Oh, but this is a double-feature. And before we get to the neglected masterpiece, let's get the other film out of the way first, the "piece of crap" from this post's title. It's a little film called The Possessed. Actually, both films have been called The Possessed. That's why they're paired up on the same disc: because, at some point in time, both films had been released under the title The Possessed. Otherwise, they have nothing in common.
This The Possessed - on-screen title: Help Me... I'm Possessed - is an American film from 1974. Screenwriter Bill Green also stars as a doctor of a sanitarium/ castle somewhere in Southern California. He has a hunchbacked assistant, a mad woman for a sister and a new bride who begins to suspect unorthodox things are going on behind closed doors. Patients are tortured and killed, and an unseen monster chases a nurse through the woods. But things aren't nearly as interesting as that description makes it sound. It's mostly long, droll scenes of conversations as characters stand around in front of a static camera. It's just tongue-in-cheek enough that there's nothing to get invested in, but utterly fails in its attempts at humor with dialogue like, "who are you?" "I'm fine. How are you?"
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I have to admit... I do love this location. |
Although, if you are interested in The Possessed, this Code Red double-feature does appear to be its only release on disc ever. And since Code Red got their hands on it instead of some generic public domain company like Platinum, Alpha, Mill Creek, etc, this is a widescreen presentation taken from a film print instead of a fullscreen dupe of a VHS tape.
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2013 Code Red DVD. |
But the real gem is 1976's The Possessed - on-screen title: Demon Witch Child - a delightful killer kid film from Spain. This one's written and directed by none other than Amando de Ossorio, the man behind The Blind Dead and Lorelei's Grasp. But Demon Witch Child may have actually usurped all his other work as my favorite de Ossorio film. It's just so much fun. If you appreciated Cathy's Curse, oh boy, this is like its equally nutty prequel.
The premise is perfectly simple: the local police bust up a coven of witches, so their leader takes revenge by possessing the chief's daughter. It's starts off in some predictable Exorcist rip-off territory - not that that's a bad thing - with the girl floating out of her bed and a priest being brought in to chase the evil out of her. But she quickly transforms into a delightful, balding foul-mouthed witch child, using her powers to wreak havoc on everyone in her life. She laughs maniacally as she displays all kinds of fun magical powers and goes pretty psycho in some pretty edgy ways that I'm super tempted to spoil right now, but I won't.
Meanwhile, everyone's trudging around in super 70's earth tones, and there's a melodramatic subplot where the priest's ex-girlfriend has become a prostitute. The local townspeople form a mob and dig up graves, the bad-ass police captain, the parents, the priest and an ace reporter are all following separate paths to find the truth, and the witch cult comes back to help their crazy little girl kidnap a baby.
Admittedly, the pacing drags at points, with dubbed dialogue and scenes which can only be honestly described as bad writing. The score is also clunky, though it concludes with a pretty dramatic, rousing number, that reminded me of Frizzi's main theme for The Beyond. And Code Red clearly agrees with me, because it's the music they use for the DVD menu. There's also a weird aspect to this presentation where the first minute of footage repeats with alternate credits over it. I'm sure it wasn't meant to be shown twice in a row, but it is here.
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This print's been badly damaged, but we've got the fingerprint of the man responsible! |
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2013 Code Red DVD. |
The mono audio's about the same, too; except the crackly hiss and pops just a little bit worse. A word or two are dropped when damage causes the film to be spliced, but for the most part, it's fine once you get used to it. Again, it fits naturally with the condition of the print. We still only get the English dub (and no subtitle option), but considering the tone of the film, that's not as damaging as it would be with something more serious and delicate like Zeder.
There's basically nothing by way of special features here; we don't even get the films' trailers. We just get the traditional Family Honor trailer on start up and a couple of Code Red bonus trailers. They are what they are: direct, unrestored standard def transfers scanned from a pair of beat up old film prints. But they sure beat the video-tape crapola that came before 'em. This disc is a real treat. Well, half of it is, anyway.
Fingers Crossed, Scream might be thinking about this title for 2018.
ReplyDeleteLove Demon Witch Child. It's so strange & atmospheric
ReplyDeleteHorror flick trivia: Marian Salgado, who played the possessed girl in Demon Witch Child, dubbed Linda Blair's dialog in the Spanish language version of The Exorcist.
ReplyDeleteHa! That's pretty awesome.
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