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Konterr Brilliant and touching

Scarecrow-88 A witch, Isabella, was turned into a vampire by Count Dracula, removed from her bed with the bloodsucker, bound to a wooden cross, and a stake plunged into her chest. Her spirit is dormant and the village folk in the castle, gathered together to celebrate Lauren's forthcoming marriage, resemble the people who attended Isabella's crucifixion. The reincarnated spirits begin to thrive once again in certain members of the males within the castle and they are dedicated to bringing Isabella back, their Satanic costumes and ritualistic tools/devices within a surreal worship chamber, her dead body, hole opened where the stake was stabbed, awaiting resurrection. Lauren is to be the door through her reentering our world. Will her fiancé, a non-believer, find a way to help Lauren, or will she be a chosen vessel for evil to be reborn? Will any viewer even care? Zany Satanic thriller from director Renato Polselli shifts through different eras, when Isabella was crucified as hecklers and those that care for her look on, in modern time as new people inhabit the castle still housing dark powers, and the worship chamber with followers enacting torturous, barbaric routines for their Isabella. Certain characters stand out in the modern plot. Christa Barrymore is Christa, a believer who is chosen as a way of luring her virgin sisters to their supposed doom, as possible sacrificial victims for Isabella. Mickey Hargitay and Rita Calderoni return from Polsetti's Delirium, to star as Jack Nelson & Lauren, stepfather and stepdaughter. Hargitay, I think, also portrays Dracula in the past, watching in horror as the village men stake his beloved Isabella on a wooden cross in the chest. Calderoni portrays the witch Isabella, and lookalike target Lauren who is chosen to be her gateway from the dead. I attempted, without ceasing, to make sense of the film as the director toys with time and narrative structure, with all types of wacky theatrics(Stefania Fassio's bonkers Stephy is a bonafide buffoon played to the hilt, aggravating all those around her, always seeking attention)and visual flourishes(..like how he shoots faces from all angles and shrouded in psychedelic colors). As you might know, there are ample opportunities for the director to expose breasts, especially the delicious Calderoni who was quite a gorgeous woman to ogle over. The film highlights the "virgins" targeted as potential victims for Isabella, ravaged by Satan's disciples at the end as they are taken to the worship chamber. One, Christa, is almost buried alive in a harrowing sequence as those who attended her funeral had left, her chance of escape left to the mercy of a demented facially scarred servant who is often singled out by the director hiding in corners with a gleeful look on his face willing to cause harm to anyone if allowed. My favorite scene would have to be when Christa is being fondled forcefully from behind by an unknown assailant as he grabs her breasts, his free hand feeling down her body, as she slowly succumbs to an awakening sexual desire(..the camera shoots down her chest as the hand grabs and caresses). While not as violent as it could've been, this sure is a lurid shocker. A rather alarming sex scene between Stephy, her female girlfriend, and a grotesque "twitching" loon is sure to leave a lasting impression..either as a way to repulse or excite depending on your taste. There is an explanation at the very end as to what is going on, but I'm sure many will even grow more frustrated and confused. Raul Lovecchio, as a grim-faced *occultist*, owns a portion of the newly ocupied castle, warning others of the evil that presently resides within the place, and has all the answers as to what is truly going on.

michaelwotruba Past and present (and also night and day, sadly) get really confused when a witch is reborn by a sect of black magic fanatic (really ridiculously dressed and made up). Young girls get naked, (maybe) killed, used to give new life to Isabel. Perhaps they die too, but it's not too clear... What is clear is the absurd and incoherent storyline Polselli did create to show us some tits and (not that much) gore. Anyway: the actors are really bad and the sets couldn't look much poor. Luckily, there is an imaginative photography by Ugo Brunelli (who later would be working on another great title of the grade-Z Italian cinema: The Beast in Heat, 1977 by Leopoldo Savona). If you're fans of the trash you'll enjoy this one... otherwise be warned

Infofreak This movie is best known as 'The Reincarnation Of Isabel', though I watched it as 'Black Magic Rites'. It's also sometimes titled 'The Ghastly Orgies Of Count Dracula'. Anyway, whatever you call it this is one freaky movie! This kind of quasi-psychedelic Eurohorror is I admit an acquired taste, but as I'm already a big fan of this kind of thing I find it hard to be objective about it. Despite (or maybe because of!) an impossible to follow plot, plenty of lousy acting and any excuse whatsoever to get the babes topless this is one of the weirdest and most entertaining movies of this type I've ever seen! Rita Calderoni from 'Nude For Satan' co-stars with Mickey Hargitay, the former bodybuilder and husband of Jayne Mansfield, who appeared in 'The Bloody Pit Of Horror' (by the way, if you're curious you can see Arnie play Hargitay in 'The Jayne Mansfield Story'). If you've seen 'Nude For Satan', imagine it was re-edited by someone tripping on acid and you'll have some idea of what '...Isabel' is like! If I resort to cliches and say you have to see it to believe it, it's because it's true... The plot... well, who knows what the plot is about! Some guys dressed up like Satanic superheros are sacrificing virgins in an attempt to resurrect their long dead leader, the witch (or was that vampire?) Isabella, who was burned at the stake by angry villagers hundreds of years before. I think. Oh, and Dracula's in there somewhere but I can't quite recall why. There are lots of flash backs and just about everybody plays two roles, so it's quite difficult to work out what the hell is going on most of the time! But you know what? It doesn't matter. I loved every minute of it.

soggycow "Reincarnation of Isabel" is a great example of good Euro-trash. It triumphs over its obviously low budget through a combination of gore, unintentional humor, a great score, flashy camera work, and large amounts of gratuitous nudity. It is surprising that this movie has not received a cult status yet, being that it is better than many cult movies. Thanks must be given to Redemption (the company that put this out) for finding a print of this movie, which was long considered lost, and giving it its first domestic release ever.The "plot" is as follows: A woman named Isabel is burned at the stake when the Inquisition comes to her small village. Apparently they are not too far off, either, because she actually was a witch. Her husband and another local take her body and put it in the dungeon of a castle. Flip to present day: The husband and some of the locals who were on his side have been reincarnated (no explanation is given), and through some twist of fate know it. The husband then attempts to reincarnate Isabel with the hearts of young virgins in some satanic ritual. There is actually much more to the plot (something to do with vampires, and many unnecessary characters), but it all becomes a confused mess. This lack of plot can be forgiven, though, because the plot is not what the movie is trying for."Reincarnation of Isabel" is one of the most enjoyable Euro-trash movies, containing everything one has come to expect from this genre. Well, not quite everything. This movie unfortunately lacks in violence and gore. After the violent opening, the movie contains no more realistic effects (it does, however, contain some unrealistic effects. For example, a few "witches" are scratched with sticks, which is fine and dandy (they were topless, after all), but the effect was so cheap it was unintentionally humorous. It was achieved through the use of rubbing a blunt club with wet paint on the end against the skin of the two "witches."). The fake violence was not the only source of unintentional humor; the subtitles were actually much funnier. On the plus side, the acting was surprisingly good and solid, the music was decent, and the direction was pretty solid. It should also be noted that "Reincarnation..." gets better with every viewing. It should be viewed at least twice to get the wanted effect.Recommended for all fans of Eurohorror. My rating: 7 out of 10.