The Antichrist is set in Rome where businessman Massimo Oderisi (Mel Ferrer) lives with his lover Irene (Alida Valli), his son Filippo (Remo Girone) & paralyzed daughter Ippolita (Carla Gravina) who has been unable to walk properly since childhood when she witnessed her mother killed in a car accident. Her father Massimo has tried everything, from faith healers to psychiatrist's to no avail, Massimo will not give up however & ask's psychiatrist Dr. Marcello Sinibaldi (Umberto Orsini) to see if he can do anything for Ippolita. Dr. Sinibaldi is convinced that Ippolita's condition is mental & if she can overcome the mental issue then she would regain the use of legs, in an attempt to discover what is affecting Ippolita psychology Dr. Sinibaldi hypnotises her which releases regressed memories of one of her distant ancestor's who was a Nun but turned to Satan & was executed soon after for Witchcraft. Ippolita soon changes as she becomes possessed by the Devil who wants to be reborn through her, it's decided an exorcism is the only answer...Originally released in the US theatrically under the title The Tempter this Italian production was co-written & directed by Alberto De Martino & is your basic rip-off that the Italians were so famous for during the 70's & 80's, to be fair to them they were pretty good at them & some terrific horror, gore, sci-fi, sleaze & trashy films exist because of this entire sub-genre. No-one made rip-offs like the Italians, I am not sure if that is a good thing or not but they sure made lots of entertaining films during this period. There's absolutely no prizes for guess that The Antichrist is a straight rip-off of The Exorcist (1973) which is rightly regarded as a classic, while it's fairly entertaining in a sleazy & silly way The Antichrist is a million miles away from being described as a classic. At just over 110 minutes the script takes a while to get going & it's 40 odd minutes into the film before Ippolita is astrally raped & becomes possessed complete with a hilarious flashback to some guy in a Goat mask having sex with her ancestor after he makes her lick a Goat's ass, no I am not making that up either. There's the green vomit, some head twisting (although in a twist not the possessed Ippolita) & lots of foul language directed to polite members of society including her father & lover whom she ask's if she likes his cock in her. While watching The Antichrist I got the impression that the makers were playing it deadly straight & some of these scenes come across as silly & a little funny at times (the floating hand scene has be be seen to be believed) which does lessen the impact a bit but if taken in the right spirit there's some fun to be had here. The script doesn't make any great statement about religion or faith or psychological conditions like it might have but that would have slowed things down even further so it's no great loss.If you like your 70's & 80's Italian exploitation then The Antichrist will be right up your street but don't expect lots of gore, only one person is killed during the entire film although several Toad's are killed. There's a bit of nudity & sex including some incest which is then seemingly forgotten about after the cheap shock value is over. One thing that did impress me was the visuals, not so much the photography or direction but the locations & sets which are sumptuous, varied & striking. The blood red corridor lined with bust's that stare in all directions is ultra cool, the deserted streets of Rome & it's architecture is amazing, grand Churches & Cathedral's along with the Italian countryside, huge halls with walls covered by massive oil paintings & the climax set in one of those Gladitorial coliseum things The Antichrist surprisingly is a visually superb film.Not that scary thanks to all the bright colours & slightly silly set-pieces The Antichrist is well made although the English dubbing is sometimes pretty bad, the cast is a mixture of English & Italian speakers so who know's how it was actually film? The five times Oscar nominated Arthur Kennedy & the highly respected Mel Ferrer probably need the money, why else would they be in this? I must admit I really disliked the lead actress here, I thought Gravina was unappealing & unlikable.The Antichrist is a great film to look at with some brilliant sets & locations & it has some entertaining sleaze & exploitation but it's slow & predictable & it is just an inferior rip-off of The Exorcist although it entertains in it's own right I suppose. It could have been much worse that's for sure, fans of Italian exploitation should definitely give it a go.

Dismissing The Antichrist as a rip-off of The Exorcist is too easy. Sure it was designed to cash-in on The Exorcist's success, but it's not the first movie to ride the coattails of another movie. Just look at all the sequels that Jaws spawned (Piranha, Tintotera, Crocodile, etc.) for an even better example. My problems with The Antichrist have nothing to do with comparisons to The Exorcist. Instead, I think that The Antichrist is a mess of a movie on its own.I suppose that for a movie of this type to be effective, it helps if the audience cares or has some sort of feelings for the characters. Other than the main character, Ippolita Oderisi (Carla Gravina), we never learn enough about them to care what happens to them. As for Ippolita, she's so unlikable that I couldn't have cared less whether she was possessed or not. She's a bitter woman with no redeeming characteristics that I could discern. Even before the possession, she seems to relish making everyone's life miserable. And why should it bother me that she is possessed by the devil? She asked for it – literally. So, she got what she wanted. I had no sympathy for this woman, and without that, the movie doesn't work.There are other problems with The Antichrist beyond whether or not I cared about the main character. The acting is plain old bad. Even somewhat accomplished actors like Mel Ferrer look like their starring in the local amateur hour. In one scene, I swear he looks embarrassed to be anywhere near this film. The only actor of any consequence who comes off with any dignity in tact is Anita Strindberg and that's just because of her limited screen time.I suppose that I'll leave it at that and not write anymore about the other areas where the movie fails. Writing about everything I had a problem with in The Antichrist is like shooting fish in a barrel. I could target the special effects, a score that's not up to Morricone's high standards, or the cheap attempts to gross-out the audience, but you get the idea.

Silly low-rent EXORCIST rip off, with Gravina as a sexually frustrated invalid who looks for a cure to a psychologist who specializes in past-life regressions, the theory here being that neuroses of today might arise from past life trauma. Unfortunately, in Ms. Gravina's past life she was a witch devoted to Satan, and the hypnosis starts the process of her being possessed by the witch's spirit. Movie makes no sense: sometimes Gravina seems to be possessed by her past life, sometimes by the devil itself, and her powers seem to vary according to the situation. Plus it's funny that there's a character who disbelieves in God, but is quite willing to buy past-life regression. Okay when taken on it's own level, though: there's some gratuitous nudity, some gross special effects (one character eats vomit, there's a lot of toad head swallowing), some cheap special effects and a strange Satanic orgy where our heroine apparently gets it on with a goat-headed fellow. Only real flaw, actually, is an overly-slow beginning.

The Tempter is a great cheesy devil flick; it rates right up there with The Eerie Midnight Horror Show and House of Exorcism ! Cheesy effect, but some great shock value ! The mix of out of work American actors, funky clothes, and some great gross out effects make this one worthwhile. Most of the Italian Horror flicks of the time were cheesy, but worth some great laughs. There are some great creepy and blasphemous scenes in this flick, including some nudity and crazy stuff! A lot of these flicks were very melodramatic and I think added to the movie. Some great visuals and interesting symbolism make this movie a great one to throw on at parties and yuk it up! Highly recommended !