The Devil’s Kiss Review

• 12th Oct 2011

Arrowdrome is here and without any delay we get straight into some absolutely nonsensical Euro sleaze with The Devil’s Kiss. Directed by Jordi Gigo who also made a film called Porno Girls which may give you an idea of where this is all going. This film is for all connoisseurs of all things camp, sleaze and truly ridiculous if you don’t fit into one of these categories then forget it.

The plot, what there actually is of it, surrounds the medium Claire Grandier (Silvia Solar) who is hell bent on revenge against the Duke De Haussement. Having wangled her way into the castle owned by the Duke she naturally sets about creating a Frankenstein monster with the help of a sleazy mad scientist doctor. This will be her weapon of revenge as the doctor can control the creature with his mind. At this point it’s fair to say that plot lines are really of little importance as you sit back and wait for the inevitable nude sleaze to roll on in.

The Devil’s Kiss is a welcome addition to the Arrow catalogue as it ticks all the boxes for its cult classic reputation. This film has it all going on from the terrible script, to awful acting and plenty of nude tan lines to warm any real fans of seventies sleaze. The opening sequence of the film leads into a disco infused fashion show as a selection of beauties dance around the castle. The scene actually appears like something from a very bad acid dream the director might have suffered prior to filming. Not wanting to belittle Jordi Gigo and his directing chops but he does come across as a third assistant on a Jess Franco shoot in terms of talent which is hardly a recommendation.

By today this attempt at a horror film is basically a hysterical comedy of mesmerizing proportions. The notion that it was ever horrifying is near impossible to believe but you never know I suppose. The entire production is shot in basically three rooms and some nice acid dream sequences stuck on top to try and hide the fact that they are always shooting in the same room. The production values are z-grade at best but really anyone expecting anything else is an idiot.

Arrowdrome is the new budget label by Arrow offering up all thing sleazy and cult and it’s fair to say The Devil’s Kiss hits every nail right on the head. There is very little that can be said about a movie as amazingly bad as this other than you’re either into it or you’re not. Extreme cult joy such as this is pure marmite cinema as it will never get the reaction; that was OK. People are either going to love it or be so utterly appalled they will actually complain at having to suffer even a few seconds of this stuff. For me personally it’s a case of ‘please can I have some more sir’ as this kind of trash is one of the few reasons to get out of bed in the morning.

Aled Jones