The Other Hell (1980, Review)
aka L’ Altro Inferno
aka Guardian of Hell
Director: Bruno Mattei
Cast: Franca Stoppi, Carlo De Mejo, Francesca Carmeno, Susan Forget, Franco Garofalo
Shriek Show / NTSC R1 / Unrated / 1.85:1 Widescreen / English Mono / 84 minutes / PURCHASE
After the mysterious deaths of a few nuns, a priest is called in to investigate. He is told of demonic possession of the convent and believes the right thing to do is to bless the entire place. When that doesn’t work Father Valerio (Carlo De Mejo) is called in. Father Valerio is a young scientific minded priest that doesn’t believe in demons or the supernatural. So he investigates it like a detective.
As he is prowling for clues, he is hampered by Mother Superior (Franca Stoppi) who inexplicably dislikes his snooping. He is also followed by a nun (unknown to him) with a cloth covering her face and in confession, she tells of her love for him (?). The movie becomes a little boring in the middle as he collects clues but after he sets up his recording equipment and a mysteries flashback is recorded, he soon realizes there is a tie that binds the Mother Superior and the mysterious no-faced nun.
Bruno Mattei (Hell Of The Living Dead, Violence In A Women’s Prison) co-wrote this giallo-inspired “nunsploitation” flick that is void of any of the usual traits of its peers. It is lacking the nun-on-nun softcore lesbianism and overt blasphemies that often saturate this sub-genre. In turn gives us a little mystery that we can sink our teeth into, pretty good cinematography and some great unintentionally funny one liners.
Don’t get me wrong, there is some pretty sleazy and cheesy shit in here, like a nun (who reminded me of Felissa Rose) who, while embalming another nun after she dies from an abortion, stabs her in the vagina and rants about women having “the devil in between their thighs”. As well as “Satan” peering through the darkness with only his red flashlight eyes visible (HA!) and dunking a baby in boiling water. But overall it was relatively tame. I wasn’t blown away by it, but with the fantastic score by Goblin and the few awesome moments, this is definitely a welcomed addition to my DVD collection.
