Devil's Kiss (1976) User Reviews

Gathers All the Elements of a B-Movie

[claudio_carvalho · 5/10 · 6 July 2014]

In France, the former Countess Moncorn comes to the Haussemont Castle posing of the medium Claire Grandier (Silvia Solar) for a séance with her telepathic friend and scientist Professor Gruber (Oliver Matthau). They are welcomed by the Duke de Haussemont (José Nieto), who recognizes her. There is an interruption in the séance and the Duke invites Claire and Gruber to stay in his castle and offers his basement for the professor to proceed in his experiments.

However Claire has an agenda, since she holds a grudge against the Haussemont family that she blames that was responsible for the suicide of her beloved husband Phillippe to acquire his properties. Claire uses the Book of Astarov associated to the ability and knowledge of Professor Gruber to reanimate a corpse controlled by Gruber seeking revenge against the responsible for the death of Phillippe. But her scheme gets out of control.

"La perversa caricia de Satán", a.k.a. "Devil's Kiss", is a Spanish B- movie that gathers all the elements of this type of film: a rip-off Frankenstein with a bald creature; Satanism; naked women; a medium; a mad scientist, all associated to cheap locations, poor edition and bad acting. Further, the DVD released in Brazil has a cover that is a great work of art and audio in French, English and Portuguese, but does not have the original one in Spanish. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "O Beijo do Diabo" ("The Devil's Kiss")

All The Ingredients Are Present, But It Just Don't Taste Right

[josephbrando · 4/10 · 21 January 2013]

Devil Kiss belongs to that substandard group of Euro Gothic Horrors that include films like "Vampires Night Orgy", "Hannah Queen Of The Vampires" or something from Jess Franco. Its got all the prerequisites that someone going into a film like this would want - a castle, a crypt, an evil bitchy Vampiress type woman, resurrected dead, crudely shot, badly edited sex scenes - heck, there's even a weird very 70's fashion show. But it somehow fails to generate suspense, hold interest, or entertain, even in a "bad movie" kind of way. It certainly is no Hammer production, that's for sure. If you have a soft spot for these types of crusty European horror flicks, you might want to hunt this one down and watch it in the background while you have something else to do. All others are advised to check out one of the hundreds of better titles in this genre (Castle Of Blood, Slaughter Of The Vampires are two good examples) before accepting an inadequate "kiss" from this haphazard "devil".

A kiss? No none for me thanks

[dbborroughs · 3/10 · 18 January 2009]

1970's horror movie that seems more silly then scary with an evil scientist and psychic countess lurking about in the dungeon of a castle making efforts to raise the dead. The ghoul they bring back looks rather silly and would have looked silly when the film was made. The look and sensibility of the film is decidedly European in flavor but it doesn't add up to much. Honestly I could have done with out the fashion show at the start since it both portents a large scale film then we get and it also distracts from getting the story underway. If you ask me this is a clunker.(Thats just my opinion, There are several people I know who love this film, but I just don't understand what they see it it.)

WEIRD LONG LOST SPANISH HORROR

[gavcrimson · 7 April 2000]

Who can resist a movie that boasts a Gothic castle, a mad scientist, Satanism, a bald monster, lots of naked women and a sexually frustrated dwarf? The film concerns Medium Claire Grandler who harbours a long standing grudge against the De Hassenmont family, for driving her husband Philip to suicide (shown in impressive blue tinted flashbacks). With the help of a textbook mad scientist, she befriends the Baron De Hassenmont by holding a seance with alarming results. Paranoid that he'll be `spied upon by unseen creatures' the Baron invites the pair to stay on at the castle, where they construct a Frankenstein style monster, a dwarf who Claire rescued from a lynch mob also helps out. It's a film full of memorable images such as the zombie monster lumbering around the Baron's castle, and the Baron's busty maid being strangled and brought back from the dead. Don't even question why anyone doesn't notice anything peculiar about the pasty face zombie maid with a tourniquet around her neck croaking `I'm not feeling well'. The undead maid also supplies the most outrageous moment in the film, when her handyman lover, not aware of her situation tries to come on to the ghoul with really nasty consequences. The film also boasts a cast to die for- at least to any knowledgeable fan of sleazy Euro movies. Look out for Eurocine thespians Silvia Solor and Oliver Mathot (both later reunited for the trashy Cannibal Terror) as the mad medium and mad scientist respectively. Rounding off the cast are Jose Ruiz Lifante (Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue's creepy photographer) and Paul Naschy regular Maria Silvia. The real surprise here has to be Silvia Solor who obviously had a ball playing eyeball rolling psychotic Grandler. Looking like a cross between Vampira and Yootha Joyce its clearly her show and her contribution is a real revelation for an actress who rarely gets a chance to shine in secondary roles like in the aforementioned cannibal atrocity and Juan Fortuny's Crimson. HOWEVER WHO IS DIRECTOR/ SUPPORTING ACTOR GEORGES GIGO? This young man of Spanish horror cinema even affords himself a bizarre cameo in the film as a fashion designer. His `avante garde' fashion show scene is worth the price of admission alone, including an all in one dress that makes a poor model look like a giant banana. Unfortunately Gigo's cinematic talents seem to have gone unrecognized. Given very little exposure at the time, it should have had audiences going wild in the aisles but when it wasn't just ignored the reviews were far from positive. As a result Gigo's only other work seems to have been a number of listless `S' rated pornographic films produced in Spain after General Franco's death. The film has resurfaced quite a few times recently, a widescreen version was screened on a French adult channel which strangely removed all the sex scenes and some 20 minutes of footage. An American public domain tape (called the Wicked Caresses of Satan) in uncut but terribly cropped and dark looking, robbing the film of its `a hundred lava lamps' approach to lighting. It was shown on UK TV as The Devil's Kiss, in widescreen and uncut, although without a title credit. Outrageous, audacious, unique and well worth tracking down, the film is one of the best and formerly long lost examples of the endearing and unfortunately short lived Spanish horror boom, and a genre effort unlike any other.

