It gets weirder. Lisa then encounters a living likeness of the dummy, a guy who kind of looks like Omar Sharif, who calls her Elena! She is very freaked out and flees. However, she is unable to find the main square. She fortunately gets a ride from Francis and Sophia Lehar in a nice classic car resembling a Model A or T. The car makes its way to a large desolate country mansion, where the butler is none other than the dummy-carrying stranger! Not only that, a sensitive young man sees her and also calls her Elena! What is going on here?

"The entire setting is right for a tall tale with a setting of gloom and tradition," says Sophia while at dinner. We have the right ingredients, a dark night, this house, it's all so spooky!" That about sums up the atmosphere for this movie, where things go from weird to weirder, with a murder that starts the ball of madness rolling.

Lisa And The Devil underwent quite a butchering under American hands, where much of the original was cut, with extra scenes with Robert Alda as Father Michael were added to become House Of Exorcism, which was the original title of Bava's film. Never fear--this is the original uncut version.

Also included after the movie are three scenes cut as they were thought to be too explicit for a "mainstream horror film": an explicit sex scene, the more gory parts of a murder, and a bedroom scene. Including these things in the final cut might have spiced things up just a wee bit.

If the love theme to the movie is familiar, it is Rodrigo's "Concierto of Aranjuez," the tune forming the highlight of Miles Davis's Sketches Of Spain. Of the performers, Telly Savalas comes off best as the lollipop-sucking Leandro the butler. Was this a prelude to Kojak, I wonder? This is his show all the way. Alessio Orani portrays Maximilian as a tortured soul, a sensitive young man living under the thrall of death. And yet another sinister role for Alida Valli (the Contessa), best known for coming out in Dario Argento's Suspiria and Inferno. Despite being pretty, neither Elke Sommer (Lisa) nor Sylvia Koscina (Sophia) shine bright, displaying a hollow, antiseptic beauty.

More a psychological, atmospheric thriller like Black Sunday, but not as good despite being in colour. It will take at least two or three viewings for the movie to make sense, and given time, one may like this better, but what a twist ending!


Wacky adventure through the Land of Bava   December 30, 2003
 5 out of 8 found this review helpful

Italian director Mario Bava (1914-1980) is one of the giants of the horror film genre. His films, no matter what the plot, always promised great style mixed with scenes of murder and mayhem. Bava's big break into the industry came with his 1960 black and white classic "Black Sunday" starring fan favorite Barbara Steele. This was only the beginning, as Bava churned out a series of gruesome shockers over the next seventeen years. Perhaps Mario's biggest contribution to the horror field was his 1972 picture "Twitch of the Death Nerve," also known as "Bay of Blood." It doesn't take too long to realize "Friday the 13th" shamelessly cribbed from Bava's bloodbath. The director's inventiveness goes far beyond hacking up a few unfortunate souls, however, as "Lisa and the Devil," a movie which first appeared on our shores in a radically altered form called "The House of Exorcism," shows. This movie is a wildly inventive jaunt into the inner recesses of the mind of a tortured woman. The Bava legacy continued with son Lamberto, one of the guiding lights behind "Demons," an instant cult favorite with gorehounds worldwide.

Tourist Lisa (Elke Sommer) finds herself in an increasing series of ultra horrific and bizarre circumstances after viewing a huge mural on the side of a building in an Italian town. After looking at the picture, she wonders off into the heart of the old city where she soon encounters a man (Telly Savalas) wearing a beret who exactly resembles the figure in the painting. Horrified at the similarities between this man and the painting, Lisa flees and wanders aimlessly until a husband and wife pick her up in their ancient automobile. The car breaks down near a dark, creepy looking estate where none other than the man Lisa saw earlier works as the butler/head servant. The family living at the home agrees to allow the stranded travelers access to the house in order to phone for assistance. It quickly becomes apparent that things are not what they seem inside the walls of this sprawling estate. Over a socially awkward dinner served on a table the size of a football field, weird activities take place. The family doesn't seem to get along all that well and there is some peculiar importance attached to a chocolate cake with sprinkles (!). Lisa eventually discovers that a family member delivers the cake to a locked bedroom upstairs, supposedly to a member of the family who permanently lives in this room.

