The Gibson family are rich, decadent and dysfunctional. Youngest daughter Leila (a convincing performance by foxy brunette Grace Mills) is especially wild: her fiancé Richard practices the black arts and takes Leila to a debauched satanic ceremony. Pretty soon Leila starts acting strange: she says mean and spiteful things in a vulgar tongue, throws temper tantrums, and has severe seizures. Her mother Patricia (ravishing Maria Perschy) and sister Deborah (hot blonde Maria Kosti) are understandably worried. They call upon longtime friend Father Adrian Dunning (excellently played by Spanish horror icon Paul Naschy in a rare good guy role) to save Leila's soul before it's too late. Director Juan Bosch grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday world setting, which in turn gives the story a substantial additional credibility. Bosch earns bonus credit for handling the potentially lurid subject matter with admirable taste and restraint. Moreover, this film makes a strong and provocative point that mankind's flawed nature and immorality perpetuate the existence of evil (Leila becomes possessed by the spirit of her deceased father who hand incestuous longings for her). The gradual build-up leads to an especially chilling and unnerving third act; the climactic exorcism is quite tense and rousing. Francisco Sanchez's slick cinematography and Alberto Arguda's spooky funky-ripping score are both up to par. Nice ambiguous ending, too.
Review of Exorcism
