Obscene Desire (1978)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Sexy Marisa Mell stars as an American ex-pat whose new husband brings her back to his ancestral castle where she learns the family was cursed by a witch burned at the stake centuries before. She soon becomes pregnant and it's a ROSEMARY'S BABY redux (cashing in on THE OMEN's recent success) from here on out, only now the emphasis is on "erotic horror". Almost all the sex is gratuitous; Marisa's husband kills prostitutes in his spare time for no good reason other than to provide more nudity in a film already rife with it courtesy of Ms. Mell. Even the U.S. title, OBSCENE DESIRE, is only there to titillate. Since it's the '70s, an exorcism (sort of) was thrown in for good measure and although the whole thing is more than a little silly, it's a lot of fun anyway, the "bare" essence of "Eurotrash". But what was up with that ending? ***SPOILER***When Marisa and her baby (the son of Satan) board a plane for the U.S., one of the coven seeing her off smiles and says, "America needed that baby." ***END SPOILER***This was obviously a good-natured (?) zinger, unlike the Italian giallo's cumulative xenophobia. Most of them are exotic "travelogues" set in the various capitols of Europe and beyond but when seen collectively, the unmistakable (albeit unintentional) message seems to be, "This sick sh!t doesn't happen here", it's always somewhere else whereas nearly all Spanish gialli take place on their own turf. The still-gorgeous Marisa Mell was about 40 when she made OBSCENE DESIRE and her looks are a bit "hard" here, no doubt from a growing cocaine dependence. She'd been an international playgirl and tabloid darling for over a decade and was romantically linked to Alain Delon, Warren Beatty, Robert Evans, Roman Polanski, Alex Onassis, and the Shah of Iran among others but by the early 1980s the actress was reduced to posing nude in hardcore men's magazines. Destitute and alone, Marisa died a horrible death from throat cancer in 1992. "Movies are my life, and my life is a movie." -Marisa Mell

With still having good memories of being introduced to actress Marisa Mell by the overlooked Giallo Diary of an Erotic Murderess,I was pleasantly caught by surprise,when a very kind IMDb'er recently sent me a non-Giallo Mell title,which led to me excitingly getting ready to discover how obscene a desire could really be.The plot:Swept up in her holiday romance,Amanda decides that instead of travelling back to the US,she will instead live in Italy and get married to her boyfriend,Andrea.Taking Amanda to the mansion which his family have owned for 7 generations,Andrea is horrified to discover that his families most loyal butler has unexpectedly died.Attempting to help her new husband deal to deal with his grief,Andera soon makes Amanda pregnant.Initially thrilled about the pregnancy,Amanda soon begins to fear that Andera and the surviving staff of the mansion may be planning something that is far from being in the best interest of her,or her unborn child.View on the film:Despite disowning the movie later on,co-writer/ (along with Joaquin Dominguez and Piero Regnoli) director Giulio Petroni closely works with cinematography Leopoldo Villasenor to give the film an elegant Gothic Romance appearance,with Petroni using wide angles to show the Gothic mansion that is towering above Amanda and Andera,and also giving the movie a crisp,stylish sheen.Emphasising Petroni's style,film director Jess Franco, (not the dictator!) gives the movie an unexpectedly superb score,with Franco showing a real skill in knowing when to use a deep bass for the movie's Gothic Horror moments,and also knowing when to unleash the strings for the romantic moments in the film.Sadly,whilst Petoni,Villasenor and Franco give the movie a strong atmosphere,the screenplay fails to build any feelings of Gothic chills or psychological terror due to not allowing any details about the foundation of Amanda and Andera's relationship to be revealed,which leads to the Gothic Romance scenes in the movie to be rather dry,whilst the psychological Horror elements of the movie feel lack any sense of being connected to the roots of Amanda and Andera's relationship.Appearing in the opening of the movie by hanging around the corners of the mansion,Victor Israel gives a wonderfully deranged performance as the mansion's last remaining servant,with Israel giving the film a great shot of Gothic Horror by delivering his lines with a sharp twisted cackle,and also creating a strong sense that the servant may know more then he appears to.Contrasting Israel's high shrieks,the beautiful Marisa Mell gives an excellent performance as Amanda,with Mell showing Amanda gradually change from having a head filled with romance,to psychotically crumbling over fears of discovering the obscene desire which lurks within herself and the mansion.

"Obscene Desire" aka "La Profezia" is an erotic and genuinely eerie Italian "The Exorcist" clone which predates and is quite similar in tone to Andrea Bianchi's "Malabimba".Amanda,a beautiful American girl is soon to be married to Andrea Orsomandi,a wealthy nobleman who lives in an extravagant Gothic mansion.However there exists something dark,sinister and supernatural within the walls of the mansion.It seems that Andrea has been driven to madness and is a victim of the evil contained within the house.It soon transpires that he is involved in black magic,perverse rituals and serial killings with the aid of his sadistic henchman and gardener Giovanni.Killing prostitutes in order to exorcise this Evil.Now the demonic forces set out to possess Amanda,take her soul and turn her into another victim of the mansion."Obscene Desire" is full of graphic nudity provided by Marisa Mell,Laura Trotter and Paola Maiolini.It has solid acting and moody score by exploitation veteran Jesus Franco.8 out of 10.

This post-"Exorcist" and "Omen" possession film is quite odd. It has some typical Giallo elements and until the second half of the movie, it is left unclear whether there is something supernatural going on or not.The film also boosts some strange characters that sometimes get a little bit overacted by the actors. But the main problem of the film is that it makes the impression of coming about ten years too late. It is too old fashioned to be a typical horror film of the late 1970s (there are many classical Gothic moments in it), and on the other hand it is too graphic to be a late Gothic horror film (two gory scenes and plenty of nude female flesh).All in all, it's an enjoyable if not amazing little film, and the climax delivers an unexpected downbeat twist to surprise the audience. If "L'Osceno Desiderio" (my preferred title) would have been directed by a more gifted director, it would surely be a remarkable sleeper.