Verdict
Summary
High on mood and a meandering plot that never quite adds up no matter how it tries to explain itself, Nude for Satan is a trashy, but never boring (at least not to me) Eurotica “classic” that seems to exist solely for showcasing a bunch of naked women (Calderoni spends about half her screen time completely or partially nude), but it’s not really spooky or scary, but certainly pretends to be. It’s a concept movie, sold completely on its nudity and sexual elements, with actors spending chunks of the film walking around large spaces, looking up and into the trees, acting lost or panicked. The camera angles get creative while the plot sags, and so the film is really only for fans of Italian horror or erotica.
Plot:
A man passing through the countryside finds a wounded woman and brings her to the nearest home – a castle – but once there, he can’t escape.
Review:
Peter (Stelio Candelli who reminded me of Jack Palance) is driving through the countryside in the middle of the night and finds a crashed car on the side of the road with an unconscious woman inside. He picks her up, carries her to his car and he desperately tries to find anyone who will help. He ends up finding a massive estate with a castle settled in the center, and when he pounds on the gate, he’s allowed entry, but there’s a caped man (Giuseppe Mattei, billed as “The Devil”) lurking around, warning him with a gaze that this is no ordinary abode. The woman regains consciousness and says her name is Susan (Rita Calderoni), and the next morning Peter and Susan go outside and walk around the grounds, getting to know each other, but there’s another woman in the castle who looks identical to Susan, a woman named Evelyn (also Calderoni) who either lives in the castle or is a captive of it. Peter is flattered by Susan’s advances, while he simply wants to go on with his life and leave, but the people who live in the castle – including a cackling butler with bad teeth – seem to all exist in a vortex or a spell, and Peter simply cannot leave. Susan is subjected to the temptations of The Devil, which include dreamy girl-on-girl sex dreams, witnessing the torture of another woman, an orgy, and a rape by the butler, and Peter is powerless to save her. But as it turns out, Peter is able to resist The Devil’s own temptations, and he beats The Devil at his own game, finding a way out of the doomed domain, but he’ll have to leave Susan behind.
High on mood and a meandering plot that never quite adds up no matter how it tries to explain itself, Nude for Satan is a trashy, but never boring (at least not to me) Eurotica “classic” that seems to exist solely for showcasing a bunch of naked women (Calderoni spends about half her screen time completely or partially nude), but it’s not really spooky or scary, but certainly pretends to be. It might’ve worked better with an actual script to work from, as it’s obvious there was nothing really written down for the filmmakers and actors to work from. It’s a concept movie, sold completely on its nudity and sexual elements, with actors spending chunks of the film walking around large spaces, looking up and into the trees, acting lost or panicked. The camera angles get creative while the plot sags, and so the film is really only for fans of Italian horror or erotica. From director Luigi Batzella.
Salvation Films has just reissued Nude for Satan on DVD, but there are no notable special features other than some trailers. The film is featured in standard definition in 2:35:1 widescreen. It’s affordably priced to own.