Unspectacular but atmospheric Eurocine offering ...

[parry_na · 5/10 · 13 November 2019]

This is a lesser Eurocine low budget horror effort from 1976. While it lacks a well-known name, or at least someone with a formidable screen presence (where's Rosalba Neri or Edwige Fenech when you need them?), it is worth a watch.

Familiar face Olivier Mathot plays Professor Gruber who, for a long time, seems to be playing an almost non-speaking part. When he starts talking though, he only falters when the rigours of a progressive disease grip him. His companion Claire (Sylvia Solar) accompanies him to the vaults of the magnificently gothic Haussemont Castle where they conduct some particularly grim experiments. Claire also has her own agenda ...

Amid the soup of séances, demon worship, nudity, and a reanimated corpse, there's a surprising lack of suspense or tension. It's a shame, because some effort has been made to create a convincingly Euro-horror atmosphere.

Loretta (Evelyne Scott), the most sympathetic character, plays an increasingly important role in this, and emerges as my favourite character. The bald zombie lad (Jack Rocha) is quite effective, but by the third time he rises menacingly from the lab slab, you've seen everything he has to offer.

Never within throwing distance of any kind of greatness then, this nevertheless has a terrific ambience. My score is 5 out of 10.

Fast-Forward button highly recommended.

[Superwonderscope · 2/10 · 9 April 2002]

Long, long, very long and boring pseudo-horror spanish movie hits the bottom of the barrel. A zombie is created for the vengeance of Silvia Solar against the men who drove her husband to suicide. This zombie takes his time to climb up the stairs to his female naked victim then suddendly rushes onto her and strangles her off-screen. Pathetic. Even of a euro-sleaze product, it's not titillating enough to be fun to watch, not enough horror moment to sustain attention. All you get is...nothing happens on the screen. Huh...not really : watch out for the mannequins in their wild 70's clothes, dancing for a fashion show in the caves of the gothic catsle where it all happens. It lasts 5 looong minutes but it's a blast.

But afterwards...Yes, it is boring as hell and as boring as any most of Eurociné's horror flicks filled with hideous women taking their clothes off all the time coz' there's nothing else to do and coz' the screenplay has been lost somewhere in the rest rooms.

Printed on toilet paper, played by idiots, written by stupid : it is pure 70's nonsense with not enough wild moments to keep it interesting til the very end. Better watch LA TERRIFICANTE NOTTE DEL DEMONIO to get some real and devious fun.

Superwonderscope says : 2

Cheap Spanish Gothic horror knock-off

[Leofwine_draca · 4/10 · 20 June 2016]

What's this, you might ask. A Spanish horror film from the '70s which doesn't star Paul Naschy? You might find this difficult to believe, but it's true. Naschy sadly doesn't benefit us with his presence in this tepid slice of exploitation, which uses a confusing, barely coherent plot as an excuse for plenty of sensational nudity. So it's pretty much what you might expect. Thankfully, things never get too boring because of a simple fact: the film has been dubbed atrociously, just like most low-budget oddities floating around in this country at the moment. Cue lots of chances for ripe, hilarious dialogue which doesn't necessarily make sense.

While posing as a horror film, this is really more like a sex film, as basically just about every female character is forced to strip off at least once. The horror scenes, when they come, are surprisingly devoid of gore, with the monster strangling his victims to death instead of splattering them with a sharp object, as is the typical way people die in these types of films. None of the actors or actresses particularly distinguish themselves, although Silvia Solar (THE WEREWOLF AND THE YETI) is suitably spooky in the lead role as a spiritualist, while veteran Oliver Mathot lends solid support as the seedy, suspect doctor who spends his days making horse vaccines in the basement (yeah, right). The only other recognisable face is that of a minor actor from THE LIVING DEAD AT THE MANCHESTER MORGUE, although the name escapes me at the moment.

