… Und erlöse uns von dem Bösen

THE EXORCIST led the way with demonic possession and the "Power of Christ" in 1973, resourceful Italians quickly followed suit and flooded the cinemas. No wonder, when you're so close to the source. Two special representatives of their guild are at the centre of this wild Good Friday: first, Ippolita, who has been paralysed since a car accident, falls prey to the temptations of evil out of frustration - and an ancient family curse is fulfilled. Alberto de Martino's little masterpiece is characterised above all by its thematic density and wonderfully European atmosphere. Mario Gariazzo's film shies away from such seriousness like the devil shuns holy water: Satan himself takes possession of the soul and (above all) body of an art student in order to live up to the film's alternative title: THE SEXORCIST. (Florian Widegger)