Also known in a different form as "House of Exorcism," this messylittle film takes itself so seriously as to kill any entertainment valuewhatsoever.The spare plot involves European tourist Elke Sommer who has achance run in with Telly Savalas, who looks just like the devil shesaw on a fresco in the square. Sommer is given a ride to amysterious house in the country, where Savalas happens to bebutler. There, she is mistaken for a long dead woman, and the realsoap opera theatrics begin. The house's blind matriarch'shusband had an affair with the dead woman, who was thematriarch's son's fiancee. The couple who gave Sommer the ride?Well, the woman is giving the chauffeur, uh, "back seat drivinglessons," and the husband knows and does not care. Eventually,most of the cast is killed, Sommer is drugged and raped,escapes, and the viewer is taken to a climax on board an emptyairplane...which must have resembled the empty theaters thisthing played in.The alternate version of this, "House of Exorcism," has scenesadded involving a priest.The VHS copy of this, from Elite Entertainment, is crystal clear andletterboxed. There are "extras" after the end credits; deleted sexand gore scenes.Mario Bava's direction is fast and furious, but his screenplay isawful. There are half baked ideas, abandoned plotlines, andstunning conveniences that do nothing more than propel this thingin some sort of forward direction. You have life like dummies forpractice funerals, the blind matriarch does not act all that blind,and Savalas is given the same lollipops he had in "Kojak," (whohaunts ya, baby?).The project seems like they had two name stars, then wrote thescript quickly, something that happens in Hollywood on a dailyoccurrence now. Savalas looks completely lost, delivering hislines haltingly, and wishing his character had not died in "The DirtyDozen." Sommer runs around and screams and gasps a lot, buther character is a blank, I use the term "character" loosely. Theonly thing we know about her is her name.This is a real weird film, and your reaction to it might depend onhow heavily you are into Eurohorror, and Kojak. I for one cannotrecomment "Lisa and the Devil."This is unrated, and including all the extras at the end of the VHScopy, contains strong physical violence, sexual violence, stronggore, strong female nudity, male nudity, sexual content, and adultsituations
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