From its opening, sepia-tinted prologue depicting a Nazi general committing infanticide in 1945 Berlin to its closing final scene of the Devil triumphant, Jean Brismee's "The Devil's Nightmare" (1971) is one fairly intense experience indeed. But the film tells a pretty simple story, really. A busload of tourists--a bickering couple, two very attractive lesbians, a crusty old man and a hunky seminarian--along with their gluttonous driver, are forced to spend the night at the von Rhoneberg castle, somewhere in Germany. Another guest soon arrives, an alluring redhead named Lisa, and she turns out to be a supersexy succubus who proceeds to slay the castle guests one by one, via any number of bizarre methods. Anyway, though usually termed "Eurotrash" by the critics, this film appealed to me very much, mainly due to its remarkable atmosphere and memorable score. The picture has been imaginatively shot utilizing odd camera angles and unusual settings, and Alessandro Alessandroni's background music is just fantastic. His "succubus theme" is at once creepy, haunting, lovely and beautiful, instantly engendering a mood of unease whenever it is played. I had greatly appreciated Alessandroni's contribution to 1978's "The Killer Nun," but his outre score here really is some kind of great work. It practically makes the picture all by itself. Just get a load of that scene near the film's end, with the creepy theme chant accompanying the Devil's pursuit of the seminarian into a church; beautifully done stuff! But let's not forget Erika Blanc in the lead role of Lisa. Although not what I would call overwhelmingly gorgeous, she certainly is supremely sexy, and not a little frightening when her succubus mug comes to the fore. Closing on a note of bleak irony, "The Devil's Nightmare" may just haunt your dreams as well....
Review of Devil's Nightmare
