The Exorcist and the success it had inspired a whole lotta films, especially in Europe. This time we get the familiar possession plot but with the addition of boobs and Paul Naschy. Yes. That is a victory. A young woman is an unknowing participant in a Satanic ritual (the high cost of hanging out with hippies and having your fiancé being an archeologist who may have come across some things better left buried) and before you can say “Pazuzu”, she’s inhabited by the spirit of her dead father. This possession leads to a potty mouth, plenty of puking and that ol’ familiar head spinning (of course this time it’s the victims getting their nigh ins twisted in ways noggin are not meant to be twisted). Naschy is the village priest brought in to save this poor girl’s soul after medical science can’t find anything wrong with her (and some false leads answer some questions but not all of them) and her brother John worries that the supernatural is at play. Father Dunning does some digging and Leila’s family (and the house staff) have more than a few secrets of their own. Leila attempts seduction, familiar scenes play out but due to a lack of skill come off as pale imitations and organ music wonderfully blares on the soundtrack. Lacking the atmosphere and upsetting realism of its inspiration, Exorcism still manages to entertain by being somewhat seedy and way dumber. The Exorcist didn’t have a Satanic mass with naked chicks and swaying hips… much to its detriment. Plus, a bearded Paul Naschy is always welcome in this house. The full blown possession makeup is amateur in comparison but still fucking awesome and I’ll never complain about sexy Euro-girls taking their tops off and flashing some bush. It’s minor but still entertaining enough.
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