion(producer Alfredo Leone) does not have Bava's talent. He also didn't have Telly Savalas any more - and tries to piece his scenes with the rubbish he adds on. It really is dreck of the worst kind. Let's talk about Bava's film, Lisa and the Devil. It is dreamlike, atmospheric, wonderfully filmed. Bava again uses colors like few other directors. This go round lots of greens, blues, and variations of whites. The story is fairly predictable(and a bit over-used by Bava) but the execution is wholly worthwhile. The lush musical score goes hand in hand with the scenes as they unfold. Composer Carlo Savina does a fabulous job. The script in this one is more ambiguous than most Bava films: does what happen in the movie really happen? What was with the ending? Was the house Hell? Was Savalas the Devil? Many more questions. The acting is good all around. Elke Sommer is gorgeous(and shows her top too!). What a body! Alida Valli plays another cryptic matriarch well. Telly Savalas; however, steals the film. From the opening of white gloves dealing cards that show the players in the film, to an etching on a fresco suppose to be the devil, to Savalas wearing a beret or serving dinner as a butler, Savalas gives a commanding performance in that he is the focal point of the acting attention. It helps that he has some great lines, but mind you, they are great lines because HE makes them great lines. Lines like, "Most things aren't that easy to mend," "Is this the face that launched so many deaths," and, my favorite, "Her eyes? What color? changeable -but by candlelight blue." I enjoyed Lisa and the Devil even though I confess I am not even close to being able to tell you with any degree of accuracy what just happened. But heck! It's Bava!

gavin6942 Lisa (Elke Sommer) is a tourist in an ancient city. When she gets lost, she finds an old mansion in which to shelter. Soon she is sucked into a vortex of deception, debauchery and evil presided over by housekeeper Leandre (Telly Savalas).Luca Palmerini calls this an "underestimated Gothic masterpiece." Jim Harper is less praising, also identifying it as "an atmospheric and stately Gothic horror", but saying it "would never have been a box office success". Those words are odd, as I suspect very few great Italian films have become successful in terms of their profits.There is another version of this film called "House of Exorcism", which was meant to cash in on the success of "The Exorcist". Some aspects seem more like ripping the original off than simply cashing in -- the puking of the pea soup, for example. Watching this version is like watching a completely different film -- so much was edited out of Bava's film and new stuff added in, I am surprised this was allowed to happen. Palmerini rightly says the changes "massacre the original film."

coolrog0705 warning contains spoiler - Here we have a case where the creators own artistic genius has worked against him, at least in the business end of film making process that is. there is a lot of controversy surrounding this movie because it is two films in one. the first is Lisa and the Devil which is the Godiva chocolate end of this cup with Bava's trademark lush cinematography and atmosphere. while art is always subjective here is my take on Lisa. many people have complained about a lack of plot to this film but that is because it does not have a linear narrative. to make a long story short it is a game of cat and mouse between Lisa and the devil. Lisa portrayed by the beautiful Elke Sommer is a soul actually named Elanor that has escaped from hell and is reincarnated as Lisa but has no conscious memory of it. she does not know that the devil "Telly Savalas" has allowed this to happen because he enjoys playing these games as a form of amusement. Lisa is led to a picturesque villa where all the other characters while unknown to her are the living dead. this is illustrated when we see them as mannequins or the devils dolls when handled by the devil and in contrast as living beings when seen by Lisa who is herself one of them. these trapped souls are forced to play the game and also live out their own personal hell for all eternity at the villa. so if you look at it from the perspective that this is a life size doll house in Hell the film might make more sense to you. of course in the end it all comes full circle and the devil reclaims her and this is when you find out that she really is Elanor because the devil speaks her name. now for the peanut butter end of the cup which is The House of Exorcism. while Lisa was liked by the distributors they understood it was not commercially viable as a general audience film so they passed on it. producer Alfredo Leone in an effort to recoup his investment had new sequences shot and integrated them with Lisa. while it is commonly believed and somewhat understandable people think that this was a cash in film on "The Exorcist" it is not. had the original story been written solely as a response to "The Exorcist" then yes it would be but that is not the case. I believe it was more along the lines of desperate opportunism rather than just a blatant tailcoat ride. Bava of course was upset that this had happened to his most personal work but in the end he privately told Leone that considering the circumstances he approved of the film after he had time to calm down and look at it objectively. in the end films are entertainment as well as art. Lisa is art and House of Exorcism is entertainment. I think it's cool that you get two great tastes out of one film.