Psycho. Rosemary's baby. The Exorcist. Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The Omen. All of these classics are undeniably essential viewing for all real horror fans. In the footsteps of any terrifying movie experience that gets it right will come the slew of knock-offs, that despite lacking originality or sometimes even coherence, can still certainly be considered quite entertaining on questionable (to the average film fan) merits of their own. In the spirit of bad film fun the 60's and 70's were second to none as well.
One such film that has garnered a reputation for being one of those so horrid that it's worth suffering through because its so horridly entertaining in all the wrong ways is the 1975 thriller The Devil Within Her.
I remember seeing this one advertised on the television when I was but a bitty hellion, and it always looked interesting enough to me. Sadly, I would miss this film in its theatrical run. Over the years it has floated around under a multitude of different titles, including Sharon's baby and I don't want to be born. Another film that myself and Filthy Regan blogged about, Beyond the door, is actually also known as The Devil Within Her. Are you confused yet?
The thing that always made this particular film stick out in my mind was that it stars Joan Collins, not exactly a traditional scream queen.
I had been under the impression that I rented this many years ago on VHS. But, the story didn't really stick out in my head and since it has been rather an elusive find all this time, I have been unable to check into it any further.
If you are a horror fan and you love seeking out obscure films, many of these gems that have never received a proper digital release have been streaming over on Netflix instant. When I saw that this legendary piece of cinematic dung was stinking up the place, I immediately added it to my queue and decided to give it a sniff. Cinematic dung is right, but that is not necessarily a bad thing altogether. All the hype that I had heard about The Devil Within Her was absolutely right on the money. This movie is completely, if unintentionally, hilarious. A tad on the slow side, as it is fairly uneventful, this movie certainly is still worth a look if you are looking to be entertained for an hour and a half.
Stinks like a turd, yes.... but what a turd indeed. There is a whole lot of shitty fun to be had for even the most discriminating fan of 70's era crappy cinema. Plenty of silly dialogue and overdone performances highlight this tale of possession that will have you scratching your head in confusion, all the while laughing your ass off.
The film begins with Joan Collins in labor and right away the doctor, played by the always wonderful Donald Pleasence, has made the determination that the baby does not wish to be born. The fun begins right away when the little beastly bundle of baby takes to biting and scratching people. Next thing you know he punches a guy in the nose, who may or may not be the actual dad and pushes an old lady in the river. All the happenings that involve the baby either take place off screen or are reduced to being obscured, such as a hand from behind that is witnessed pushing the old lady in the river or seen dunking the nannies head in the bathtub.
Another dude who may or may not be the father, and also happens to be the husband of Joan, calls in reinforcements from his sister, who is in fact a real sister.
Sister crazy lady and Joan Collins immediately decide that the child is possessed by the devil. For extra added effect, this sentiment is repeated endlessly and enunciated by the crazy nun lady as "possessed by the day-vill". This line just never gets old, and I found myself jumping up and down for joy each time the crazy nun lady uttered it. Okay, maybe not.... but, it was a whole lot of fun and did give me a chuckle. I could see this being turned into one hell of a lot of fun drinking game. Every time she says it.... drink. Then laugh. Then drink again just because. Pretty fun, eh?
Joan Collins can not take the fact that junior is growing at such an alarmingly rate..... as babies go, I must say that this one looked like a baby to me.... but for the sake of the title and our entertainment this child simply must be possessed by the devil, right? Oh, wait a minute.... THE DAY-VILL. I mean, babies don't scratch or bite people do they? What about pushing old ladies in the river? I didn't think so.
Collins decides to do her research and it is revealed that she had an affair with her boss, a sleazy guy who runs a strip club. The affair was consumated when Collins spurned the advances of an evil midget named Hercules, who then informed her through screaming that she would in fact have a baby and it would in fact be possessed by the devil. Man, that little guy sure does know his shit.
Basically a Rosemary's Baby rip-off with a side of The Exorcist, minus the pea soup, what The Devil Within Her fails to deliver in shocks and terror it more than makes up for in belly laughs. If you enjoy movies with babies, there is a whole lot of shots of the baby too. The special effects take primitive to all new heights and depths. Think shots of people with bite marks or scratches.... then.... lots of shots of the baby just laying in the crib, looking around. This formula is the virtual beginning and end of the not so-special effects here. For gore fans, there is a nice decapitation and a fairly decent enough stabbing scene, all near the end though, so be patient.
There is an exorcism, but the scene will more so have you befuddled than squirming in your seat from fright. Once again, think.... lots of shit flying around the room.... then, a shot of the baby in the crib, looking around..... lather, fly around the room, rinse, repeat, and so on and so forth until some more of this kind of shit happens again in the films efforts to keep your attention.
I'm not sure exactly where the devil thing comes in. The baby appears to be possessed by the evil midget. Not entirely sure about all of this either, but the midget was a lot of fun in his brief screen time and, as I said before, the movie does provide a whole lot of laughs. Unintentional, all the way, but laughs are to be had.
The movie tries way too hard to be serious, and therein lies the silliness factor. But, if you enjoy lots of close ups of a baby laying in a crib and looking around, you shall be in baby heaven. If you enjoy crazy midgets, as do I and Filthy Regan enormously, the Hercules character is a doozy. He made the film for me.
The Devil Within Her is not exactly going to change your life or anything, but if you are looking for laughs a plenty and can put up with the slow pace of the film, this is certainly worth a look. It's also got one of those great porno sounding soundtracks that 70's era cinema is so well known for. Legendary scream queen Caroline Munro also shows up in a few scenes, although her talents are completely wasted.
Though far from being a good film by any standards, this movie is entertaining and should please fans of awesome midgets, babies, and funny shit.
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