The House of Exorcism
1974 Dir. Mickey Lion (Mario Bava) When she separates from her tour group to look around an old antiques shop, Lisa (Elke Sommer) encounters a man (Telly Savalas) who bears a striking resemblance to a depiction of the Devil she saw in a fresco. Making her way back to the town square, Lisa is suddenly struck down by a mysterious and somewhat disturbing ailment that causes her to spasm uncontrollably and to spout obscenities. She is visited in hospital by a Priest (Robert Alda) who surmises that she is possessed by the Devil and sets about trying to exorcise her. During the exorcism she reveals to him how she came to be in this unsavoury situation… Due to the success of Bava’s prior film Baron Blood , he was given ‘carte blanche’ by his producer Alfredo Leone to write and direct another film. Bava had apparently waited his whole career for such artistic freedom and the resulting film, Lisa & the Devil is amongst his most accomplished, beautifully surreal and engaging films. D...