RING OF DARKNESS (1979)

 As far as Italian EXORCIST-rip-off movies go this one has a pretty different take on the ol' "my daughter is possessed by a demon-tale". For one thing the daughter here is controlled by Satan himself, who for the most part just stands around and points at people but we are assured that he has some great powers. For another thing this gives a good reason for her demonic experience, mainly her mom is involved with this weird Satanic cult that does kooky rituals. Things get a bit more predictable when John Philip Law shows up as a priest hired to perform an exorcism but even that is performed with it's own unique style. Maris Mell(Law's super hot co-star in DANGER; DIABOLIK) also appears as one of the coven of devilish moms. Overall the film is a bit of a jumbled mess and probably more interesting if you've previously viewed a few of the other EXORCIST-clones for comparison. The one element that might scare fans of this off is that the daughter here, Lara Wendel, was only 14 years old when this was filmed and we see her very naked throughout the runtime, including a big showdown battle of magic with her mum, but this was Europe in the 70s when this kinda thing wasn't viewed so shockingly. An interesting watch but woulda been a bit better if they came up with an ending. AKA SATAN'S WIFE



Super cool soundtrack that evokes Fulci and Argento with a bit of DAWN OF THE DEAD thrown in for good measure!:

Wacky DVD cover!: