This Italian horror outing is made even more horrible by the fact that the first two thirds were originally a complete feature, Lisa and the Devil by Mario Bava and the last third was tacked on later to capitalize on the continued popularity of The Exorcist by producer Alfredo Leone thereby nearly obliterating the spooky tone created in Bava's original. Innocent, voluptuous Lisa's travails begin when she sees a wax mannequin in her own image. She then sees a sinister fellow, whom she knows is
the devil, hanging around nearby and runs for her life. Unfortunately, she ends up hiding in the mansion of a typical creepshow psycho family who prefer spending their evenings making love to everything and every one that moves, or doesn't move in the case of one necrophiliac. If that weren't creepy enough, Lisa gets a look at the butler and realizes that he is old Satan himself. Surprise! Soon she finds herself possessed and doing the things that post Exorcist demonized movie stars are expected to including the obligatory projectile vomiting (this time it's frogs rather than pea soup), lasciviousness and a few levitation exercises until the brave exorcist arrives to cure her. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Lisa and the Devil is the real deal, a masterfully poetic journey into darkness and dislocation that is long overdue in finding the audience it so desperately deserves.
It might take a few viewings before the full beauty (not to mention the plot) makes itself clear, but Lisa and the Devil rewards those repeated viewings richly.
I won't sit here and pretend that Lisa and the Devil made a whole lot of sense as a story, even with the so-called "superior" version of the film. It often sends you in different directions and you can never quite get a firm foothold as you're watching it. I can sort of see what Mario Bava was going for here, but
unfortunately the actors he picked just aren't that interesting. The only one of note is Alida Valli, who is always mesmerizing when she's on-screen. Even Elke Sommer is usesless here. I can see why genre fans appreciate it, but I can also see why American distributors wanted to cut it up and try something different with it. I haven't seen the "House of Exorcism" cut, and I'm told it's awful, but it makes sense to me having seen the film why they felt the need to do that. I have a feeling that neither version of the film is really that good, but since it has Mario Bava's stamp on it and that he never saw the original cut released in the U.S. when he was alive, it's definitely worth checking out. Just don't expect to be wowed or anything.
February 3, 2012
Tim Salmons
Super Reviewer
Was able to see the actual "Lisa & The Devil" version of the film.
I found that amongst the horribly cheesy costumes (Elke excluded) and over dramatic acting...there were some really amazing (and at times BIZZARE) visuals.
I felt like it would have been more effective had it been about 30 minutes shorter.
More
substantial then a "pure cheese" film, but not great by any means.
Though I think the bulk of my Flixster friends will appreciate it for what it is.
October 29, 2010
Robert C
Super Reviewer
Lisa And The Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) (The Devil in the House of Exorcism) Quotes
No quotes approved yet for Lisa And The Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) (The Devil in the House of Exorcism). Logged in users can submit quotes.
Submit a Quote from 'Lisa And The Devil (Lisa e il diavolo) (The Devil in the House of Exorcism)'
A quote can be a single line from one character or a memorable dialog between several characters. Please make your quotes accurate. Quotes will be submitted for approval by the RT staff.
Example:
Luke: Alright. I'll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.
