a review of

Take this with a grain of salt since this is an interesting flick worthy of further exploration and my viewing experience was pretty sub-standard, the old DVD i've pulled this from looking like it's been sourced from some older analog video master - still better than VHS for sure but i don't have anything more positive to say about it. I really gotta revisit this one in HD when the occasion arises.

It's an odd one. A somewhat experimental, artsy and surreal opening sequence gives way to a film that's kinda structured like a giallo flick (including - kind of - a classical slasher (sub)-plot), revels in the aesthetically pleasing depiction of its killings like we're used to in this genre, but mixes in some heavy psychological horror themes and the narrative goes all-in on classic satanic panic-era (oc)cult horror territory. Who doesn't like an old fashioned black mass?

The bad video quality really makes it difficult for me to assess the film on a visual level, although there were quite a few interesting, striking shots in this. Overall i got a vibe from it that's way less flashy than your average Bava or Argento flick, save for key scenes like the aforementioned black mass orgy scene, supported by a kickass groovy psychedelic score. The english dub, unfortunately, sucks really hard and an italian version wasn't included in the DVD. I might rate this higher once i've got to see it in a proper version and/or if there turns out to be a better dub than the english one (often the italian dubs on these old flicks are surprisingly solid).