Satanico Pandemonium (1973)
By: Michael Helms on June 20, 2005.
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| Mondo Macabro (USA). All Regions, NTSC. 1.85:1 (16:9 enhanced). Spanish 2.0 Mono Subtitles. English 90 minutes |
| The Movie |
| Cover Art |
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| Credits |
Director:Gilberto
Martinez Solares
Starring:Cecilia Pezet,
Enrique Rocha, Delia Magana, Veronica Avila, Sandra
Torres, Adarene San Martin
Screenplay:Adolfo Martinez
Solares
Country: Mexico |
What other subgenre of horror can put sex and
violence into the same frame so effectively and
efficiently as Nunsploitation? Satanico
Pandemonium does it with simplicity and
above average attention to torture, self flagellation,
violent death and female nudity.
In a picturesque forest a nun (Cecilia Pezet)
picks flowers and generally communes with nature.
The sudden appearance of a sopping wet, nude man
who casually says hello ruins this idyll and sends
her running. Only stopping to pray furiously she
is again interrupted, this time by a young boy
with a lamb. While conversing with the boy, more
her style, the naked man, now fully clothed, turns
up once more, this time offering her an apple.
If the heavy-handed symbolism of the above hasn't
yet hit you it will as our nun runs back to the
convent just in time to observe the verbal and
physical abuse of two black African nuns before
settling down for her usual communal meal. While
eating, the man magically appears at a window.
Disappearing just as quickly he leaves an apple.
The nun who is known as Sister Maria, comforts
the put upon sisters of colour before attending
to her own needs. Cue weird keyboard music. Taking
off her top she dons a barbed wire belt and begins
to whip herself into shape as she ponders the
activities of the day especially meeting naked
man. Next up another sister walks in, tells her
she loves her and off-screen goes down on her.
Sister Maria is in ecstasy until her new lover
transforms into the apple man, identifies himself
as Lucifer and promptly departs, leaving her in
tears. From here on it's downhill for Sister Maria
and her vows as she gets up to all sorts of mayhem
including the attempted seduction of the little
shepherd boy and his eventual death, snake hallucinations
at the dinner table, a casual stabbing, excess
drinking, aiding suicide, strangling Mother Superior,
and worse (for her) being forced to view her own
torture at the hands of the Mexican Inquisition
that involves the removal of a vital body part.
Acquiescing to the Devil's desires Sister Maria
eventually finds herself chosen to be the new
Mother Superior and presiding over an orgy until
everything goes pear shaped for her in a welter
of blood and blades. |
| Video |
| A stunning transfer from the original superbly
exposed negative makes Satanico Pandemonium one
of the best looking films from the early 70s yet
be committed to disc. From the pale blue robes of
the nuns to blood smeared scenes from a Hellish
inquisition to constant fleshtones, the art direction
and cinematography of Satanico Pandemonium work in tandem to create constantly colourful and
interesting visuals even when the action flags.
Unfortunately, the last twist end scene demonstrates
the only blemishes and they are large but the scene
itself is virtually unnecessary unless you were
a producer looking to prime an audience for a sequel. |
| Audio |
| The stereo mix is hardly cutting edge but well
organised and presumably orchestrated by one Gustavo
C.Carrion to keep things naturalistic but effective.
Massed singing female voices feature prominently
as do bells, trippy keyboards and a dirge like string
section that gives the film an all-round eerie feel.
All Hell breaks lose in the orgy sequence for some
Mexican party music that puts acoustic guitars into
the forefront but that's helped by having two nude
guitarists and a naked lute player. Sound effects
such as wildlife and a thunderstorm are also put
to good, if subtle use that's not likely to provide
anyone without a run down pacemaker any sort of
shock. |
| Extra Features |
| Two documentaries. The Devil Went Down To Mexico
is a 15 minute interview with Adolfo Martinez Solares
that gives a background to Satanico Pandemonium
firstly by documenting some of his father's previous
work (with great graphics) involving nearly 200
features (he was the most prolific Mexican director
ever) some of which included Santo movies along
with the Tin Tan & Lon Chaney Jr. effort La Casa
Del Terror (The Face Of The Screaming Werewolf).
Then, Adolfo who also worked on the screenplay,
notes the direct influences on the production before
giving details on the day to day events of the shoot
including the use of prostitutes in the cast, one
of which who was a master chess player. Curse Of
The Writhing Nun is basically an information saturated
11 minute interview with Nigel Wingrove, the man
behind Redemption/Salvation Films, on his obsession
with nunsploitation. An image gallery includes stills
and lobby cards from the Italian release of the
film and there's also a textual history of nunsploitation
along with a filmography that's taken from the work
of that other great expert on nunsploitation, Canadian
Steve Fentone, and his definitive tome AntiCristo.
In other words this disc delivers more than enough
to create above average knowledge on the subject
of nunsploitation and makes it very easy to take
in. But that's not all as Mondo Macabro's own preview
trailer which also appears amongst the extras is
just as interesting. |
| The Verdict |
| Mondo Macabro is a boutique label swimming around
in the deepest pools of foreign exploitation film
history that like Blue Underground actually cares
about it's finished product Not only ensuring the
best presentation of the film itself but surrounding
it in self-generated extras that actually inform
and instigate further interest in the filmmakers
and beyond. The Satanico Pandemonium disc is the
perfect example of this. Having said that Satanico
Pandemonium might not be completely worth genuflecting
to forever being too contemplative and overtly symbolic
for it's own good at times but in the pantheon of
nunsploitation it towers over something like the
highly over-rated Killer Nun. For
all enthusiasts of nunsploitation and nascent viewers
alike Satanico Pandemonium is definitely
worth eyeballing if just to witness the charismatic
talents of Cecilia Pezet, who as Adolfo reports,
disappeared entirely from the film industry several
years later. |
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