Unfortunately the film is so simplistic, you just know what's going to happen next. Monster revives, murders somebody. Next scene: doctor complains about his heart. Next scene: maid undresses. Next scene: hilariously incompetent police investigate, find nothing, and leave. Next scene: monster revives, murders somebody. And so on. There are quite a few funny scenes to watch, such as the moment where a man tries to seduce his girlfriend, not realising that she's been turned into a zombie, or the hilariously tacky ending.

DEVIL KISS (I don't know where that particular title came from either) may not be high art, it may not even be good entertainment. However, there are a few neat Gothic touches, and also some spooky moments in the brick arched basement of the mansion. The make-up for the main zombie isn't too bad either, even quite creepy in some respects. These factors save this film from being unwatchable and instead elevate it to the status of being a decidedly average slice of strangeness.

Unsung Gem of Atmospheric Euro-sleaze

[michigindie · 10/10 · 1 July 2021]

It's surprising (and disappointing) to see how low the score is on this fabulous slice of '70s Euro-Gothic sleaze. My suspicion is that the wrong people are checking this out; who knows what they're expecting? Anyone with eyes can look at the ad art, read the synopsis, and understand what they're getting. If viewers hate erotic '70s Euro Gothics - why did they choose to watch it? Don't tell me they thought it would be overproduced, over-budgeted, over-hyped junk like "Star Wars!"

"Devil's Kiss" epitomizes what the second half of a drive-in bill used to look like. It's quirky and refreshingly unpredictable, thanks to its modest European indie-film pedigree. It's dripping with atmosphere, making it perfect for late-night viewing. It's visually appealing and at times, quite titillating. So what's not to like?

As with classics like "Kill, Baby, Kill," one doesn't watch this movie to see a life-altering, soul-shattering plot. One watches to willingly succumb to the dreamy erotic spell of a cinematic witch's brew.

Ten stars.

A slow and strange, but still fairly enjoyable Spanish horror obscurity

[Woodyanders · 6/10 · 28 August 2019]

Countess Moncorn (sharply played with fierce intensity by Silvia Solar) is left penniless by her husband's suicide, so she has to resort to working as a medium using the name Claire Grandier. Claire and her sickly telepath assistant Professor Gruber (a solid performance by Olivier Mathot) bring a corpse back to life to get revenge on the folks Claire holds responsible for her husband's death.

Sound good? Well, it is and it ain't. While writer/director Jordi Gigo does manage to craft a pleasingly brooding and decadent Gothic gone to seed atmosphere, makes nice use of the crumbling castle main location, and delivers a satisfying surplus of tasty bare female flesh along with some spicy soft-core sex, he alas lets the meandering and often uneventful narrative plod along at a sluggish pace and allows the rather tedious dialogue scenes go on for far too long at times. Fortunately, the bald zombie dude looks pretty cool, there's a hysterically gaudy fashion show sequence, and the ubiquitous Victor Israel has a nice bit as a leering pervert. All in all, this fright flick sizes up as a decent enough diversion.

Jordi Gigó's lurid 'The Devil's Kiss' dementedly disproves the felonious adage that 'less-is-more'!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 9/10 · 24 May 2021]

The relatively unknown Spanish exploitation film-maker, Jordi Gigó's deserves more credit for unleashing his funkadelic freak-fest 'The Devil's Kiss' (1976) upon an unsuspecting world! This hyperbolic hybrid of schlock horror eccentricity gleefully appropriates myriad B-Horror tropes with the avidity of fellow traveller, Andy Milligan! No rabidly trash-loving terrornaut should miss out on watching this grungy Gothic creature feature. Gigo's mindlessly entertaining, grisly-groovy horror hysteria evokes the similarly freaked-out 70s phantasmagoria of inventive iconoclast, Jess Franco's 'The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein'. Deliriously mad, Jordi Gigó's luridly Luciferian 'The Devil's Kiss' demonstratively disproves the felonious filmmaking adage that 'less-is-more'!

The intensity of slinky-sexy sorceress, Claire Grandier's (Silvia Solar) obsession to avenge the death of her beloved husband manifests itself in a sinisterly Satanic series of sanguineous slayings! Fatefully combining Black Magic and the equally profane pseudo-scientific improprieties of psychic Professor Gruber (Olivier Mathot) they crudely reanimate a criminal's corpse to commit foul murder! This maniacal meddling in eldritch forces engenders an audaciously bonkers climax within the imposing château of their debonair host, Duke De Haussement(Jose Nieto). Once you have experienced the exquisite psychotronic intensity of 'The Devil's Kiss' your B-Movie bedevilled lips will never quite feel the same again!'

"Only The Prince Of Darkness Can Help Us!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 17 October 2021]

Claire Grandier (Sylvia Solar) and her cohort "The Professor" (Olivier Mathot) use mad science and eeevil occult means to exact revenge on an unsuspecting Duke. They start digging up graves right away to create a killer zombie.

DEVIL'S KISS has every element that a schlock movie fanatic wants: See! The pre-credits voodoo dance! Witness! The ultra-mod, polyester fashion show! Watch! The resurrection of the hideous Franken-ghoul! Gasp! As someone takes their clothes off about every five minutes!

What are you waiting for?..