The Devil's Nightmare (1974)

Fantastic!

Expected more

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

A bus load of tourists spend the night at an impressive Gothic castle, the home to Baron von Rhoneberg who has a family curse due to an ancestor making a pact with the Devil centuries before. The Baron also dabbles in alchemy, which doesn't add much to the plot but is a good excuse to have a laboratory complete with human skeleton, etc. Not long in and two young sexy members of the group indulge in some lesbian love making. This isn't particularly graphic. This is by no means a classic of European Gothic horror but it's still an enjoyable watch. There's plenty of creepy atmosphere, some gory deaths and a few beautiful young women in the cast, including the stunning Erika Blanc. Daniel Emilfork gives a great performance as Satan in human form, very creepy.

Seven passengers must spend the night at the cursed Baron's castle due to poor planning. The passengers clearly represent the seven deadly sins (not exactly biblical) as each one is murdered according to their sin, some more clearly than others.I have seen this film several times before, but this one had a modern introduction of a lesbian vampire Elvira with two well endowed topless cannibal women, none of which had anything to do with the film which they describe as Italian camp. I liked the blue bus. It reminded me of the blue bus that used to always be in the parking lot of a Grateful Dead concert. Thank you Bear. Now if you haven't figured it out, Gilligan's Island was also patterned after the seven deadly sins. After a trip to the blue bus, it becomes fun to imagine the island characters as their counterparts in the film, especially during the lesbian make out scene. Would that be Ginger and Mary Ann? It was for me.The film wasn't restored but was still watchable. I watched it on a multi-pack.Guide: sex and nudity. No swearing.

This is a stupid movie with a set up somewhat like the dumb fun of "Orgy of the Living Dead," with a bus and it's unlikely passages headed into real bad luck. A pointless prologue doesn't set up much, and you get the feeling they couldn't quite decide what this movie was about and may have turned it into a (very) soft core porn about halfway through. On the plus side, the middle section is funny in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way, with the terrible dubbing helping, but it can't sustain this. The House Butler telling the horrific story of each room to the hapless guests is the comic high point. Also, the guy who plays the devil does have a creepy vibe going on, something like Death in "The Seventh Seal." But you are likely to be more than ready for it to be over by the time we get to the end.

THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE (1971; 93 minutes; Belgium/Italy) THE PLOT: Seven people are forced to spend the night in some eerie castle. The devil sends a succubus to kill each one that indulges in one or more of the seven deadly sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy/jealousy and pride).COMMENTARY: Wow, this is a real hidden gem of Gothic horror. It has a great cast & story and was filmed in a real castle. The people and the sins they indulge in are as follows: Pride - Alvin, the Seminarian Envy - Corinne (the hot brunette), the collector of men Gluttony - Mr. Ducha, the Tour Driver Lust - Howard Foster, Corinne's last addition to her collection Anger - Mr. Mason, the constant complainer Greed - Nancy Foster, the gold seeking angry wife Sloth - Regine, the (hot) sleepy blonde Some, of course, are guilty of more than one main sin, such as: Nancy Foster, the angry wife: jealousy (although her husband gives her good reason to be jealous), envy (of the beauty of the other women) and anger (I don't think she smiles once, except when she's literally swimming in gold).Corinne: lust (lesbianism & adultery).Regine: lust (lesbianism).A handful of observations: If the bus driver was really THAT gluttonous wouldn't he be a lot heavier? (Like Fat Bast*** from Austin Powers).If Regine (the blond) were really THAT lazy how could she possibly have that ultra-hot body? Although the priest-in-training flirts with pride (listen to him during the chess match) and lust (for the redhead) he evidently never commits a mortal sin (or, if he does, he humbly & quickly repents rather than revel in it like the others).*** MINOR SPOILER ALERT *** Note that the seminarian willingly sacrifices himself to perdition to prevent the other six from being damned. This is an example of agape love and displays a Christ-like heart. Paul the apostle had the same spirit as evidenced in Romans 9:3. *** END SPOILER *** But doesn't Alvin know you can't make honest deals with the "father of lies"? No one can argue that the film glorifies the various negative behaviors because *** SPOILER ALERT *** they all end up dying for their sins. *** END SPOILER ***HIGHLIGHTS: As noted, the film features three incredibly gorgeous women -- a blond, brunette and redhead, no less. The succubus is the redhead, played by Erika Blanc. All three are voluptuous; each possessing a very distinctive beauty. (Their NATURAL curvy-ness is refreshing in comparison to too many modern American actresses who often appear nigh anorexic and artificial, if you know what I mean). It goes without saying that, if you have a lust problem, you might want to skip this one, especially in light of a fairly overt lesbian scene.Another highlight is Erika Blanc's subtle make-up as the succubus combined with her amazing ability to contort her face from stunningly sharp to utterly hideous. I almost never get frightened by horror films, but when Erika morphs into the succubus and hideously contorts her face, it's pretty chilling.TECHNICAL INFO: Some versions of the film have a tasteless porno-horror "intro" tacked on. This lengthy "intro" is not part of the original picture and simply has no business being there; in fact, it horribly mars it. No doubt it was tacked on by some latter-day producer in order to excite pre-pubescent boys ("Oooh, that's cooooool!"). The version featured with "Messiah of Evil" doesn't have this silly intro, but the sound quality isn't very good. I saw another version that has the intro but the sound quality was fine.FYI: The original title translated to English is "The Long Night of the Devil" or "The Devil's Longest Night." I feel the title "The Devil's Nightmare" is weak and much prefer another alternative title (used on the VHS): "The Devil Walks at Midnight." FINAL WORD: Since this is a European film from the early 70s it's understandably dated, dubbed and slow-paced. The viewer must keep this in mind to appreciate it. Many themes are touched upon: Does God exist? What about the devil and his demonic servants? Can he be trusted to make a deal with? (Yeah, right). Is there such a thing as sin? And, if so, what are its consequences? Another fascinating theme is human nature and the continual conflict between spiritual and carnal qualities with which we can all relate. The film also powerfully addresses the self-sacrificial nature of agape love.Make no mistake, this is a powerful piece of Gothic-horror cinema, perhaps even a masterpiece.The film runs 95 minutes and was shot at Château d'Antoing, Antoing, Hainault, Wallonia, Belgium.GRADE: A (keeping in mind its age and origins)