Exorcism/Review

The possessed victims in every other film on this list is fairly innocent and undeserving of such supernatural trauma. This, however, is not the case with EXORCISMO's lead character Leila (Mercedes Molina under the pseudonym Grace Mills), who should've seen the shit catapulting towards the fan from a mile away. What else would you expect when you consider your "shits & giggles" to be partying with a Satanist, drinking sacrificial blood and then partaking in a black mass orgy. You'd be better off pissing into the Gates of Hell and yelling for Lucifer to "Bring it!".

Leila comes from a rich, decadent family (Anybody else starting to notice a pattern here?) that consists of MILFy matriarch Patricia (Maria Perschy of BLUE EYES OF THE BROKEN DOLL), guilt-riddled over her husband's death after having him institutionalized; sister Debbie (María Kosty), a nympho semi-pro golfer and stepbrother John (Jorge Torras), who has way more than brotherly love when it comes to Leila. The immorality even cares over into the hired help that includes a young man who insists on being constantly naked and a pervy voyeuristic handyman. The only moral compass seems to come from family pet Borg, a German Shepard.

After her Satanic endeavor, Leila's bad behavior surpasses that of your typical drug-riddled, slut-tastic, overprivileged rich-bitch. Family friend Father Dunning (Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy, in a rare good guy role) begins to suspect demonic possession when the people in Leila’s life start turning up murdered (heads snapped to a 180° angle, no less). It soon turns out that the entity inhabiting Leila is actually her dead father, who himself had more than paternal interest in his daughter.

The finale consists of all the tried-and-true exorcism staples with two exceptions: In addition to the usual horrifically scarred face, cracked lips and rotting teeth, Leila’s eyes are given to resemble bloodshot granite that comes across as truly unnerving. The other is a twist on the inevitable "Come into me!" solution with the entity tricking the pleading Dunning by not passing into him but instead Borg the dog. The possessed pooch then attacks the priest and is impaled with a fire poker for its troubles. A last ambiguous shot hints that it may have re-entered Leila once again.

Reviewed by Angel Orona