Description
Known in Spain as Escalofrio, this movie is exactly what you’re hunting for if what you want to see is late 70’s swingers stuck in a slowly going mad miasma of sexual depravity and Satanic hijinks. Go figure — that’s always exactly what I’m looking for in a movie!
Finally free from Francisco Franco’s repressed rule, Spanish filmmakers went nuts and made movie like, well, this one. Blame Carlos Puerto and Juan Piquer Simon (that magical lunatic who made Pieces and Slugs).
A young couple decides to see the city with their dog — they go get coffee and see Star Wars — and then meet up with another couple who live in a foreboding estate. Hey, it’s 1978 and the world is ending pretty much, so let’s see what happens next.
A big storm kicks in, the dog starts howling, it turns out that one of the girls used to sleep with the other girl’s brother and that one of the guys just nearly killed himself. And oh yeah — there’s a weird porcelain doll watching it all go down in front of the fire.
After dinner, they break out the black candles, the jazz cigarettes and the Ouija board — as you do — and things get weird.
Andy and Anna, the protagonist couple (I guess) decide that this would be a good time to head off to bed, but are awakened by loud noises and then a man in a black robe tries to attack Anna (keep in mind, every review I found online can’t agree as to the names of the couples, so let’s assume the other couple’s names are Bruno and Thelma).
Andy and Anna try to leave, but it’s too late — they keep getting pulled back to the house. So why not have a fourway romp on the pentagram rug with the hosts? Man, Spain was swinging in 1978!
Bruno, if that’s really his name, is played by Angel Aranda, who was in The Hellbenders. Ana is played by Mariana Karr, who went on to be in several Spanish soap operas. And that’s probably the only people you’d know, to be honest.
It doesn’t matter. This movie promises Satan, sin and sex and it delivers. I mean, it starts with a bunch of hooded worshippers all over a girl before they stab her with a big ceremonial blade. Some prints even start with a professor warning viewers of the dangers of Satanism! Wow!
Yes — the dog gets killed and eaten. I hate to be the one to tell you.
But hey — this is like 80 plus minutes long, the perfect length, and a real crowd pleaser. That is — if your crowd are all maniacs like me.
This was released by Mondo Macabro and Scorpion, but it’s out of print and commands high prices. Look for it at a used store, because trust me, you want this movie in your collection.
