RyothChatty
ridiculous rating
Inclubabu
Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.
Leoni Haney
Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.
Nigel P
1971. No wonder so many horror films released at this time sank without trace. No DVDs, no VHS releases. The only time to catch these films was by seeing them at the cinema (or waiting for a possible television showing years later) – and there were so many. 1971 was like an Indian summer for horror – something of a last gasp, but a hugely prolific one.This Belgian/Italian offering is directed by Jean Brismée and also known as 'La Terrificante Notte del Demonio'. It boasts a terrific soundtrack composed by Alessandro Alessandroni (with mesmerising vocals from his sister Giulia.) Following a harrowing scene were, during a World War 2 air-raid, a woman dies delivering a child which is then stabbed to death by Baron von Rhoneberg (Jean Servais), we are brought up to date when a bus load of lost tourists arrives at the Baron's castle, in search of somewhere to stay for the night. He is an alchemist in the grip of a curse involving a deal with the Devil, who has demanded the eldest daughter of each generation becomes a succubus.As the tourists are shown to their rooms, the sinister butler Hans (Maurice De Groote) gives them a gruesome history of each room – such morbid, relentless tales become somewhat ludicrous in the telling; there is barely a curtain or a slab of stone that doesn't hold some macabre secret – and each time, a claw-like pattern is left at the scene.Into this classic setting, the tourists – including a feuding husband and wife, two attractive young women who discover they are lesbians (leading to inevitable softcore scenes), and a Richard Chamberlain-like priest – then meet a new guest. Lisa Müller (Erika Blanc) immediately attracts attention from the men and a certain jealousy from the women. Blanc's sultry, pout-some presence and typically exotic, revealing clothing – as well as the way she moves lizard-like amongst them – sets her apart from the ordinary. Could she be the legendary succubus? Her transformation from lithe, mysterious seductress into a mad-eyed, chiselled malignant spirit is hugely effective, a triumph of minimalist make-up and a powerhouse performance. Scary and deadly as she is, she isn't quite the main monster here, for Satan himself appears. Another supremely frightening performance, this time from the skeletal (Daniel Emilfork) ensures we don't forget the appearance of the Devil in any hurry – it is he who orchestrates events that land the tourists into the castle in the first place, and then to a more permanent state in a twist ending.Ironically, only Müller and the priest (Jacques Monseau) remain at the end. Only after reading a synopsis of 'The Devil's Nightmare' did I realise a further detail to this excellent, underrated euro-film – each death represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins, with the Priest volunteering to sacrifice his soul to save the others, representing Pride. A highly recommended low budget frightener.
Leofwine_draca
I don't know why it is, but time after time I find that European horror films possess something that their American and British counterparts don't. This something is a certain artistic flair or style which make the films fun and interesting to watch, even when the genre is not at its best. I don't know if it's down to the directors, or cameramen, or what, but I do know that it makes these films some of my favourites.The setting for these films - most are from Italy or Spain - is invariably a decrepit castle or mansion, full of twisting, gloomy corridors and cobwebs, and with sinister servants lurking in the background with warnings of death. This film is no different, yet presents the action in a unique and fresh way. The plots may always be the same, but you know there are going to be little things that are new and different. These are the little touches which I love - in this film, the mark of Satan, which is found on people and on the floors of the guest rooms.The cast is full of clichéd and stereotyped characters who we all know and recognise only minutes after seeing them. There's the overweight man who always seems to be eating, the young attractive women, and the handsome, yet wooden, heroes. In this case the main hero is an up-and-coming vicar, and he couldn't be more stiff if he tried. Of course, the acting does seem stilted and amateurish, not helped by the fact that we never hear the actors or actresses say their own lines as they're dubbed. This is not important though. What is important is the way in which the film retains the viewer's interest.THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE takes a long time in introducing the various characters, and showing their personalities, before dispatching them in various assorted ways. It actually attempts a little atmosphere-building, too, something which I always welcome in a film. We get to know and understand the people before they die. Cynics would say that this slow build up is nothing but an excuse for some gratuitous nudity, and they wouldn't be wrong: one lesbian encounter lasts for almost ten minutes. The other exploitation standby, gore, is used surprisingly sparingly in this film, and all we are offered to is a shot of a bloody severed head, some blood running over floors, and a dead cat which has been unceremoniously impaled on some spikes.A lot of humour comes from watching the reactions of characters to various things, such as when they find the corpse of the cat and couldn't care less about what it's doing there! The deaths, when they do eventually come, are nothing spectacular, but at least they're all varied and therefore interesting. They're supposedly based on the seven deadly sins, but this basis is fairly loose. One woman is bitten by a snake, a man is decapitated by a guillotine, a woman steps into an iron maiden, another man falls from a high window and is impaled, a woman is suffocated in a pile of gold dust and a glutton chokes on a banquet. Erika Blanc, who plays the succubus in the film, is rather good, and undergoes a complete change in appearance after each death occurs. This is done by changing the colour of her lipstick, putting a bit of shadow around her eyes and with her pulling a distorted expression, these subtle differences make a very effective and disturbing-looking woman.The ending of the film is very strange. At first it appears to be a cop-out, one of those "it was all just a dream" type endings, but then there are a couple of new twists which I won't spoil, except to say they're unexpected. A weird gangly guy lurks around in a black suit and turns out to be the Devil, collecting the souls of people who have sinned, and using the succubus as his slave. This man's presence is atypical and gives the film an arty slant which adds interest. THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE may not be a particularly good film but it contains enough different ingredients to make it worthwhile for any fan.