Meanwhile, the man and wife who helped Lisa clash over the wife's infidelity, a behavior that will soon have ghastly consequences in this house of horrors. As for Savalas, he acts the part of butler but also seems a more important figure than his position merits. He spends most of his time wandering around the house startling Lisa, or fiddling around with his human figures made out of wax. Even worse, our hapless heroine witnesses Savalas stuffing a corpse in a coffin in one of the rooms on the estate. This corpse just happens to be a mysterious man Lisa encountered in the town shortly after seeing the painting. He continues to reappear to her in the house and on the grounds of the estate, often seeming to change in age between each encounter. The horrors of the family eventually rise to the surface with the result that Lisa emerges from her dream state and decides to fly back home. But wait! Bava played with your mind for over an hour and he isn't about to let you go this easily. Is Lisa truly free of her nightmare or is she about to enter an even deeper dimension of terror?

On the surface, the film makes little sense. But what appears to be a random mish mash of bizarre scenes actually does assume somewhat of a structure if you pay attention to the first five minutes of the movie. It is my opinion that the bizarre painting Lisa sees on a trip to Italy provides the viewer with a possible key to deciphering this weird movie. I propose that Sommer's character undergoes a sort of hypnotic interaction with this painting that somehow transports her back in time, a process which then helps explain the following sequences. The movie is a dream or break with reality in the mind of Sommer's character, nothing more or nothing less, and therefore must assume a fractured, nonsensical tone. Isn't it slightly odd that Lisa doesn't have a boyfriend or husband, or if she does he is not with her on this trip? That might explain the mysterious male that seems to have some bizarre link with her character. Perhaps everything we see is part of Lisa's unconscious taking on corporeal form. Whatever is going on, I think it is important we remember that we are seeing events from the perspective of this confused woman and are thus dependent on her cracked perceptions. How can we know what is going on when Lisa herself has little idea of the weirdness swirling about her? I truly enjoyed the film and appreciated Bava's attempts to do something different.

I also liked the performances. Savalas intrigues as the butler/devil, an ominous figure always looming in the background happily tormenting Lisa. Sommer is also a lot of fun to watch as she bumbles from one grim situation to another, even going so far as to shed her clothes in one scene (bless her soul!). The other performers are lesser talents, something we should expect and accept with Italian horror. The DVD recognizes the utter wackiness of this film with a plethora of extras well worth watching. I usually turn up my nose at movies that seek to confuse the audience, but I really enjoyed this one. I can't wait to see the hacked up "House of Exorcism" so I can compare the two. Enjoy.


Lisa and the Devil   August 7, 2004
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

Stunning camera work, beautiful sets and an interesting take on the Devil by Telly Savalas compete with deliberate pacing and a plot sacrificed to style to make LISA AND THE DEVIL a mixed bag. This is considered by some to be cult favorite Mario Bava's masterpiece, although the producers thought it was so non-commercial they insisted Bava shoot new scenes and re-edit it to make it into a more traditional horror flick. Probably a wise choice, because the director's cut is more pretentious and confusing than frightening.
Still, it looks good, Savalas seems to be having a ball playing a butler/Devil, and Elke Sommer is gorgeous. If your taste in horror turns away from slash and gore and towards the visual and contemplative LISA AND THE DEVIL may satisfy.



better than "lisa"   March 21, 2004
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I found "House of Exorcism" more entertaining than "Lisa and the Devil". The possession scenes by Elke Sommer are quite amusing, adding some humor to the proceedings. Also, it is sexier than "Lisa" (including Elke Sommer's scene) which enhanced the viewing and the pacing is great, while "Lisa" moves along at the speed of a pbs documentary. The Catholic Priest character is lacking in "Lisa", but does give the movie more of a plot. It does jump around somewhat, but then "Lisa" doesn't make a whole lot of sense itself. All in all "House of Exorcism" is the preferred version.