La papesse

'A Woman Possessed' aka 'La Papesse' (1975) is a wickedly wild, magisterially malefic, psychedelically over-cooked, occult pot-boiler from Gallic sleaze-hound extraordinaire, Mario Mercier. There's more than a pungently witchy whiff of Sadeian malfeasance in director Mercier's ultra-lurid, fabulously-fleshly confection of triumphantly tasteless titillation. If Kult UK doomsters Electric Wizard ever made horror films, this would most certainly be one of 'em! With the glorious exception of personal filmmaking god, the master vampire impresario, Jean Rollin, la belle France isn't especially known for its frequent explorations into the satanic oeuvre, so that is all the more reason to warmly embrace this delightfully disreputable movie miscreant's blissfully unexpurgated trawl through the occult mire. Much of this delectable filth is riotously redolent of perverse polymath Jess Franco's no less exquisite 'Exorcism', with director, Mario Mercier having no doubt opened Coffin Joe's perfectly prurient Pandora's Box of sensationally inflamed phantasmagoria to inspire his own ignominious decent into exploitation-horror hell! And I absolutely must sing the worthy praises of the ferociously funky, wondrously, dark-vibe-inducing electronic score by Eric Demarsan, deliriously delivering some Tip-Top tuneage for this sublimely fleshly heft of salaciously Gallic, 1970s Sinema!

The film informs us right from the start of what we're getting into. One could reasonably say it's the type of flick we got from the late 60s and into the 70s that dabbled with conceptions of horror and aimed to shock and offend with some of its scenes, but never particularly invoked strong feelings; one could reasonably say that "B-movie" is a generous descriptor, and a letter further into the Latin alphabet would be more appropriate. One could also say that 'La papesse' almost immediately inspires as the type of fare that may have been skewered on 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' at some point along the line, perhaps back to back with 'Psyched by the 4-D witch.' This isn't to say that there aren't any good ideas here (there are), and I'm sure someone with an unusually stringent moral outlook and delicate sensibility may indeed be shocked by some of the imagery. Yet the kinship this 1975 picture shares is readily apparent, not least with its attempt at trippy visuals and a certain psychedelic ethos (including, in theory, Éric Demarsan's music). All of which is fine, except that what often comes across instead is that the film doesn't make a whole lot of sense when you stop to think about it for even a moment; filmmaker Mario Mercier definitely cared more about the "intensity" of the imagery, and the awe factor, than any aspect of the writing.

There are little moments scattered throughout that just have no purpose, such as a random act of violence against a lantern late in the first third. This dovetails neatly into some choices of editing and cinematography that were no doubt intended to amplify the intended effects noted above, but which instead raise a skeptical eyebrow. The broad strokes of the narrative are clear enough; the dialogue and scene writing oscillates between "good" and "what?" As one notable example, it's entirely unclear why or how Aline ever got together with Laurent in the first place. In all facets of the screenplay I can only repeat that I think there are some swell ideas that could have been used to serve a meaningfully creepy, gnarly genre flick - but to be honest, among other things, Mercier's direction is too weak and bare-faced to be able to achieve such goals. I think the acting is suitable, and to her credit Lisa Livane probably gives the best performance of anyone here. Yet between Mercier's writing and his direction, and the declination and/or failure to otherwise attain any desirable horror atmosphere, it's rather as if the cast is acting strictly in accordance with the instructions for a scene instead of any unified vision, so their portrayals don't count for much.

There's no mistaking how very low-budget 'La papesse' is, but still the feature looks and sounds good such as it is; other titles have done more with less. The practical effects are fairly decent, if modest, and any stunts. Excellent filming locations, and solid production design and art direction, are complemented by superb hair, makeup, and costume design. Some themes in Demarsan's score are better than others, but like compositions have been aptly used in similar fare. Really, in most regards this is reasonably well done; even as I pointedly disagree with some choices, I think editor Claudine Merlin and cinematographer Robert Schneider nonetheless turned in capable work overall. But still the movie is deeply troubled in those ways that matter most, and a host of potential and possibilities in the screenplay are outweighed by too many deficiencies or dubious facets, and overall meager execution. A dance ritual in the second act could have lent to the atmosphere of an earnest, carefully crafted horror film; here, it's almost laughable - and, astonishingly, this happens again in the last minutes, and it's worse to the point that one feels embarrassed for the actor. The plot at large feels unfocused, and this is never more so than in the last act, when it also feels especially flimsy. And in so many other cases, the notions brought forth in the writing wholly lack the power that they could and should have had in the finished result.

I don't specifically hold anything against Mercier, yet the fact remains that he just doesn't seem to have had what it takes to make compelling, satisfying genre fare. This almost comes across more as something that a large group of friends may have put together in their spare time without any experience otherwise, a home-grown exercise in the evident intent of making transgressive low-grade horror. (I say "almost" in that some elements really aren't half bad after all.) If a more practiced director had been involved in the production, the finished film would have been improved. If another pair of eyes or two had collaborated with Mercier on the screenplay to rework the flimsiest or most questionable inclusions, and to tighten the storytelling overall, the finished film would have been improved. I don't think it actually would have taken much to elevate 'La papesse' to a slightly higher level. Unfortunately, what we see is what we get, and what we get is a mixed bag with distinct flaws. There are far worse ways one could spend their time, and I'm not going to say this is entirely without value. For all those ways in which it struggles, however, there's no need to go out of your way for it, and for all the countless other titles one could watch instead, there's probably no need to watch this at any time. Oh well. Such is life.

"La Papesse" is a laughable and sleazy account of Satanism and witchery in the French countryside.The director Mario Mercier previously made "Erotic Witchcraft",which like "La Papesse" was a psychedelic,gory and quite silly melange of sex,witchcraft and utter stupidity."A Woman Possessed" has almost everything:whippings,rapes,gore,copious amount of female nudity,naked ladies dancing spasmodically and having sex,hooded Devil worshippers etc.There is even a young macho Satanist,who is wearing heavy metal leather jacket.Hell yeah.The film lacks any morality and has a nice dreamlike quality.If you want graphic sleaze mixed with Satanism you can't go wrong with outrageously silly smut piece.7 out of 10.

Ferocious and debauched tale of modern day Satanism set in a desolate and rocky area of rural France. Everything you would expect and more including, bloodletting, flagellation, rape, Christ like looking figures, peasants and French intellectuals. It's a bit arty/talky at first but for a French film this is non stop action.

The influence of Jean Rollin is obvious in this close-to-unwatchable trash catalog of sleaze. It's flatly shot like a porn film, which tends to be the case with French horror movies. Maybe some like that style of photography. A husband and wife get involved with an insane cult of Satanists in the countryside when they should have been drinking wine and eating cheese in a bistro overlooking the Eiffel Tower.