It's not at all surprising that Les Demons, Jess Franco's sequel to The Bloody Judge, was severely truncated for the US market: it's an extremely repetitious film, never quite knowing when to quit. That said, the full length version is still the way to go, because this being a Franco movie, it would be a crime to miss even a second of the depravity, of which there is plenty to wallow in.The film, clearly modelled on Ken Russell's The Devils (1971), opens with the torture and burning of a witch; as the old crone goes up in flames she places a curse on the people responsible for her death—Lord Justice Jeffries (Cihangir Gaffari), Lady De Winter (Karin Field) and Thomas Renfield (Alberto Dalbés). Years later, beautiful nun Kathleen (Anne Libert) begins to experience sinful dreams and, along with her equally tasty sister Margaret (Britt Nichols), is suspected of being a witch, bringing them to the attention of Lady de Winter and her wicked pals. After much cruelty, torture, and sex, it transpires that sisters Kathleen and Margaret are the dead witch's daughters, and that they are to be her instruments of vengeance.With a plot that goes in circles, Franco's trademark (ie. clumsy) directorial style (erratic zooms, roving camera etc), and loads of crap acting, Les Demons isn't exactly what you would call a Euro horror classic, but with Libert and Nichols regularly disrobing to indulge in all manner of deviancy (self gratification, lesbianism, sex with the devil—that sort of thing), plus a hefty dose of sadism and violence, this trashy piece of nunsploitation should still hold your attention to the end. A wonderfully incongruent soundtrack—including a funky bass guitar that kicks in whenever the women get saucy—only adds to the charm.6/10 (which, from me, is a pretty decent rating for a Franco film).

Yes I was shocked; at just how good this film was. Jess Franco has made some awful films, but "Les Demons" is certainly not one of them. The 'De Sade-like' tale concerns two beautiful sisters, orphaned and left at a convent, to be raised as pure servants of God. But their origin is a mystery to everyone. As it turns out, they are the daughters of an old witch, who vows while she is being burned at the stake, that her daughters will take revenge on her tormentors. The aptly named Lady De Winter, the icy blond servant to the equally cruel Lord Jeffries, embarks on a hunt to find and destroy the supposed witches before they can take their revenge.With a surprising amount of attention to historical detail, an interesting story unfolds, with many unexpected turns. The widescreen cinematography is beautiful, and many shots are stunning. Lavish interiors and costumes, as well as the usual fantastic soundtrack that you would expect from a Jess Franco production, all add to the quality of The Demons. Another surprise was the lack of nudity and sex in the production. Of course those elements are there, but they are not overdone, and the largest portion of the film is dedicated to the story, and to character development. The words "elegant" and "restrained" don't' usually come up when describing Franco's work, but in this case those words are appropriate. The version I saw is the restored cut, running 1 hour 41 minutes. I'm sure the heavily cut North American version must really ruin this beautiful film. "Les Demons" is up there in quality level with Franco's slightly superior "Love Letters of A Portuguese Nun." Highly recommended.

I quite enjoyed watching The Demons directed By Jess Franco It was rejected in 1972 but later passed uncut in 2008. it is about a witch who is burned at the stake by the inquisition, but before the flames begin to burn her. she manages to curse the Principal witchfinder. The film contains everything from torture, lesbian sex to demonic possession, and also features lesbian nuns around in the film so it is quite a strong film to watch for viewers to see. I think that Jess Franco has directed a lot of good and bad movies. but there does seem many that are enjoyable to watch. I feel that all fans of Jess Franco fans should watch this movie.

Les Demons (1972) ** (out of 4) 101m. Director's Cut A witch is burned at the stake and swears her daughters will seek revenge for her death. This is a rather disappointing effort from director Jess Franco. The film is too slow and it seems the director doesn't know if he wants to make a straight witch film or a sexploitation film dealing with lesbian nuns and various other beautiful women. The score doesn't help matters either. However, seeing lesbian nuns in action is a reason to check it out. There are at least nine versions of this film out there.The DVD set I have contains two other versions but this one here is a 2003 edit by Franco.