Previously Viewed

Sisters of Satan - Alucarda

Now this movie is the biggest mystery of all time. I came across this in my father's VHS collection and this tape is dated 1985. I had difficulty looking up the cast and crew online because their names weren't real. Eventually I came to realize that the movie they are advertising is Le Monache di Sant'Arcangelo (The Nun and the Devil) circa 1973. So I read about the movie and popped in the tape. Probably the first VHS i've watched in a few years or so. Upon viewing of the film I realize its not the movie advertised on the cover of the box. The movie on the tape was actually Alucarda from 1978. This VHS is pretty bad, I made it over half way and decided to just watch the xvid I downloaded.

On this awful VHS, the opening credit sequence is different, in very 80s style the screen goes black and Sisters of Satan appears in a Metallica type font set. The producers of this VHS release probably didn't know this wasn't the same movie as what they were advertising on the cover. I am interested in watching the other Sisters of Satan now. If you type in Sisters of Satan on IMDB both movies show up because they both are known as Sisters of Satan in some part of the world. It is just a testament to the horrible treatment foreign films got in the 1980s tape market.

After viewing my xvid I downloaded, the DVD release is much better. First off the audio and video are drastically cleaned up so its easier to pay attention and follow the film. The music seems to be different on certain scenes like the opening credit sequence.

This is the first nunsploitation film I've reviewed on Savage Cinema, it really makes me want to watch some of the other popular ones from that time period. I've actually got a number of them downloaded but haven't had a chance to watch them, like The Other Hell.

In terms of Alucarda it was a lot better then I was expecting. I actually think that the nuns are scarier then the devil possessed females. Part of it has to be the costuming, its very accurate to the time the director was trying to portrayal. My favorite character happens to be the hippie gypsy, who might be a reincarnation of the devil himself. He happens to be the enabler selling the girl demonic trinkets that are instrumental in satan taking over the girls Justine and Alucarda. As a fan of this genre I'd reccomend this film, but I imagine there are better movies out there...I just haven't seen them yet.

Supplemental Information:

Film Info:

Release Date: January 26 1978 (Mexico)

Director: Juan López Moctezuma

Tagline: They gave their souls to Hell... but the Devil wanted MORE!

Plot: The film takes place in a Mexican convent that not only serves as a place for nuns, but also as an orphanage. Alucarda, a fifteen year old orphaned girl, has lived at the convent her entire life. Another girl of near age, Justine, arrives at the convent, also an orphan. She and Alucarda become very close friends, and form a relationship that borders on being sexual.

While playing in the nearby forest, the girls stumble upon a band of mysterious gypsies, and subsequently unleash a demonic force after opening a casket at a nearby burial site. What follows is a bloody chain of events after both Alucarda and Justine become possessed by the Satanic entity, and wreak havoc on the convent and its inhabitants.

Links:

IMDB Profile: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075666/

Wikipedia Page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alucarda