The Devil’s Nightmare (1971)

I love when movies have more than one title. You may know of this movie by its Belgian title, La Plus Longue Nuit du Diable (The Devil’s Longest Night). In Italy, it’s called La Terrificante Notte del Demonio (The Terrifying Night of the Demon). And it’s also played as The Devil Walks at Midnight.

When a busload of tourists on holiday — seven of them, all representing the seven deadly sins — get lost, they end up at a gloomy castle. Could that be the same castle where we watched Nazis kill a baby at the end of World War II in the opening? Of course it is. That was the castle’s master, Baron von Runberg, who sacrificed his baby daughter because of an ancient family curse that makes the first-born daughter into an insatiable succubus.

After a dinner in which the Baron explains all of this to his guests, Lisa Muller (Erika Blanc, who shows up in all manner of Eurohorror like Mario Bava’s Kill, Baby, Kill and The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave) shows up to seduce each guest by using their personal sin against them.

From choking a man to death on food and wine to drowning a woman in powdered gold, guillotining another man, trapping a lustful woman in an iron maiden, throwing an old man out a window and killing yet another woman with a snake, Lisa is pretty much giving Dr. Phibes a run for his money.

Only Alvin, who represents pride, survives Lisa’s rampage. Satan appears to him and makes him a deal: the six dead people can return to life if Alvin gives up his soul. But can things ever be so simple when you deal with the Devil? And hey — is it just coincidence that the villains of this movie are Lisa and the Devil?

The Devil’s Nightmare is the only full-length movie that Jean Brismee directed. That’s a shame because I kind of love this movie’s mix of Gothic atmosphere and Eurosleaze sex and violence. And I absolutely adore the fake-out ending.

You can get this directly from Mondo Macabro. As a disclaimer, they sent us this to review, but honestly, I’d buy so much of their stuff otherwise. They’re an amazing label that’s constantly finding new and amazing things all over the world to share with movie maniacs like us.

This release has everything you want and more, including a 1080p presentation taken from a 2K scan of the original camera negative, so it looks way better than you’d ever dreamed it could. Seriously, the care given to this print is astounding.

There are also interviews with the director, his assistant director and avant garde film-maker Roland Lethem, as well as audio commentary by author Troy Howarth, original trailers, TV spots and Mondo Macabro previews that always make me want to purchase more from this great company.

2 thoughts on “The Devil’s Nightmare (1971)

  1. I haven’t seen this in years. I align this with Bell from Hell.

    As with Claudio Guerin Hill, it was the only film he made (as you know he fell from the very clock tower he was filming at).

    Jean Brismee and Gurein Hill shown such promise (as did Herk Harvey with Carnival of Soul) and we were robbed by not seing more films by these artists.

    It’s be a dream to work for Mondo Macarbo or Mill Creek and be a part of reissuing films. Bigger dream: Open up a video (well, DVD) “retro store” and stock this stuff. Wow! The Devil’s Nightmare. What a great surprise review

    Like

  2. Pingback: Get ready for PURE TERROR month! You can help! – B&S About Movies

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