Malabimba

Malabimba is not just a sleazy film. The film has more depth than people give it credit for. It is one of the more notorious "Exorcist" rip-offs (and the best of them in my opinion). This is of course a matter of taste. I've seen some of them:

"The Antichrist" (cinematographically speaking is the more traditional of the lot and therefore the easiest to please the majority, but being an Italian film (even if tame for Italian standards) it crosses boundaries that Hollywood would never dare to trespass (the goat scene). It's a film that in spite of being exploitative follows the "Exorcist" recipe more closely and with more seriousness.

"L'Ossessa" (The eerie midnight horror show) – See my comment in IMDb.

"Un urlo nelle tenebre" released in English under many different titles ("Cries and Shadows", "Naked Exorcism" "The Possessor" etc..). The film is a hopeless mess. It's very uneven. Sometimes it's visually stylish and atmospheric (good use of scenery – small village on the top of the hill, narrow and gloomy streets, the house and its interiors etc..), but the film seems like a collage of different scenes, losing some steam in consequence. It was directed by two directors: Angelo Pannaccio and Franco Lo Cascio.

Back to Malabimba. A lonely mansion/castle on the top of a hill. There live the Karolis. The Karoli family was once wealthy and aristocratic, but now they are almost bankrupt. Tragedy, resentments, intrigues, decadence... In this place, Bimba (Katell Laennec - mala means bad), a shy teenage girl, lives a secluded life. One day a harsh wind blows into the house. It's the devil – a hoarse whispering wind. It attacks everybody in the household, but it takes possession of the innocent Bimba. Bimba's sexuality till then dormant explodes. Sexual hunger, anger, frustration, she wants satisfaction at any price... but the grown-ups (with the exception of her preceptor, the nun, Sister Sofia – Mariangela Giordano) are too busy with their own problems to realize what's really happening with Bimba. She's passing through hell and the devil in her will convulse the whole house.

"Malabimba" is audiovisually an engaging film – the hand-held camera explores corridors, enters rooms, follows the characters, as well as the hoarse wind (the devil) that prowls around. The gardens are seen from the upstairs windows, and the distant mountains..... There are many sex scenes (already widely commented by other reviewers). Some hardcore porn inserts are present, but not many, and they don't spoil the overall effect. The images are punctuated by a good and effective soundtrack (some of it borrowed from "La morte ha sorriso all'assassino" by Joe D'Amato, but who cares?).

Immerse yourself into the film, and you'll have an enjoyable sexy audiovisual trip.

Malabimba, The Malicious Whore (1979)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Andrea Bianchi (Burial Ground) directs this Italian rip off of The Exorcist, which adds some hardcore footage to the mix. Katell Laennec plays a teenage girl who becomes possessed by her dead, whore mother and soon starts acting out in sexual ways. I've probably seen about five or six of these Italian rips of The Exorcist and this one here is probably the best, although that's not saying too much. If you've seen the director's cult zombie film Burial Ground then you'll have the idea of what to expect from this movie. The entire thing is silly, over the top and at times downright funny, which I don't think was the intent but oh well. The performances are actually pretty good as is the photography but the rest is pretty much camp entertainment. Some of the sex scenes manage to be quite erotic but the added hardcore inserts don't work and come off looking very cheap. The teenage girls sexual desires range from molesting her paralyzed uncle to having sex with her teddy bear so those against this type of thing shouldn't even bother with the film. There are plenty of beautiful, naked women running around throughout the film, which is never a bad thing especially when they're Italian. The film gets to be too long for its own good and it could have used some editing but God knows there's a lot worse out there.

Malabimba is a good example about how to do a memorable film, with low budget, and stay present in the mind of the viewers. The idea is present the history of the girl (the only movie of the actress, I don't understand why), when has problems with a subtle entity... And she reacts in a very sexual manner. If you have a little money, and you want to react the Exorcist with low budget, but with dignity, the director choiced the best option. The eurotrash should return: when the people is tired of porn (is always the same, no doubt), if you present a good history with some spice, then the score is so better. I ask all the french, Italian and spanian directors: remember Bianchi, Franco, D'amato, Brass... This is the way.

A Matchflick reviewer recommended this film some time in the past, so I took the trouble of tracking it down. It was not easy, but I finally get to see it.

It is a ripoff of the Exorcist, to be sure. It starts with a séance gone wrong, lots of things go flying through the castle, and we are to assume someone is possessed by the ex-wife Lucrezia. Most likely the teen Bimba (Katell Laennec), as she is acting particularly strange.

Dad (Enzo Fisichella) really starts to worry when she French kisses him and grabs his crotch. Maybe it's not teen phase after all.

The scene with Uncle Adolfo (Giuseppe Marrocco) was pure magic.

But, it is Mariangela Giordano as Sister Sofia that gives the best show with Bimba.

It would have been better had it not had snippets of porn placed here and there. I would have like to see the original.

Surprisingly sleazy! I was expecting a giallo film for some reason, but it is not that.

After a séance in which the presence indicates itself to be foul-mouthed, accusatory and randy, things get even dirtier. A young woman exhibits the same behavior. Perhaps she's possessed, or perhaps it's her frustrations and acting out against repressed desires.

Some reviews mention a scene with a grandfather, but the video box of the copy I saw refers to the father, but the subtitles in the movie refer to Uncle Adolpho. Perhaps different copies subtitle that scene differently.

The movie takes some ideas from The Exorcist, but seems more Gothic than that, and it was also pretty explicit.