The Return of the Exorcist (1975)

Good concept, poorly executed.

Fresh and Exciting

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Richard Conte picks up one last easy paycheck before checking out for good in his last film. Conte fans should probably be warned right away that the man himself doesn't show face until one hour and seven minutes into proceedings, but don't write off the film because of that - there's plenty of stupidity here to keep you going before Conte shows up.Now, this Exorcist rip-off establishes its plot in a series of flashbacks so it takes a bit of patience to figure out why the film has seemingly jumped to the young guy tied to a bed talking like the singer of Cannibal Corpse. All of this seems to involve young Peter being drawn to a medallion lying in a river by a naked redhead that sends him mental and driving away his childhood sweetheart. Peter by the way sports a massive mullet and can act about as well as a discarded sock lying in the central reservation of the M5.Peter starts acting a bit strange and when the redhead turns up in his room she prompts him to slash her throat, which causes his girlfriend's throat to be cut even though she's miles away in a disco giving it laldy on the dancefloor. This prompts a series of events where Peter himself tries to do away with family members or he turns into the redhead and does the same. This has got something to do with Franco Garofalo holding some sort of orgy years prior to this which is explained by a priest but by this point I was wondering when Richard Conte would show up.Basically, this film takes scenes from the Exorcist (moving beds, swearing, spewing up, etc etc) and inserts rampant nudity and sleaze in between. At one point Peter even tries to shag his own mum, then his sister! That's the kind of romantic subplot you need in a film like this. It's bizarre how people's opinions differ massively on these Exorcist rip off films - some say this is the worst, but it's far from boring, and yet others say Beyond The Door is most boring, and I thought that one was the best.This is pure Italian trash by the way so if you don't like that stuff, forget it. Richard Conte's last film too - he had a fatal heart attack the same year this was released.

This one has tons of titles, like Exorcist 3: Cries and Shadows, The Possessor, Un Urlo Dalle Tenebre and Naked Exorcist. It lives up to those titles, trust me. Particularly the last one.A nun learns that her brother, Piero, has become possessed due to a pendant he found and a mystery woman who he isn't sure that he saw. Within minutes — no need for the build of the original here — Piero has chest pains, is flipping out on everyone and sometimes becomes the previously mentioned woman. His powers aren't well defined, but you won't care. Your jaw will be on the floor at the craziness that this film has in its grip.Oh yeah. There was also a huge Satanic orgy in the house a few years ago. We know this because this scene is repeated throughout the movie. Luckily, the Exorcist (Richard Conte in his last film. Conte was going to play Don Corleone in The Godfather, but as the film increased in budget, A-list actors started competing for the part. He did end up playing one of the film's villains, Don Barzini.).If you watched The Exorcist and thought, "This would be so much better with b-roll footage of Rome and, oh by the way, could we make it a ton sleazier?" then yes, this film is exactly what you want. Franco Lo Cascio is the perfect director for this, as despite starting his career with 1975's Mark of Zorro (starring George Hilton from All the Colors of the Dark as Zorro!), he's worked mostly as Luca Damiano in the Italian porn industry.For all the movies that Warner Brothers sued out of theaters, the fact that this one got through unscathed is a miracle. Then again, when we're referring to movies about Satanic possession, perhaps that isn't the best choice of words.A warning: this film is not for the weak. If you were offended by The Exorcist, you're in for it. If Amityville II: The Possession upset you, you are also in for it. If you're looking for a film that doesn't suddenly stop the narrative and starts showing b-roll footage of nightclubs, you are also in for it.Read more at http://bit.ly/2j3yT6X

Cries and Shadows, or Exorcist III as it was released in some places (got to love those international copyright laws), is one of the sleaziest Exorcist ripoffs that I have encountered. That is neither an endorsement nor a warning, just a statement. The plot has a young man finding a strange medallion while on vacation with friends. Because of this medallion, the teen becomes possessed by a succubus (Mimma Biscardi, here often nude). The possessed's acting out is of a sexual nature. The teen as the succubus (whom, strangely, the victims can see) first tries to rape his mother and then his sister, who is a nun. At about the hour mark, Richard Conte shows up as the priest who will carry out the exorcism. And, that is about all there is to the film. The film's one asset (aside from Mimma Biscardi's bare skin) is the setting. The film takes place in a village built on a hillside. The bourgeoisie family's villa is at the very top. It is a striking location and used well by the filmmakers. The rest of the film is mostly forgettable. I had seen this film once before and had remembered almost nothing except for the setting. As these type of films go, I prefer The Night Child (aka The Cursed Medallion) and The Antichrist (aka The Tempter). Nonetheless, Cries and Shadows does revel unapologetically in its bad taste. Fans of Exorcist ripoffs might be amused.

