Young Miria (Jaqueline Dupre) is part of the Aguilar family who live in a remote castle. Mirias' dearly departed mother Maria (Marina Hedman) is now a restless spirit who possesses her daughters' body in the name of revenge. She then proceeds to play on the weaknesses of the other characters - and the fact that EVERYBODY wanted Maria when she was alive - to lead them to their doom.
"Satan's Baby Doll" is a pretty straightforward remake of an earlier Italian sleaze-horror flick, the notorious "Malabimba". It follows the same basic story while leaving out hardcore sex scenes. (It even has the lovely Italian actress Mariangela Giordano ("Burial Ground") reprising her role as the nun.) That's not to say that this reasonably amusing feature is without sexy bits, far from it. There's abundant nudity from both female *and* male cast members.
There's also a great, gloomy mood & atmosphere present in this film, and a score (by Nico Catanese) that is haunting if repetitive. Director Mario Bianchi and company achieve a pretty good mix of both erotic and horror elements, as various characters come to their nasty ends. (Viewers who dislike animal cruelty, however, will be turned off by the fate of one unfortunate chicken.) The performances are all adequate to the occasion; Spaghetti Western veteran Aldo Sambrell presides over the family as Antonio, a powerful but despicable man who's used to getting his way. Young Dupre is memorable in the main role (actually, her one and only movie role). Giordano is enticing as the nun, and Giuseppe Carbone is a hoot as the crazed Isidro, who tries to exorcise Miria.
"Satan's Baby Doll" may not be AS erotic or campy as its predecessor, but it shows fans of this kind of thing a pretty good time, wrapping up in a trim 74 minutes.
Seven out of 10.
"Satan's Baby Doll" is a pretty straightforward remake of an earlier Italian sleaze-horror flick, the notorious "Malabimba". It follows the same basic story while leaving out hardcore sex scenes. (It even has the lovely Italian actress Mariangela Giordano ("Burial Ground") reprising her role as the nun.) That's not to say that this reasonably amusing feature is without sexy bits, far from it. There's abundant nudity from both female *and* male cast members.
There's also a great, gloomy mood & atmosphere present in this film, and a score (by Nico Catanese) that is haunting if repetitive. Director Mario Bianchi and company achieve a pretty good mix of both erotic and horror elements, as various characters come to their nasty ends. (Viewers who dislike animal cruelty, however, will be turned off by the fate of one unfortunate chicken.) The performances are all adequate to the occasion; Spaghetti Western veteran Aldo Sambrell presides over the family as Antonio, a powerful but despicable man who's used to getting his way. Young Dupre is memorable in the main role (actually, her one and only movie role). Giordano is enticing as the nun, and Giuseppe Carbone is a hoot as the crazed Isidro, who tries to exorcise Miria.
"Satan's Baby Doll" may not be AS erotic or campy as its predecessor, but it shows fans of this kind of thing a pretty good time, wrapping up in a trim 74 minutes.
Seven out of 10.