Satan's Baby Doll

 (1980)

by Tuna

Satan's Baby Doll, has much in common with Malabimba, which I covered in Tuesday's edition. Both were written and produced by the same person, and both take place in a castle where the family matriarch has died, and the young daughter becomes possessed. Further, Mariangela Giordano plays a girl about to become a nursing nun in both films, and both films have an uncle who is a vegetable.

Marina Hedman has just died, but seems to come back to life and scares young daughter Jacqueline Dupre. The rest of the household consists of the daddy, who uses uncle vegetable's smack and rules everyone with an iron fist and massive ego; a superstitious handyman; and a doctor who visits frequently. Soon, some unholy combination of the dead mother and the young daughter start killing everyone who ever had sex with the mother, which just happens to be everyone in the castle, including the nun.

I was unimpressed. The transfer is grainy, unlike the other Severin releases, which have been almost universally excellent. A perfect transfer could not have saved it, however, because the story is not at all engaging, and the erotica is nearly absent. There is some masturbation, but no sex in this film, and the nudity is nothing special. An IMDb comment alludes to a XXX version lost forever, but I suspect they were confusing this with Malabimba, especially since the director, in a newly taped interview, said it was only a 72 minute script, so he made a 72 minute film. On the plus side, it is another bit of Eurosleaze that is no longer lost, with points added for creepy atmosphere and the nunsploitation angle.

 

Our Grade:

If you are not familiar with our grading system, you need to read the explanation, because the grading is not linear. For example, by our definition, a C is solid and a C+ is a VERY good movie. There are very few Bs and As. Based on our descriptive system, this film is a:

D

Weak story, minimal erotica.

NUDITY REPORT

  • Marieangela Giordano and Marina Hedman show everything.

  • Jacqueline Dupre shows breasts.

 

 

THE CRITICS AND ACADEMIES

No major reviews online

 

THE BOX OFFICE

Unknown

 

 

THE PEOPLE

   
2.7 IMDB summary (of 10)
   

 

 

 

DVD INFO

 

Available Subtitles: English

Available Audio Tracks: Italian (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)

"Exorcism of Baby Doll" - Interview with Director Mario Bianchi

Theatrical Trailer