The Antichrist

A Eurohorror Benchmark
Forget the derviative plot (why do so many of you who claim to love Italian horror make a point out of criticzing its cannon as derviative? It is a given). This movie is a triumph of color cinematography (by notorius Italian Porn Director Joe A'Amato, no less), blue screen imaging, grotesque sex, and well-informed blasphemy. While "L'Antichristo" is an "Exorcist" clone, it has its truly original elements, and a stronger Roman Catholic flavor than William Peter Blatty's creations. THIS IS NO HACK JOB!! Alberto De Martino made a technicolor beauty to rival and presage"Suspiria" in the annals of Italian horror.

Carla Gravina's possessed Hippolita is, at different turns, campily repulsive and sexy. Gravina plays her part straight faced and hard bodied.

As for shock, Gravina's repressed memory of her past life's conversion to a "Daughter of Satan" is the most grotesque and disturbing mockery of Catholic ritual committed to film.

In "L'Antichristo," the traditional...

Worth a Watch
In the city of Rome, a troubled young woman named Ippolita loses all her faith in God and others when nothing seems to be able to cure her paralysis and her father's attentions shift to another. A doctor brought in to help cure her apparently psychological affliction begins to experiment with hypnosis, opening a door to a past life that would be better left closed. All Hell breaks loose, quite literally, when Ippolita decides to let Satan into her life again and soon finds herself the devil's tool for bringing about his victory on Earth.

"The Antichrist", also known as "The Tempter", is a flawed but surprisingly good little Italian horror film. No doubt, a fair portion of the film (the latter part) is an "Exorcist" wannabe, but everything that leads up to the big exorcism is really quite different and interesting. And, yes, there's a big orgy scene during a Satanic ceremony at one point, and yes, it does involve Ippolita tasting the business end of a goat, but that part is...

Bizarre and Disturbing
This is quite possibly the most disturbing film I've ever sat through. While Antichrist doesn't show absolutely everything and it's usually rather brief when it comes to showing disturbing material, it shows enough to make your stomach drop.

Everything leading to the last half of the film is done incredibly well. The cinematography is rather incredible, especially while they're in Eden. Everything is so lush and green while certain shots alone say more than the characters in the film ever could. The score is haunting and successfully establishes putting its viewers on edge. The entire film is spent with this married couple and their performances are top notch. It's just those last thirty to forty five minutes take such an abrupt turn. Nothing can really prepare you for how unrelenting and horrifying the finale is. The events that unfold in this film will haunt you and stick with you for an incredibly long time.

The less you know about Antichrist, the more...

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