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“I prefer ghosts to vampires, though. They’re so much more human; they have a tradition to live up to. Somehow they manage to keep all the horror in without spilling any blood.” So much easier to clean up; that is if you’re worried about that kind of thing. Join your faithful Grue Crew – Doc Rotten, Chad Hunt, Bill Mulligan, and Jeff Mohr – as they try to figure out exactly what is going on in Mario Bava’s Lisa and the Devil (1973).
Decades of Horror 1970s
Episode 117 – Lisa and the Devil (1973)
A tourist spends the night in a derelict Spanish villa seemingly held in the supernatural grip of an eccentric butler, who resembles a depiction of the Devil she had seen on an ancient fresco.
IMDb
- Director: Mario Bava
- Writers: Mario Bava, Alfredo Leone
- Cast
- Telly Savalas as Leandro
- Elke Sommer as Lisa Reiner/Elena
- Sylva Koscina as Sophia Lehar
- Alessio Orano as Maximilian
- Alida Valli as Countess
- Gabriele Tinti as George
- Kathy Leone as Lisa’s Friend
- Eduardo Fajardo as Francis Lehar
- Franz von Treuberg as Shopkeeper
- Espartaco Santoni as Carlo
- Additional cast members for The House of Exorcism
- Robert Alda as Father Michael
- Carmen Silva as Anna
Of course, Lisa and the Devil was chosen by Bill, the Grue-Crew’s very own, registered, Bava fanatic. Even Bill admits to not knowing exactly what the story is about, but Bava! And Elke Sommer! And Telly Savalas! Your 1980s Grue-Crew universally agrees with Bill regarding Bava, Sommer, and Savalas. Chad is a little more hesitant but plans to watch the film again. The beauty of Bava’s imagery is what captures Jeff’s attention, but he is obviously just as confused by the story as everyone else.
The crewmates even get into The House of Exorcism (1975), a later version of Lisa and the Devil, recut with additional footage in a marketing ploy intended to take advantage of the success of The Exorcist (1973). Bill screams, “No, no, no, no, no!” On the other hand, Doc kind of likes The House of Exorcism, much to Bill’s dismay.
Your Decades of Horror 1970s Grue-Crew recommend Lisa and the Devil. It can be viewed, as of this writing, VOD and as a Kino Lorber Blu-ray double feature which includes Lisa and the Devil and The House of Exorcism.
We want to hear from you – the coolest, grooviest fans: leave us a message or leave a comment on the site or email the Decades of Horror 1970s podcast hosts at docrotten@decadesofhorror.com.
