Devil’s Nightmare DVD Review

Baron Rhoneberg (Jean Servais) welcomes 7 tourists, who have gotten lost whilst on a bus tour, to his castle. The Butler shows them to their rooms and tells them morbid tales of deaths that have occurred there. It transpires that the Baron, an ex-Nazi general, sold his soul to the Devil and all female Von Rhonebergs are cursed to be born as Succubi. Amongst the tourists are a trainee priest, a pair of salacious lesbians and a permanently hungry driver, each of them representing one of the 7 deadly sins. A mysterious woman (Erika Blanc) joins the guests for dinner. She’s a bewitching Succubus, who begins preying on the guests one by one before turning her charms on a hapless priest.

I've long been a big fan of 70's Euro-horror, and this little gem epitomises the genre; camp, cheesy, sleazy and very entertaining. Erika Blanc is marvelous as the seductive succubus, going from beautiful to downright ugly with just a bit of makeup and some seriously bizarre facial expressions. Satan is played by Daniel Emilefork, a skinny, weird looking fellow who's far more original than the usual cliched portrayals of the dark one

The castle is a labyrinthine domicile with gothic laboratories and dungeons, complete with guillotine, iron maiden and garishly decorated bedrooms. The blood, when it flows, is amazing stuff, it’s a thick orange ooze; I'm convinced they used Heinz cream of tomato soup for it. With lusty lesbians, dodgy effects and a great soundtrack, Devil’s Nightmare is a hugely agreeable film and a fine example of tacky euro-sleaze. Great stuff. S.J.T.

Devil’s Nightmare. 1971

Directed by Jean Brismee