The Other Hell

A priest is sent to a convent to investigate the sheer lunacy of a bunch of nun's gone nuts performing acts of lust and depravity. But the closer he looks into the situation the more supernatural it becomes. Does the devil roam the halls terrorizing the nuns or is it something a bit more sinister.

I'll get Mattei credit; he tries to inject a little something more in your average, ordinary (nunsploitation storyline (if there is such a thing). It's not entirely successful in that regard but never-the-less he manages to pull off this entertaining but a little slow and the bit of a Stephen King twist to the ending helps it out.

THE OTHER HELL (1980) *** Franca Stoppi, Carlo De Mejo. In this Bruno Mattei film, a young priest (De Mejo), is sent to a convent to investigate a series of bizarre and brutal murders. The nuns think Satan is to blame; the priest thinks the murders are the work of a psychopath. The truth turns out to be something in between. Stylish direction by Mattei, a stunning performance by Stoppi (who was even more brilliant in Joe D'Amato's Beyond the Darkness), and a pulse-pounding score by Goblin combine to make this a solid offering. Recommended.

Those looking for the typical sex and nudity expected in a nunsploitation film need to look elsewhere. This one is pure horror, with a genital removal starting the blood-fest.

The evil Mother Vincenza (Franca Stoppi) provides the best performance despite the outrageous lines given to her.

Father Valerio (Carlo De Mejo) is called in to investigate several murders that are reportedly the work of Satan. One suspects, along with the good father, that there is a psychopath lose in the convent. The answer may lie in the middle of both explanations.

Exciting pieces with long periods of nothing in between. For serious fans of Italian horror, it will be a treat, but for others, it may not be so good.

Great music throughout.

A priest is sent to investigate an outbreak of apparent demonic possession at convent.There is certainly something dark and sinister at work there,but is it really Satan or maybe has it something to do with the Mother Superior's gloomy secrets?"The Other Hell" by Bruno Mattei is an atypical Italian nunsploitation flick.There is absolutely no sex or nudity,still there is a little bit of gore.The film offers some rather tasteless moments like genital mutilation or blood-vomiting nuns.The acting is terrible and the dialogue is stupid,but the film is fast-paced and surprisingly entertaining.So if you like Italian horror films give this one a look.My rating:7 out of 10 and that's being very generous.

When I think of Bruno Mattei, great horror films don't usually spring to mind; and The Other Hell does nothing to change that opinion of him. Much like his Video Nasty zombie flick, Hell of the Living Dead, The Other Hell is highly derivative of other, and better, genre films and came along some time after it's genre hit it's 'golden period'. Nunsploitation is most famous for sexually repressed nuns and tons of nudity, but this one adheres more closely to the Anita Ekberg vehicle 'The Killer Nun', as it features a Giallo style plot that puts most of its focus on murder and more or less completely ignores sex and nudity. This definitely does harm the film, and it's made no better by the fact that the mystery presented is hardly fascinating. The film follows a couple of murders in a convent. The Mother Superior believes that the nuns have become possessed by the devil, and a priest is dispatched to try and get to the bottom of the mystery (they'd have been better off with a detective...). Are the nuns really under the power of Satan, or is that what the Mother Superior wants everyone to believe?

Not only is Bruno Mattei one of the less talented Italian filmmakers, he also has a rather annoying penchant for ripping off the better ones. The film features a score from Goblin, which the director has ripped off from Joe D'Amato's masterpiece 'Beyond the Darkness' (he also ripped off Goblin scores for Hell of the Living Dead), and he took D'Amato's lead actress from Beyond the Darkness, Franca Stoppi. Some of the sequences in the film are very well shot, however, and although it's obvious that Mattei was taking influence from masters such as Dario Argento and Mario Bava, it's only fair to give credit where credit is due. The cinematography is crisp and clear, although the locations often leave a lot to be desired as unlike other films in the nunsploitation tradition; the convent is pretty bare. The plot gets lost sometimes, and it has to be said that a fair proportion of this movie is rather boring; but it just about comes together at the end, and while the reasons for the murders are obvious all the way through; the ending itself isn't bad. Overall, I would recommend this to die-hard nunsploitation fans, but everyone else can feel free to skip it.