When approaching the topic of possession in cinema, chances are that most people immediately turn to William Friedkin’s 1973 starling classic, The Exorcist. Based on William Peter Blatty’s 1971 novel, The Exorcist is arguably one of the most terrifying films ever made and was immediately followed by a list of titles with similar themes, such as 1974’s The Antichrist, Abby, and Beyond the Door. Then, in the 2000s and continuing across the next two decades, the possession subgenre experienced an explosion, with a plethora of feature films being made.
An interesting cultural curiosity, those who consider themselves fans of these types of movies claim to have seen them all and reference The Exorcist itself as the standardized pioneer. To raise awareness, a film preceded The Exorcist by a decade, laying the groundwork for the future, and it is called Il Demonio.
Shown at the Venice Film Festival in 1963, Il Demonio (The Demon) quickly grabbed attention, resulting in it being banned by the Italian censor. Justifying the decision, the censor board deemed the film offensive to public morality. They even went as far as to state that Il Demonio was “the most offensive film to have been made in recent times” (as reported on September 18, 1963, in Variety by Harold Myers). Quite harsh, Director Brunello Rondi rejected this sanction. Rightfully defending his work, outsiders objectively looking at Il Demonio need not argue that it is truly a beautifully made film.
Rondi, famously recognized as a screenplay writer for Federico Fellini, made his directorial debut in 1962 with Violent Life, but Il Demonio found his talents fully realized. A story idea inspired by a real recent supposed demonic possession, Rondi along with Ugo Guerra (a co-writer for Mario Bava’s 1963 film The Whip and the Body) and Luciano Martino (the developer of the story for Lamberto Bava’s 1987 Giallo Delirium) crafted a story set in rural Southern Italy with beautiful mountain and rolling hill backdrops.
Eye-catching natural landscapes, beyond this, the main character is a young woman named Purificata “Purif” (portrayed by the underrated Israeli Actress and Singer Daliah Lavi), who is obsessed with a man named Antonio (played by American Actor Frank Wolff, known for films such as 1968’s Once Upon a Time in the West). The only issue is that Antonio wants nothing to do with Purif, proceeds with marrying another, sending Purif into a downward spiral of rage, heartbreak, and disillusionment.
Acting excessively particular, Purif could be passed off as a love-struck individual, but some of her actions feel otherworldly… as if she is possessed. Terrified by all of this, the rural, superstitious, and highly religious small village will stop at nothing to free itself of Purif, who may or may not be invaded by demonic forces. A tale that keeps your mind spinning for its duration, Il Demonio is unsettling from the perspective of potential evil possession, as well as possible fear and hysteria amongst an isolated village.
Truly a revolutionary film, Il Demonio sadly never gained traction due to censorship and controversy. Yes, it was released in several European regions between 1963 and 1969, but it received hardly any significant exposure to larger audiences. In fact, the film never even made it across to North America until more recent times, with options of viewing it via streaming services. Lost in the sands of time, now over six decades later, Il Demonio gets a proper North American release on Blu-ray.
Made possible by Severin Films, Il Demonio arrived on physical format domestically on October 15, 2024, with a newly restored 4K UHD transfer. Presented in Italian (with optional English subtitles), it is worth mentioning that this transfer is a stunning 4K scan from the original camera negatives, uncovered in Rome. The best part of it all is that it includes newly discovered footage excluded from previous releases of Il Demonio, notably the complete ‘spider walk’ scene. A scene that needs to be seen to believe, most associate the ‘spider walk’ with The Exorcist, which had a similar iconic scene previously excluded from the 1974 release, but incorporated in the 2000 updated release, The Exorcist: The Version You’ve Never Seen.
Providing you with an education on the origin of the much-discussed ‘spider walk’ from The Exorcist, talented young Actress Linda Blair indeed performed a backbend to achieve the effect of the ‘spider walk’ downstairs. Still, there were cables present that held her up so that she could move her arms and feet quickly, creating the illusion she was going up and down the staircase. However, here is the stunning part: for Il Demonio, Daliah Lavi had no assistance with her ‘spider walk’ across the floor several times… it was all her, with raw, undoctored footage. Awe-inspiring, even more stunning is Daliah Lavi’s complete performance as Purif.
One of Lavi’s many roles in cinema, with Purif, she truly encompassed the movements, emotional outbursts, and facial expressions of a possessed individual. This is the factor that makes Il Demonio astoundingly effective because Daliah Lavi’s performance is not only the glue that holds this film together but also one of the most underappreciated ever captured on film.
Overall, all of this makes Il Demonio a fascinating viewing experience. Handled with care, Severin Film’s Blu-ray has everything you could ask for from a beautiful restoration in 4K to solid special features, including a lovely homage to Daliah Lavi called “The Kid From A Kubbutz” narrated by her late-life friend, Film Historian Tim Lucas. A lost piece of Horror cinema that is essential for any collection, Cryptic Rock gives Severin Film’s Blu-ray release of Il Demonio 5 out of 5 stars.
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