Zeegrade
What exactly would be considered a nightmare for the devil? Would it be going to heaven perhaps? Regardless of the confusing title The Devil's Nightmare has nothing to do with Satan's lack of sleep rather it concerns a family curse in the Von Rhoneberg bloodline which condemns the firstborn daughter to an existence as a Succubus. After the Baron sacrificed his daughter following the death of his wife during World War II he retires to the family castle where he studies alchemy in the basement. The story picks up some thirty years later as seven travelers become sidetracked by a road closure and are guided to the Von Rhoneburg castle to stay the night. Upon arrival they are each given rooms where the begin to act in the manner of whatever deadly sin is assigned to them, i.e. gluttony constantly stuffs his face, sloth is always sleeping etc. One of the seven happens to be a priest, which sin he represents I have no idea, who is wary of Lisa, another unannounced guest, who seems intent on corrupting the man of God. Turns out Lisa is a Succubus who dispatches the guests in the very act that defines each character. At least it starts that way as the glutton is fed a poisoned meal and the greedy woman is drowned in gold dust which if I'm not mistaken is what happened to Scrooge McDuck on the series finale of Ducktales. When the priest refuses the sexual advances of the Succubus, I would have failed in the first minute, he has to not only battle her but the Devil himself who more resembles a dying cancer patient rather than the living embodiment of evil.At least Devil's Nightmare knows how to keep your attention as it features plenty of scantily clad women while the meandering storyline ratchets up the action. One of these tactics is a lesbian tryst between two of the doomed guests when the gorgeous blond refuses to sleep alone. Plots and story lines give way to bras and panties which I'm not complaining. What saves this film from the countless other Eurotrash horror movies is the performance of Erika Blanc as Lisa the Succubus. While either in her seductive form complete with her tight, flesh baring dress or the pale skinned monster herself Blanc absolutely commands every scene she's in. The makeup used to mark her darker side, while not much, is still pretty effective as she switches between sexy vixen and fearsome beast. My one complaint is taking away the main trait of the Succubus which is the loss of life via the act of sexual intercourse. Erika Blanc screwing to death the guests would have made a better film in my opinion. Still, this is one of the better Gothic horror movies with the right amount of sleaze and gore to keep you interested. Should of been called the Devil's Wet Dream.
Coventry
Movies such as "The Devil's Nightmare" are exactly the type of cinematic smut I live for! It's got everything to magically conjure a gigantic smile on the face of every slightly deranged horror/cult/exploitation fanatic. There's bad & incoherent plotting, macabre set-pieces, a mild Gothic atmosphere, demented characters, shocking themes, lousy gore effects and – not to forget – authentically gratuitous lesbian sex! This Belgian/Italian co-production (love the combination since I myself am Belgian and Italy is my favorite movie-making country) is messed up beyond proportions and describing the essence of the plot would take up at least a couple of pages, so I won't go too much into detail. Let's just say the main storyline revolves on an ancient family curse that turns every first born daughter of the Von Rhoneberg generation into a succubus (= female servant of the devil), and a group of tourists stranded at the family castle are just in time to "celebrate" the devilish pact's 700th anniversary. Furthermore, the baron practices alchemy in his basement, there are Nazi child-executions, a gruesome murder story for every room in the castle, the random torture of cats in the attic, negotiations between a priest and the devil himself and a wide variety of shlocky massacres. A lot of the on screen events don't make sense, and there's no building up suspense whatsoever, but it has to be said that the screenplay does also feature a couple of ingenious and rather clever elements. For example, the Succubus (a luscious Erica Blanc) makes sure that every tourist's death symbolizes his or her biggest sin, whether it's greed, unfaithfulness, curiosity … The killings are very nasty, though hardly scary, and follow each other at an incredible pace, barely allowing you the time to wipe the sinister grin off your face. And if all that isn't enough just yet, wait till you witness the far out climax sequence. Oh yes, "The Devil's Nightmare" is pretty bad… So bad it's freaking brilliant! Easily one of the most entertaining European exploitation movies ever made. It's ten times more exciting than all Jess Franco's movies combined, sleazier that Jean Rollin's horribly dull vampire movies and more demented than … well, anything you've ever seen. It's a damn shame Belgians and Italians didn't collaborate more often back in the 70's, because this crazy puppy is a real keeper.
