The Other Hell (1985)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The mysterious deaths of nuns is investigated by the Catholic Church sending a new breed of priest in Father Valerio(Carlo De Mejo), hoping to find a killer in the convent. Valerio believes that the idea of a supernatural evil force lurking in the convent ran by Mother Vincenza(Franca Stoppi)is pure rubbish, instead seeking a demented psychopath amongst them, committing murders. What Valerio doesn't realize is that Vincenza is in league with Satan, having cavorted with the lord of darkness, hiding their female spawn in the attic of the convent. The nuns under Vincenza's watch have been driven to fear, with many of them overcome by demonic possession..any opposing threats, such as the elder Father Inardo(Andrea Aureli)who tries to use the rites of exorcism in cleansing the nunnery of it's evil, are destroyed. Vincenza will do whatever it takes to keep anyone from taking her daughter away. In other words, Valerio has a spiritual and physical battle on his hands.Bruno Mattei mentioned in an interview for the DVD release of "The Other Hell" that this flick was remastered from an obscure 16 mm print, having been a flop during it's initial release and abandoned. I guess, even though it's such a bizarre demonic horror nunsploit that often lacks in coherency opting to blindside the viewer with unhinged behavior and gory violence, that we should be somewhat thankful that this film can be seen at all. I can sure say it wasn't boring. Franca Stoppi sure lets it all hang out as the evil Mother Superior, wielding a knife at the end ready to viciously stab anyone that got in her way. There's this witches' den with a burning cauldron, coffins containing murdered nuns, a slab for "wicked nuns who committed sinful atrocities" where we actually see one dead corpse get her innards plucked, laboratory tubes and flasks bubbling with liquid, etc. There's this cool tunnel leading to the den containing rows of skulls, kind of a "cryptic" form of art. We actually see a possessed nun tormented by blood-oozing stigmatic attack. The priest, Father Inardo is set on fire in his attempts to exorcise the nunnery. We see Franco Garofalo's grounds-keeper/animal wrangler/cook Boris' hand covered in maggots and bitten by a dog..he's later attacked in the throat by an unleashed dog. We see an actual rooster beheaded for later din-din. Vincenza and Satan's spawn lives in a small room where dolls and mannequins hang from the neck. We see a previous Mother Superior actually attempting to boil Vincenza's infant daughter in a pot on a stove(..and for goofy effect, which might have many chuckling with glee, Vincenza's infant, clearly a doll, telepathically murders the Mother Superior). Plenty of audacious moments on display certainly to entertain those craving the twisted delights Mattei and writer Claudio Fragasso churn out in doses. I guess this is probably Mattei's best film..quite an outrageous concoction of surreal and horrific images. I think it, if anything, will entertain those that are not offended by the blasphemous material. The Goblin score, used from Buio Omega, somehow actually works in this film.

A priest is sent to a convent to investigate the sheer lunacy of a bunch of nun's gone nuts performing acts of lust and depravity. But the closer he looks into the situation the more supernatural it becomes. Does the devil roam the halls terrorizing the nuns or is it something a bit more sinister.I'll get Mattei credit; he tries to inject a little something more in your average, ordinary (nunsploitation storyline (if there is such a thing). It's not entirely successful in that regard but never-the-less he manages to pull off this entertaining but a little slow and the bit of a Stephen King twist to the ending helps it out.

An excellent Bruno Mattei flick! It is a fairly straight-forward account of an evil force plauging a convent. Is it the devil's influence, or something other? A determined preist sets to find out the truth. As is the case with most films that are imported from Italy (or any other country for that matter), the dubbing isn't the greatest, but if you are looking up this film, you should have some experience with this anyways. If you are a fan of "nunsplotation" genre, this MAY or MAY NOT be your cup of tea, being that there is no sex in the film at all, which may cause some fans of Mattei's work to scratch their heads. There is, however, lots of suspense, along with gory deaths, much in the Fulci/Agrento vein. Great cinematography and atmosphere, excellent use of location (look at the beginning sequence!), and it doesn't stint on the red stuff either. It ain't Deep Red or The Beyond, but, trust me, it's MUCH better than most of the stuff that is called "Horror films" nowadays.

This Italian nunsploitation epic has been referred to be a plethora of adjectives, including sleazy, low-grade, and stupid. Perhaps these descriptions fit, but there is definitely some fun to be had for the initiated.Weird, seemingly supernatural events plague a convent, and priest Carlo De Mejo tries to figure it all out. The perverse proceedings start off interestingly, with a nutty nun carving out the uterus of one of her sisters, ranting maniacally about how "the genitals are the doorway to EVIL!" (The first, but thankfully not last, instance of hilarious "shock" dialogue.) This is a Big Moment; the movie contains a number of Big Moments strung together by indifferent, uneventful stretches in which people argue, a creepy gardener lurks about, etc. Often possessing little regard for style or visual creativity, the film ping-pongs between effectiveness and boredom; the high points are memorably bizarre and demented, while the lows will make you seriously consider a nap.The makeup effects range from good (a nun breaking out with stigmata) to atrocious (burn scars resembling plastic vomit). The photography is overly dark and burdened even further with bad color (everything is given a sickly yellow cast, as if they forgot to clean the camera lens). De Mejo isn't very interesting, but Franca Stoppi is marvelously over the top as bitchy Mother Vincenzia. Along the course of the story, elements from a number of more successful films--Carrie, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Suspiria--are lifted and tossed into the cauldron. On the subject of Suspiria, the one truly high-quality aspect of The Other Hell is Goblin's pounding electronic score.Indeed, this movie is not going to win any prizes, but trashfiends will probably get a kick out of it despite the flaws. If you find naughty nun sinema to be your garbage of choice, this may be the dumpster for you.