Lisa and the Devil

4/27/2022

_**Dreamlike Euro-horror with Telly Savalas and Elke Sommer**_ A tourist (Sommer) in Toledo, Spain, gets lost in the alleyways of the ancient city and ends up at a castle-like manor with a few other guests run by an aloof countess and her hospitable son, not to mention a too-smug butler (Savalas). One of Mario Bava’s last films, "Lisa and the Devil” (1973) is similar to “The Devil’s Nightmare” (1971) mixed with “Carnival of Souls” (1962) and elements of “Psycho” (1960). While the movie was successful at festivals, a distributer couldn’t be found and so it was re-edited with newly shot footage involving a priest and a possessed protagonist to take advantage of the popularity of “The Exorcist” (1973), then released as “The House of Exorcism” (1975). This review concerns Bava’s origina