Taking the original story from "Lisa and the Devil" in entirely new directions, "The House of Exorcism" adds the horror of diabolical possession to an already-potent mixture. Tourist Lisa Reiner (Elke Sommer) encounters the Devil himself (Telly Savalas) while vacationing in Toledo, Spain. Recognizing in her the soul of a damned spirit that escaped him, the Devil possesses Lisa, who is sent to a local hospital. Father Michael (Robert Alda), an American priest, accompanies her and tries to exorcise the evil and blasphemous spirit from her soul, but can he discover the mystery of Lisa's past identity and the horrors it bore witness to? This re-structured version of Mario Bava's "Lisa and the Devil" features additional scenes not included in the original version and was completed by producer Alfredo Leone (who was credited with the pseudonym Mickey Lion) after the commercial success of 1973's "The Exorcist."
Amazon.com
Directed by giallo maven Mario Bava, House of Exorcism is a truly rare cinematic find: a completely insane film. Sure, there are plenty of movies that are a little quirky, and even more that start off reasonably and then go around the bend later on, but in House of Exorcism, at no time is anything even remotely comprehensible happening. (No, not even if you watch it a second time.) Elke Sommer stars as Lisa, a beautiful tourist who spies an ancient fresco of the devil and seconds later leaves her tour group to become hopelessly lost. Fresco look-alike Telly Savalas, tongue and lollipop firmly in cheek, shows up holding a life-size mannequin and we're off. What follows is a whirl of opulent sets, vaguely menacing Europeans, and plenty of blood. It's the kind of movie where mysterious and weighty significance is given to lines such as "I brought you some cake. It's your favorite... with chocolate sprinkles." Like all great art, House of Exorcism asks more questions than it answers: Aren't we all just mannequins? Is Telly's face supposed to be obscured by that candelabrum? If those ghosts are so powerful, why have they been seated in coach? All this and more awaits you in The House of Exorcism. --Ali Davis
