Exorcismo

Director - Juan Bosch (The Killer With a Thousand Eyes, The Killer Wore Gloves)
Starring - Paul Naschy (Night of the Howling Beast, Horror Kung Fu Theater), Maria Perschy (Vultures, Blue Eyes of the Broken Doll), and Maria Kosty (Dreams from the Middle of the World, My Friend Washington)
Release Date - 1975
Genre - Horror
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     With my Paul Naschy marathon winding down I decided it was time to check out one of his films that I had always wanted to see but never had the chance.  In 1973 horror found its poster child in the face of Linda Blair when she took on the role of Reagan in the now classic film The Exorcist.  The film was an instant hit and fans today are still talking about it.  For years after the release the horror community saw clones of this popping up all over the world.  In 1975 Naschy wrote and starred in his version Exorcism aka Exorcismo.  He has went on record stating that he wrote the film years before the hit flick was released but this has never been proven differently.  I've heard a lot about this film and couldn't wait to check it out.
     The film follows a priest, Father Dunning (Naschy), who is asked by a friend to visit his sister.  He suspects his sister is possessed after a trip abroad with her husband.  Father Dunning meets with her several times and suspects nothing out of the ordinary until her brother is found dead and before long more bodies are added to the pile.  He must act fast and remove the evil spirit from her before more innocent lives are lost.
     I went into this one knowing that it was possibly a rip off of The Exorcist but I was still excited to see it.  The film actually surprised me.  I really enjoyed it and what Naschy brought to the genre.  There is clear influence from The Exorcist but not enough to take away from the overall film.  The acting in this one is great...by Naschy but not so much from the rest of the cast.  Naschy once again delivers a fantastic performance.  He takes the heroic character very seriously and it showed in his performance.  He did a fantastic job.  Sadly, the supporting cast struggles to find their footing.  The female cast members scream when terrified but show absolutely no emotion as they do this.  This is strange to see at times which makes these scenes very awkward.  It seemed as if the cast had very little direction during these scenes.  The story for this one is great if you are into religious horror from the 70s.  I personally love these films and Exorcismo is one of the better ones.  The story draws you in with each scene (when screaming is not taking place) and you can't help but wonder where this is going to take you.  It was exciting at times and suspenseful at others.  I really enjoyed the pacing in this.  Finally, the film has several deaths but they are very underwhelming.  Very minimal effects and not that fun to watch.  Overall, Exorcismo is a great watch.  I really enjoyed Naschy's character and the story.  I would have loved to see some better deaths but we can't have it all!  Check it out.