The Antichrist

There are exactly two elements in this movie that work. The first is a well-done special effect of an imploding screen. The second is the choice to have the saliva of the possessed woman bear an unmistakable resemblance to... another substance. This becomes the only element of the sexual subtext that is genuinely unsettling, rather than just unpleasant and nasty.

Other than that, this is a poorly-made attempt to rip off "The Exorcist". And by "rip off", I don't mean just that this was a possession movie made to cash in on the popularity of "The Exorcist"; I mean that elements from the Blatty/Friedkin production are copied so shamelessly that it evokes disbelieving laughter at the effrontery.

Sadly, "The Tempter" fails to do what "The Exorcist" did, and give those elements a context that makes sense. The Blatty/Friedkin film remains compelling because it is a mystery; it is not about the shocking visual effects but rather of a truth that no one wants to believe. Every scene contains a clue to the mystery; every clue chips away at civilized denial that such a thing could happen. This movie could actually have gone "The Exorcist" one better, by constructing the same sort of mystery and treating the strong subtext of sexual temptation as a piece of the puzzle and not just a chance for cheap thrills. Instead, this movie is made with the vague notion that projectile vomiting at a priest is boffo box office, baby. "The Exorcist" is clockwork inside and "The Tempter" is just Jell-O.

This filthy and spooky movie results to be a wildly popular ¨Exorcist¨ imitation , concerns Hipolita (Carla Gravina), she's an invalid young with unsettling problems from his mother died for a car crash in an accident along with her father (Mel Ferrer) and then she resulted paralyzed . She only has understanding for his brother (Remo Girone) . Her mental problems and intervention a doctor (Umberto Orsini) lead to an act of possession by an ancestor framed as a witch by the Inquisition . Eventually she's deeply possessed and starts seducing a young and other local men in order to murder them . Hipolita becomes possessed and a strange exorcism seems to be the only solution to stop the craziness and heal the young invalid . An exorcism carried out by a Father exorcist (George Colouris) turns out to be the mean to save her , but the surprising events go awry . What it says is what it means. Deliver her from evil. From the bowels of hell, the serpent has risen, to pour foul evil upon the world

This exploitation picture displays eerie horror , witchcraft , grisly killings , bestiality , satanism and lots of blood and gore . Most often films made to cash in on another hugely box-office ¨The Exorcist¨ tend to be inferior to the template but I have to say, as far as rip-offs of the Freidkin's classic go, ¨The Antichrist¨ is on the better end of the spectrum . Large cast with American actors working in Italy , such as Arthur Kennedy , Mel Ferrer and George Colouris . Revolting , scary scenes and nasty images take place on orgy scenes with goat included . Packs luxurious scenarios with a lush corridor plenty of sculptures and careful cinematography showing glamorous sets by known cameraman/director Joe D'amato , though cheesy special effects on the levitation scenes . Creepy and terrifying musical score composed by classic musician Ennio Morricone and conducted by Bruno Nicolai .

The motion picture was well directed by Alberto De Martino , though it has some flaws , gaps and failures . Martino was an Italian craftsman , working from the 60s in all kind of genres , B-movies and exploitation flicks . As he directed Peplum (Secret seven , Spartan gladiators , Invincible gladiator , Valley of stone men) , Spaghetti Western (Django shoots first , Providence , Charge of seven cavalry) , Warlike (Dirty heroes) , European spy genre (OK Connery , Operation Lady Chaplin) , and Terror (Miami Golem , Horror , Holocaust 2000) , among others. Rating : 6/10, acceptable and passable , though sometimes embarrassing .

Great stuff. The Italian exploitation rip-off bandwagon didn't miss a beat on any genre, and here we have THE EXORCIST acting as the "inspiration" for a horror picture. Naturally, the sleaze is turned up enormously and the result is a truly entertaining piece of cinematic scuzz. I think the other reviewers have covered the majority of the fun stuff that goes on herein, but I'd just like to add that the movie is nicely put together and photographed, and the hilarious dialogue is sufficiently hammed up by the actors. Plus, it's great to see Arthur Kennedy in ANY movie!

My highlight of the film was when the "possessed" woman seduces a German exchange student- truly hilarious.

I personally found the oft-revered THE EXORCIST to be laughable and ludicrous. L'ANTICRISTO simply goes even further, and if you are equipped with an imagination and a sense of humour, I can think of a lot worse ways to spend an hour and a half.

Alberto De Martino's "L'Anticristo" is definitely one of the better Italian possession flicks.Carla Gravina is excellent as a wheel-chair bound,sexually frustrated Ippolita.The photography is stylish and the score by Ennio Morricone and Bruno Nicolai is outstanding.The special effects are quite mediocre,but there is a nice amount of sleaze to satisfy fans of Italian horror.The infamous goat orgy scene is rather unpleasant and hard to forget.So if you like Italian horror movies give this one a look.7 out of 10.Recommended.

In the 70"s there was a"devil craze"due to the success of Satan themed horror classics like Rosemary's Baby, The Exorcist and The Omen. This film riffs heavily off of The Exorcist, but does it with a different style of filmmaking and a setting in Rome/The Vatican. It does have a good atmosphere with great sets and good camera work. The acting is also quite good and with the cultural differences and European style give this enough to set itself apart from the movie that this is trying to rip off. At the end of the day, it is a rip off and no it's not as good as The Exorcist, but it also is not that bad. In fact, you could do a lot worse in this genre and if you enjoy movies of this type then The Antichrist is worth a look.