Lisa and the Devil

I love Italian films from the 60s and 70s. I picked up Lisa and the Devil on DVD and then realized that the House of Exorcism is a re-edited, totally different version of Lisa and the Devil. I feel like I need to see the House of Exorcism now.

If you like Bava films, then you will surely enjoy Lisa and the Devil. This is a surreal piece of film making in that you are not quite sure what is reality and what is in the mind of the characters. There is no over the top gore, but Bava uses camera work and generates a creepy atmosphere. I may not reccomend

this film to Mario Bava "first timers" or "gore hounds". While I love to watch a Fulci or Bruno Mattei zombie fest anyday, I still enjoy a classic Bava film the same way I enjoy classical music. They both hit a chord, but a different chord.

During the sightseeing in Toledo, Spain, the tourist Lisa Reiner (Elke Sommer) sees an ancient painting of the devil on the wall and leaves her group for a moment; however she gets lost in the narrow streets. Later she gets a lift with the wealthy Francis Lehar (Eduardo Fajardo) and his wife Sophia (Sylva Koscina). However, their car breaks and stops in front of an old manor. While the driver George (Gabriele Tinti) tries to fix the car, the trio is hosted by the blind owner (Alida Valli) and her son Maximilian (Alessio Orano) that invites Lisa to spend the night in the mansion. During the dinner, they are served by the butler Leandro (Telly Savalas) that resembles the image of the devil of the painting. Lisa seems to be living a strange nightmare, recalling her love from a past life, and trapped in the house with that bizarre family.

The stylish and surrealistic "Lisa and the Devil" is a weird and spooky ghost story developed in a nightmarish atmosphere. The movie is visually very impressive and despite of the flaws and inconsistencies in the ambiguous screenplay, it startles many times. Elke Sommer is extremely sexy and Telly Savalas is very frightening. The conclusion is a little disappointing. My vote is seven.

Fortunately I saw "Lisa and the Devil" first; the opportunist commercial version released in USA with the title "The House of the Exorcism" on the trail of the success of "The Exorcist" is terrible and destroys the creepy atmosphere of the original movie. The good thing is the greater eroticism and exposure of the naked body of Elke Sommer. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Lisa e o Diabo" ("Lisa and the Devil")

Note: On 11 June 2015 I saw this movie again.

i asked for "lisa and the devil" as a christmas present because I've always been a huge fan of dario argento, and it is common knowledge that he was in part inspired by the work of mario bava. i was not disappointed! like argento, bava has no concern for realism or complex character development and keeps it to the level of what it is, a horror film. it is hallucinatory, imaginative, intriguing, and also works as suspense, even if a little too campy for that genre. telly savalas does an excellent job as satan, and i loved how he enjoyed his trademark lollipop even during an italian horror film as though to say--"the devil loves ya, baby!" modern horror directors get everything wrong and make the mistake of thinking that meaningless action and excessive gore make an effective and memorable film, when nothing could be further from the truth. bava works with mystery and imagination, the two essential ingredients without which there can be no "horror" worthy of the name. of course, both the dialogue and behavior of the characters are ludicrous and laughably erratic, but you should come in expecting this from anyone who helped to inspire argento's film. "lisa and the devil" ranks up there with "suspiria" and "inferno", hands down. check it out.

Well I finally managed to get to see 'Lisa And The Devil' as Bava originally intended it, rather than the very dodgy 'House Of Exorcism' version I had previously seen, and the original is ten times better! Stripped of the tacked-on possession scenes and Robert Alda's priest role, the movie reveals itself to be a superior, atmospheric and stylish "nightmare on celluloid" movie. It reminded me a little bit of Jean Brismee's 'The Devil's Nightmare' in places, and at other times the work of Jean Rollin, without the overt eroticism. It's surreal touches and foreboding feel with probably appeal to fans of David Lynch or Herk Harvey's 'Carnival Of Souls' more than hardcore horror nuts. The cast are all good, but Telly Savalas gives a standout performance just on the right side of over the top, and Elke Sommer appears much more believable as the confused protagonist of this movie, rather than the unconvincing Linda Blair wanna-be of 'House Of Exorcism'. All in all one of Mario Bava's most original and interesting movies. Recommended.

Lisa and the Devil makes me think of Susperia. In fact, I think those sheer curtains with the appliqués that hang around the 4 poster bed were later used in Susperia. I've seen that film so many times I recognize those.

Anyway, Lisa and the Devil is very low on dialog and big on atmosphere. Much like Susperia, we have the strange lighting, gaudy set pieces, beautiful sets and props, many rooms with fancy wainscoting and molding, and acting that is just slightly off. Dubbing that doesn't quite match up in a subtle way and eerie, dreamy music while the actors stare off into the distance or right into the lens of the camera.

Dialog? Striped down to minimum. Story? Simple enough with a woman straying from her tourist group in a foreign city, wandering alone because she has heard some chimes. But what happens to her? She becomes ensconced in a surreal setting with people living in an old, Gothic mansion. But is it all real? Or is it all in her head? Are the murders really happening or did they happen many years ago?

It's up to you to decide what the ending means. You'll probably enjoy the ride but don't expect anything too, too intense or deep here.