Satanic Pandemonium

1975 "From bride of Christ to slave of Satan!"
6.1| 1h29m| en
Details

Sister Maria is known in the convent for her good works and charity, but, in the secret depths of her sexual fantasies, she is tormented by visions of another world - a world where her forbidden passions are allowed to run free. In this world Satan is her master. As her acts of violence and blasphemy mount, Maria realizes that she has been chosen by the Devil to destroy the convent and lead her sister nuns into hell!

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Compañía Cinematográfica de Baja California

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Also starring Cecilia Pezet

Reviews

Asad Almond A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
Satchmo_on_Satchmo There's a bit of unintended notoriety connected with the title of this film. You have to see the 1996 Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez writer-director collaboration From Dusk Til Dawn, an un-P.C. film if ever there was one, to get it. The movie's characters have set up shop at a trucker's and biker's bar, the Titty Twister, to cool their heels. The M.C. announces a new entertainer for the stage, a woman named Santanico Pandemonium. The voluptuous actress Salma Hayek steps out draped with a huge snake and little else, and proceeds to rock her hips to the delight of every man who can see her. It's a stunning moment toward the middle of a not very striking flick.Satanico Pandemonium isn't only exploitation; it belongs to a genre called "nunsploitation." The place is Spain and the time is most likely pre-1834. Sister Maria (Cecilia Pezet) is a devoted nun who finds herself visited by visions of Satan, or Luzbel. The devil appears as a man to Sister Maria, and using obvious Biblical symbolism, tends to carry a bitten-into apple. Sister Maria is startled and horrified by the series of temptations that happen to her via the film's faulty special effects. As another user has pointed out, this is an obsession scenario by an external devil.One important observation should be stated. The actress playing Sister Maria is very beautiful with warm, bedroom eyes, and many of us (meaning men) wouldn't mind watching her getting robbed of her virtue - as well as tormented by particular sins. But what happens is with a little influence from Beelzebub, Sister Maria soon indulges in lesbianism, child seduction and heresy. The film has a church-like quality to the way it moves slowly and harps upon moments of less-than-dramatic value, and with its fantastic logic, Sister Maria turns into hell in a headdress. One scene in particular is actually quite disturbing, with Sister Maria covering her naked, bloody body with her uniform.The flick isn't entirely baldfaced exploitation though, and has interesting questions about faith in its dialogue. That aside, the flick's appeal seems rather obvious. In life, most of us want what we cannot have, and the fantasy of despoiling such a person (i.e., a nun) can be very powerful. Satanico Pandemonium uses its subject matter effectively, and despite an unsatisfying story resolution, it packs quite a wallop.
insomniac_rod Mèxico, being an almost 100% Catholic country produced several nunsploitation flicks in the 70's. Before censorship took a big role in Mexican movies, there were many, many exploitation flicks for different tastes. I must admit that this isn't a masterpiece by any means, but it is a movie that deserves a chance and will please fans of gore and sleaze. Many Mexicans tend to easily "scare" with plots like the one in "Satànico Pandemonium" because it deals with two restricted topics in Mexican society : sex and religion nastiness. "Satànico Pandemonium" does not rank high on the exploitation Heaven but it manages to deliver quality intense violence and disturbing images for those who enjoy this kind of cinema. The language used in this movie is macabre and it's very relevant for the plot. If you speak Spanish you might enjoy it more than if you watch it with sub-titles because most of the words have no exact literal translation.The raw acting is a key factor in the movie. For example, the afro American nun that cries all over the convent because of her depression for being black is something that may seem random; you just watch her cry and suffer. The scene takes relevance as the plot develops (she's "aided" by Sister Maria who convinces her to commit suicide).Many situations like that one make you think "where's the coherence with these Mexican film makers?" but that's just to add tension. Also, the convent is very creepy mainly because of a great art direction. The atmosphere in the convent is sinister and the fact that the Devil is prowling outside, makes it even more a scary place. I praise the cinematography because the movie is visually stunning. The events take place at noon at night and the movie still looks sinister.The music is also convincing and very disturbing. The director knows how to create a disturbing, scary setting with the correct use of light, sounds, and suspense. The acting is not that good because most of the main actresses were amateur, except for Pezet who delivers a brave, solid performance. She's a beautiful woman with nerves. She was perfect for the role because she's extremely pretty, has an angel face; the perfect prey for Satan. She deserved more leading roles in her career. Too bad that this was her last movie. She was just too beautiful to be involved in Nunsploitation