For me, the wait for a restoration of Obscene Desire was really short (only a few months after first watching it), in comparison to the whole decade I waited to finally see a restored The Witches Mountain (1973). It is, of course, a much appreciated big improvement over what was available before, and it’s an even greater delight to watch Marisa Mell as the lead, Amanda, in this pretty eclectic Spanish-Italian horror film. Here, she is not playing her typical swindling seductive murderess type (as seen in movies like Marta (1971) and Diary of an Erotic Murderess (1975)) but rather a vulnerable and pregnant newlywed, full of anxiety, who also gets to act the hell out of certain parts.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of her swindlers, but I always thought Marisa Mell was underused in horror and fantasy. She played a seductive ghost in Parapsycho – Spektrum der Angst (1975) and had an attractive side role in Ring of Darkness (1979), but I’m still grateful for this consolidation of a murder mystery, psychological thriller, and Exorcist horror film with Marisa Mell at the helm. I also have to point out that during the climax, she does an awesome Gene Simmons impression that makes my night every time I see it.
The film was directed and co-written by Giulio Petroni, who, during the interview included on the Blu-ray, said he pretty much thought it was rubbish and claimed he only really directed a couple scenes while his unnamed Spanish assistant directed most of it. (Alas, it seems his heart was not in it.)
One of the film’s co-writers, Piero Regnoli, wrote and directed The Playgirls and the Vampire (1960). Regnoli was also quite the prolific screenwriter, with writing credits to Italian horror favorites like I vampiri (1957), Nightmare City (1980), and Burial Ground (1981) to name a few.
Obscene Desire feels a little like a latecomer in the line of ‘70s films inspired by (or capitalizing on) the success of Rosemary’s Baby (1968) and The Exorcist (1973), but perhaps The Omen (1976) (and its Italian companion Holocaust 2000 (1977)) also made way for the coming of the antichrist. That fine trilogy of satanic films does have an influence on Obscene Desire, but the pregnant possession angle is a bit more ambiguous and feels more like a climactic afterthought, as the bulk of the film is more of a slow burn mystery that bares more resemblance to an elegant gothic horror than a typical Exorcist-ploitation film. What possession/exorcism angle there is does have some key similarities to its Italian brethren Alberto De Martino’s The Antichrist (1974). I’m happy to point out that it did also remind me (just a little) of the story to one of King Diamond’s horror concept albums Abigail as well (with a different outcome of course).
While traveling along a dark highway, a voiceover from Amanda, an American from Oregon, explains that she met her new husband Andrea (Chris Avram) while vacationing in Italy. Rather than pursue the American dream, Andrea has instead taken his bride to settle in his stuffy and oppressive ancestral mansion in rural Italy. The newlyweds are greeted with an unexpected ill omen on arrival, as the deceased body of a longtime family servant, Michele, has been formally laid out on a bed, presumably for Andrea to pay his last respects.
Things continue down a gloomy path for Amanda, with her husband being emotionally unavailable. The creepy, sus as hell, groundskeeper Giovanni (Victor Israel) is on hand to give Amanda anxiety anytime she spots him slinking around. She does find some comfort in an apparent anthropologist and fellow American, Peter (Lou Castel), who regularly hangs around the café/grocery store. For unclear reasons, Giovanni ends up warning Amanda against Peter anytime he calls or comes around the mansion. I like the parts where she rightfully contradicts Giovanni a couple times after she catches him lying to Peter about her not being home.
It does become hard to tell where the direction of the movie is going, mostly because none of the characters turn out to be upfront with Amanda. Her husband Andrea comes off as a finely aged gentleman on the surface but is obviously hiding some dark shit. Something’s on his mind because he sometimes falls impotent from a mental distraction. Amanda tends to wake up in the middle of the night to notice he’s usually missing from his side of the bed. A couple of Andrea’s friends, Rachel (Laura Trotter) and Fabio (Javier Escrivá), take an interest in Amanda after she becomes pregnant. They turn out to be shady occultists who meet with Giovanni in secret for a couple of obligatory dreary looking table-ritual scenes, meditatively swaying with joined hands over candles.
Lou Castel kind of transforms characters from a shady but friendly researcher with knowledge of Andrea’s lineage to a full-blown exorcist. It’s hard to tell if he is friend or foe to Amanda even after he reveals himself to be a priest.
Since we have so many untrustworthy characters, it seems fitting to also shoehorn in a couple Jack-the-Ripper style slasher segments to run alongside the main story, where a couple ladies of the night are picked up and murdered by an unseen killer. Amanda stumbles across one of the victim’s leg garters in the nearby church ruins.
It should be noted that Marisa Mell does shine in an extended passionate sex scene with Chris Avram and also in a kind of haunting solo erotic scene. She’s a marvelous attraction to the creepy and dismal setting in the film, making Obscene Desire worth pursuing for fans of Marisa Mell and the Eurocult mystery thriller alone.
The story is a mixed bag of different genres and ideas, such as psychological occult horror, pregnancy possession, supernatural eroticism, ritualistic orgies that may or may not be hallucinations, a slasher murder mystery, generational witch curses, and exorcisms, but it’s all packaged together with a consistent tone and Marisa Mell front and center giving it her all, especially during the showdown with the exorcist, and without a doubt she delivers.
I consider Obscene Desire’s mixed bag of ideas and concepts to be more of an enjoyable feature rather than a liability. Despite it being a slow burn to another Italian answer to The Exorcist, I find that there is a lot to look forward to every time I watch this gloomy and beautiful looking (and surprisingly erotic) film. I realized I had stumbled across another gem after I first saw it. I don’t know how I went so long without knowing about it until recently since it really is the kind of movie I enjoy covering on this site. It does fit in with the best of them.
© At the Mansion of Madness
