MAGDALENA, POSSESSED BY THE DEVIL (1974)
aka MAGDALENA, VOM TEUFEL BESESSEN, BEYOND THE DARKNESS
Article 2013 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 9-18-2006
Posting Date: 2-15-2007
Directed by Walter Boos
Featuring Dagmar Hedrich, Werner Bruhns, Michael Hinz

A woman at a boarding school gets possessed by the devil, cusses a lot, is raped by invisible demons, and uses her wiles to lure men into killing each other, makes furniture move, and baffles scientists.

If you didn’t know THE EXORCIST was a big hit, you might figure it out by how many imitations were made in its wake. This one ups the sleaze factor by making the possessed girl several years older; that way, they can add a lot more sex and nudity to the proceedings to compensate for the lack of blood and pea soup. There are a few good ideas in the mix, but for the most part, it’s an unfocused poorly-dubbed mess. Exploitation director Walter Boos helms this one; he’s mostly known for a series of movies that begin with the words “Schoolgirl Report”, which should give you an idea where he’s coming from. The ending is probably the most memorable part of the movie; it’s probably the only thing I’ll remember about it in a few months, but that doesn’t mean it works; it’s the type of scene that would be pretty effective in the middle of a movie like this, but as a climax, it’s – well – anticlimactic. This one is pretty much for fans of sleaze who could care less about the story.