flicks! Veteran t.v. and movie actor Enrique Rocha gives a strong performance as the Devil and his voice is scary alone. He was great. The rest of the cast is just plain and dull. The movie goes directly to the point immediately after it starts. After the opening credits, Satan seduces Sister Mary and then the Horror starts immediately. She is tempted in several scenes, and finally, when she falls into Satan's tramp, she starts a rampage of sex and murder. Thank you! Maybe Europeans aren't easily scared with topics like The Devil seducing or torturing nuns,but here in Mèxico it's a different deal. The Devil is by far the scariest character in Mèxican culture. Now, if you mix him with religion (which is something very delicate here) you have a terrifying experience. In the first minutes there is auto flagellation (good gore) , lesbian nun sex, and Satan. Mèxico created this interesting premise which sadly, in the 80's and 90's was heavily banned because of a censorship campaign against violence in cinema. I'm glad that these movies get DVD releases for Europe so they can recognize the country's talent in Horror. The main problem with this movie is the lack of continuity and coherence in the plot. First, we only know that the movie takes place in the inquisition times because of the tombs of the nuns. So, the movie is set in the mid 1600's. Then, what should we realize about the ending? It's too easy to blame the Devil! but it does no makes sense. Anyways, "Satanico Pandemonium" has become somewhat a cult nunsploitation movie; it was even referenced in "From Dusk Till Dawn". The weak point of the movie is that it hasn't aged very well. The veteran director is heavily influenced by classic theater techniques and acting and does not gives a dynamic mood to the movie. The camera angles are boring at some points, and some events truly last longer than they should. For example, when Sister Maria takes care of the sick cow, or when she realizes she's been tempted by the Devil.At some point it looks like a very old Horror movie but with lots of gore. Talking about gore, the movie has two highlight gory scenes in my opinion. First, when Sister Maria seduces and later stabs Marcelo to death. The scene is weird because it makes you wonder how would it be if a nun "like that" would seduce you, and later, it grosses you out. I felt sorry for Marcelo's tender grandmother. The other scene, is when Sister Maria is stabbed to death by the other nuns. The gore is great in this movie. Expect stabs, self punishment, and a glorious flashback sequence involving the inquisition (excellent for those who like gore). Mèxico is not all about raw, cheesy, gory flicks involving wrestlers, with no plot. Mèxico had a HUGE potential in the genre but as many people know, politicians and Constitutional Presidents banned the rise of Mexican exploitation. Sure, it came back in the 80's but not as a Horror sub-genre; it came among low budget Action movies and the typical Valentìn Trujillo flicks.Give a try to "Satànico Pandemonium" because it offers blood, gore, a scary plot (for us who respect the religious factor), and a dark atmosphere. Buy it for all of it's goodies. I believe there's an unrated version.
PWT20 This was one tame yawn of a "nunsploitation".There were like a coupla boob shots, one feeble, forced-looking lesbian kissing scene, and apparently one "rape" scene. I just thought they were all held-back or censored.Here's the breakdown... ACTING: Okay, very subtle CHARACTERS: No real development, sympathy towards any of the characters, devil is lame. STORYLINE: Just plain ol' flatline. Nothing really happens. The nun apparently being "possessed by the devil" is just uninspiring and cheesy. Don't buy the plot line that she's a "bride of Satan". It's a crock.Uneventful, waste of film. The appeal of the title is definitely better than the actual film!
FieCrier I watched this on Mondo Macabro's DVD of it, and the picture quality is very good - nice and sharp and colorful. For some reason it is a little scratchy in the last few seconds (perhaps appropriately enough, since Old Scratch himself is appearing at that moment).A young pretty nun is wandering through the countryside picking flowers. She sees a naked man who greets her, and she runs away. When talking to a local boy, the man reappears in clothing this time, and he tries to get her to take a bite of a shiny red apple. She runs away again, and the devil (as he clearly must be) takes a bite of the apple while he watches her retreat.The devil shows up against outside the convent window when the nuns are eating. He disappears, then appears as a small red thing (light, jewel, apple?), then even that disappears. The nun shows herself to be kind to the black nuns, who are discriminated against, and to be gentle and healing with animals.When another nun comes to her room to declare her admiration and love for her, she immediately collapses on the bed accepting the seduction. Satan finally got to her. Her behavior becomes more satanic, as she seduces or kills people. Her clothing is frequently removed. Satan proves himself to be pretty powerful, while God seems absent.The ending might have been a concession to censors, I'm not sure. There are a lot of nice extras on the DVD, including a short overview of nunsploitation and an essay on the subject, among other things. I haven't seen many such movies myself, apart from some weird nun movies like Alucarda, Dead Waters, and Demonia - hardly typical Catholic nuns.