Review by Peter Syslo
NUDE FOR SATAN (1973 – Italy ) is another new DVD release from Redemption/Salvation (www.Salvation-films.com). This DVD is a pristine-looking widescreen, letterboxed transfer with stereo sound and the special features include a documentary on French filmmaker Jean Rollin (I see the tie-in with director Luigi Batzella, because Rollin made the same kind of erotic horror films). NUDE FOR SATAN is an erotic, exploitative film which combines several various sub-genres of horror; it has a bit of the supernatural, a bit of the “twist-ending” type of film, a bit of the “castle/dungeon” type of film, and it has more than a bit of nudity in it. A film titled “Nude for Satan”, which displays full-frontal female nudity in the first 5 seconds of the opening, really can’t go wrong. All kidding aside, the film didn’t go wrong; it was a highly enjoyable, 1970s horror film.
NUDE FOR SATAN is directed by Luigi Batzella and it stars Rita Calderoni, James Harris, Renato Lupi, Iolanda Mascitti, Luigi Antonio Guerra, Barbara Lay, Augusto Boscardini, and Alfredo Pasti.
The film is about a man who tries to help a woman who is injured in a car accident. He travels to a nearby castle, in an attempt to get some assistance, but he becomes involved in some very strange events at that castle. The man sees strange visions of the castle owner, his creepy henchman, and also a beautiful woman whom he recognizes. The man isn’t sure what is happening and it becomes apparent that the people he sees may or may not be real. While the man tries to figure things out, there are various scenes of eroticism and horror which convolute things further. It all leads up to a surprise ending, which is actually fulfilling and a little confusing, at the same time.
NUDE FOR SATAN was a pretty good film. It was a little difficult to follow, in places, because there are many twists and turns which don’t seem to make sense (until you see the ending). Somehow, though, Batzella made a digestible film out of the surreal, erotic scenes and it was reminiscent of horror films like DEMENTIA 13, any Jean Rollin film (LIPS OF BLOOD, etc.), THE TERROR, and the television series “Dark Shadows”. The whole film is very dream-like, it has a slight bit of camp to it (the spider scene is pretty humorous), and it is very racy for the time period. Couple all of that with a great jazzy score and you have a very nice example of 1970s, foreign horror.
I said that this film is very racy and that may even be an understatement. Aside from the blatant, full-frontal female nudity, there are also highly sexual scenes such as a dream-like lesbian fantasy and a BDSM scene where the Igor-like henchman is bloodily whipping a woman. These were lengthy, extended scenes and I was surprised at how much was shown (of course, Italian cinema is ahead of the US in terms of attitudes towards sexuality). There are also bizarre scenes like when a woman falls through a floor onto a giant spider web and a spider (obviously fake) crawls up and over her bare breasts before she is rescued. Another one is a scene where a woman is lying naked, cuffed to a table and she is stabbed violently in the chest. Scenes like that made me go, “hmm…” but they really “made” the overall movie. This is one of those films where you don’t know what to expect in each subsequent scene and it turns out to be one of those films that you seem to watch in the middle of the night when you wake up with a flu-induced fever. To make a long story short, it is a very “trippy” movie.
Cutting to the chase: NUDE FOR SATAN is a fun, exploitative experience that leaves you saying, “huh” but at the same time fulfills your need for cheap thrills. You have the supernatural, satanic-cult aspect, the good-looking women with all-natural bodies, a surprising amount of blood, and just the generally bizarre nature of early 70s cinema. The acting is very good, the atmosphere is fitting for the story, the camerawork is great, and there are some fun and inventive effects throughout. The only downside is that the film is difficult to follow, logically. But, even though it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, it is enjoyable and worth watching. If you like the films I mentioned before, 1970s exploitation flicks, foreign horror, or Italian films then you might like NUDE FOR SATAN. I give it a 7/10.