Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada "S"

Director - Alberto Sedano (The Land of All Demons)

Starring - Jose Luis Alcaine (Twisted Obsession, Star Knight), Mery Cuesta (Spanish Noir), and Jose Maria Cunilles (Hell of the Living Dead, Scalps)

Release Date - 2024

Genre - Documentary

Tagline - "Narrated by Iggy Pop"

Format - UHD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     I rarely get to review documentaries anymore but this year I've been fortunate enough to review two.  Just a few days ago I was asked to review The Last Sacrifice by my friends over at Shudder.  It was a fun documentary that explored the connection between an infamous murder in the 1940s that many suspected to be a ritualistic killing to the pagan horror films that followed in the coming decades.  The next documentary is from my friends over at Severin Films.  They recently sent over the Exorcismo box set for review which consists of several Spanish titles from the mid to late 70s.  However, the first film in the set is the 2024 documentary Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada "S."  I decided to start the set with this before I took the dive into the films.

     The documentary explores cinema that followed in the wake of the death of Spain's Franco who was the dictator at the time.  Cinema, like many other aspects of life, was heavily censored.  However, following his death, there was a surge of boundary pushing films, at least for the time, that earned them the newly formed "S' classification.  

     I know absolutely nothing about the Spanish censorship under the rule of Franco nor do I know anything about the "S" rated films.  However, this documentary does a solid job at explaining all this to cinema fans who are curious.  This documentary gives the viewer a lot of information but the subject is something many may not be interested in.  The interviews in this one consists of many filmmakers, actors, actresses, producers, and historians who either lived through the events discussed or done a tremendous amount of research into the matter.  The filmmakers did a wonderful job at researching these individuals.  The topics discussed in this documentary are very informative and the film does a great job at approaching the from a chronological standpoint.  We go from just before the passing of Franco and how the films of the time were censored by the government to his death and the eventual laxing of the censors.  I would have liked to see a little insight on how other countries were dealing with their films internationally with these rules in place from Spain but I understand what the point of the doc was.  Finally, the film has some great editing and transitions that makes it flow very nicely.  It doesn't bring out anything memorable or noteworthy.  Instead, opting to give viewers a well rounded doc with no flair.  Overall, Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada "S" is a documentary that not many film fans are going to go out of their way to watch which is a shame.  It offers up a lot of insight to the films of the era and why Spain wasn't really known for ground breaking cinema at that time.  However, adding it to this collection is a great way to educate fans on the matter.  Check it out.