There were many good and bad European Exorcist clones turned out in the mid-Seventies but for my money this manages to be one of the most ridiculous and sex filled Exorcist clones of all time. Released on its native Italian soil as `Un Urlo Dalle Tenebra' and given the well deserved come-on title Naked Exorcism when it was released in English. Hard to believe that anyone could better Naked Exorcism for a greater English title, but someone did just that when it was re-released on tape in both the US and UK in the the mid-Eighties as Exorcist 3-Cries and Shadows with seemingly drug induced video sleeve notes. Luckily for the cheeky distributors, the producers of the official Exorcist 3 never sued but to further complicate things one of the Italian titles translates as The Exorcist Part 2 (then again it is more watchable than the real Exorcist 2). Directed by one Elo Pannaccio in 1975, Pannaccio apparently directed another horror film (Sesso Della Strega) which also boasted an Exorcist inspired plot, he's also responsible for numerous sweat and grunt home grown pornos, and here tries to fuse the two genres. Naked Exorcism is about Mark a mild mannered archeological research participant who is gradually possessed by the Devil, and ends up puking on and insulting members of the clergy and his family. The reason for his possession and subsequent flying furniture attacks on priests is a toss between the influence of an 18th century Devil worship orgy which happened in his house (and is repeated a lot in the film) or the person the bizarre and inept video notes describe as `evil Haggia', an Italian floozy who frenziedly overacts and spends lots of time in the nude. Haggia appears to be some witch who torments Mark after he picks up a sacred talisman. She forces him to cut his girlfriend's throat, then later tries to cop a feel of Mark's mother before throwing her downstairs. Mark himself is eventually possessed although the acting is so bad that he actually comes across more like a drunk in a bar than the Devil. His sister cops most of his verbal abuse `stupid slut, lecherous bitch' since she's a nun. What is remarkable about the whole endeavor is how err religiously it follows the Exorcists set pieces- we're talking whole scenes here. In fact the only moments in the film that don't rip off the Exorcist are the endless nude and many lesbian scenes. Unnecessary to the plot, but for sleazy sexploitation fare like this a necessity. The most shocking footage appears in flashbacks, where its revealed that the nun sister turns out to have spent time in an asylum, what I here you ask has that to do with anything? Well nothing really other than a chance to show some very real looking footage of mentally deranged women in an asylum, and mad naked women being tied down to beds while gratuitous bongo music plays in the background. The Exorcist himself doesn't turn up till about an hour in, in the form of a tired looking Richard Conte ( in one of his final roles) and in the film's piece de resistance of rip-offs he stands outside a window with light coming out of it, just like in another certain film. Exorcist purists will no doubt be horrified since if you stick with it you'll also witness disco music, childlike make-up that apes Dick Smith's Linda Blair makeup, a soundtrack borrowed from the Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue, not to mention pointless flashbacks to the Middle Ages that seem like outtakes from a long lost 70's remake of Witchcraft through the Ages. Eurotrash fans should also look out for Bruno Mattei regular Frank Garfield (Zombie Creeping Flesh's ping pong ball eyed soldier) as the master of ceremonies in the orgy scenes. As I've already mentioned the film is one of many which uses the Exorcist format to spin off a sex pot-boiler. The bait of Devil possession proving an excuse for numerous deviate sexual behaviors in ways that the puritan Friedkin movie wouldn't dare was obviously just too hard to resist for most Euro sleaze personalities - Jess Franco, Andrea Bianchi, Paul Naschy, Amand o de Ossario and many more all made their own versions with varied results. Naked Exorcism certainly has little claim to be best attempt at this, but its certainly the most wackiest and incoherent. Pannaccio (or Frank C Lucas as he is called in the English version) obviously knows his kinky sex scenes and piles on the nude scenes at a gobsmaking rate. I don't think he had a clue when it comes to the movies horror trappings, and overplays all the horror scenes in a barnstorming fashion -resulting in a truly deranged mess of a film. This thing really is incredible, boasting to be a `film you will never forget' you've probably heard that come-on tag line a zillion times before, on movies that were anything but memorable, but in this case believe me there's truth in advertising.