I often tell my friends who haven't lived in the Third World that they can't really appreciate just how primitive and downright "alien" their cultures are without seeing some of their films. Most Americans and Europeans tend to think of South & Central American countries and cultures as being pretty much the same as ours, with just perhaps a bit less education and opportunities. Seeing what entertainment "works" in those countries should divest anyone of those illusions and, perhaps, help explain why most of the Third World is mired in poverty and tyranny, enslaved to whichever tin-pot dictator, witch doctor or "church" is marketing their product effectively this week. From that standpoint, I heartily recommend suffering through this dreadful little potboiler strictly as a learning experience.
Definitely a primitive, simple-minded crapola plot, miserably overacted (but completely typical of South/Central American films), and with overdrawn caricatures as characters, as in the proto-Catholic morality plays from which they stem. The hunchback resembles an organ=grinder's monkey, complete with fez, and -- in a time-warped flash to Marty Feldman's hunchback -- the damned hump seems to move about from scene to scene.
I'm surprised some of the other fans haven't lapsed into a swoon with comparisons to Mephistofeles, Dr. Faustus, Dante's Inferno, and other classic works, and in truth there are some obvious inspirations drawn from them. But then all morality plays follow similar plot lines in the end. And this definitely is a morality play designed purely for a poorly-educated but devout Catholic audience.
If one had to pick a nominee for Best Actor in this film, it would certainly have to go to one of the boa constrictors, who are the only ones not over-emoting themselves into outer space. A fine, restrained performance by the reptiles, from whom the actors might take lessons.
That said, there are a very few moments of pure brilliance in this film, well worth investing the time. I had one Hell of a time -- no pun intended -- giving this one a number. I started out with a "1" and finally settled on a "4," mostly because it is mostly bad, and for the rating to make sense compared to other films I've rated. I could have easily gone to a "6." It is hard to compare something this erratic in quality.
The "Alleluja Chorus" after Coffin Joe returns from Hell, mirroring Christ's descent into Hell and Resurrection, is a lovely touch, and had me giggling with perverse pleasure, and raising it to a "5" on that alone. The color scene of Hell is, as others have said, well worth the 80 or 90-minute wait. Beautifully conceived, creatively different, and amazingly effective considering it was done on a budget that probably wouldn't have bought lunch for the entire crew the same day. Campy? Oh yes, but still betraying a degree of vision and imagination that high-rolling Hollywood directors seldom ever display, and certainly not back then.
The equally surreal graveyard scenes are also a remarkable piece of work, and you find yourself enjoying the pure cheapness and inventiveness rather than laughing at it. Roger Corman's early work, and Ed Wood's, often strikes me this way. Ya gotta admire someone who knows how to go a LOOOOOONG way on a near-zero budget.
This film is definitely a "guilty pleasure," and even though one is forced to admit that it IS crap, it is still crap with a few gems embedded in the fecal stew.
Definitely a primitive, simple-minded crapola plot, miserably overacted (but completely typical of South/Central American films), and with overdrawn caricatures as characters, as in the proto-Catholic morality plays from which they stem. The hunchback resembles an organ=grinder's monkey, complete with fez, and -- in a time-warped flash to Marty Feldman's hunchback -- the damned hump seems to move about from scene to scene.
I'm surprised some of the other fans haven't lapsed into a swoon with comparisons to Mephistofeles, Dr. Faustus, Dante's Inferno, and other classic works, and in truth there are some obvious inspirations drawn from them. But then all morality plays follow similar plot lines in the end. And this definitely is a morality play designed purely for a poorly-educated but devout Catholic audience.
If one had to pick a nominee for Best Actor in this film, it would certainly have to go to one of the boa constrictors, who are the only ones not over-emoting themselves into outer space. A fine, restrained performance by the reptiles, from whom the actors might take lessons.
That said, there are a very few moments of pure brilliance in this film, well worth investing the time. I had one Hell of a time -- no pun intended -- giving this one a number. I started out with a "1" and finally settled on a "4," mostly because it is mostly bad, and for the rating to make sense compared to other films I've rated. I could have easily gone to a "6." It is hard to compare something this erratic in quality.
The "Alleluja Chorus" after Coffin Joe returns from Hell, mirroring Christ's descent into Hell and Resurrection, is a lovely touch, and had me giggling with perverse pleasure, and raising it to a "5" on that alone. The color scene of Hell is, as others have said, well worth the 80 or 90-minute wait. Beautifully conceived, creatively different, and amazingly effective considering it was done on a budget that probably wouldn't have bought lunch for the entire crew the same day. Campy? Oh yes, but still betraying a degree of vision and imagination that high-rolling Hollywood directors seldom ever display, and certainly not back then.
The equally surreal graveyard scenes are also a remarkable piece of work, and you find yourself enjoying the pure cheapness and inventiveness rather than laughing at it. Roger Corman's early work, and Ed Wood's, often strikes me this way. Ya gotta admire someone who knows how to go a LOOOOOONG way on a near-zero budget.
This film is definitely a "guilty pleasure," and even though one is forced to admit that it IS crap, it is still crap with a few gems embedded in the fecal stew.