Black Candles

Black Candles (Hot Fantasies, Sexual Rites of The Devil) (1981). Directed by Joseph Braunstein/ Jose Larraz 

After I saw Vampyres (1974) I knew I had to watch more from this Spanish maestro. It starts off with some graphic sex between a Matt Frewer clone and a lusty babe who uses an unseen voodoo doll pin push to murder him for betraying the coven. His sister Carol (Vanessa Hidalgo) and her untrustworthy partner Pablo (Jeffrey Healey) are on their way to visit his grave. Man, they sure buried him fast! 

Next, it’s a dark and rainy night where we see the titular objects—"black candles". Do only sorcerers have these items, probably. You could also pick those up at most Spencer’s Gifts. We see some ghastly occult art on the walls. One picture of the devil on the toilet is a masterpiece that an old roommate of mine used to have a black velvet painting of this. 

Carol and Pablo suspect Fiona the sister in law is a voyeuristic witch as we see her stare at them Anthony Perkins peep hole style. Vanessa Hildalgo’s character fucks with her boots on and has giant titties, her incessant moaning causes Fiona played by Helga Line’ to furiously masturbate. This is one horny Eurotrash flick! In a nightmare scenario Carol gets humped in various locations as the witch participates briefly. The Reverend played by Manuel Gomez-Alvarez and Fiona are the ones responsible for the death of Carol’s brother Drew (Anastasio de la Fuente). They visit his grave and her brothers voice warns her to leave now. A witch from the coven and her greazy grumpy husband are concerned about being lynched for their religious practice of Satanism. They’re more coven members, these people are all around us, we’re surrounded! 

She's totally watching you jerk off

One witch, mentions how bestiality is on the menu for this evening’s black magic ceremony. Wait, is Joe D’Amato ghost directing this---"what’s happening?” On Imdb it says the director disowned the film (was it this scene that motivated him). Own it man, you’re the one who gave birth to this atrocity you’re responsible. 

According to “The Satanic Screen” by Nikolas Schreck Franco’s death unleashed a wave of reaction to this conservative acestetic. They were deliberately crushing taboos much like directors Nagisa Ōshima and Dušan Makavejev did as a reaction to their own country’s censorship laws with their overly perverse masterpieces In the Realm Of The Senses (1976) and The Sweet Movie (1974). The hippy dippy gal from the beginning gets boned by the goat as the Rev. eerily calls out to her in an inhuman voice tone. Man is this unsettling! In a Gorezone (017/Spring) interview Larraz said this about the goat scene “The shock when I showed this was terrible, I mean the goat has the right to enjoy itself too”! 

the safety word is "Mutton"

But with this move, they now have control of his brain and give her severe migraines from afar. Fiona (who has a gigantic 70’s bush) humps Carol’s boyfriend Robert/Pablo by the fire. She keeps spying on both of them. They should definitely not stay there, this is the worst Airbnb experience I can think of. There are a few nods to Rosemary’s Baby (1968) here. I wonder why the big conspiracy against one insignificant girl like Carol or her brother however. The coven all conspire to kill both of them eventually. I forget to mention the Rev has one long ass Cocaine nail. Carol calls it an evil bird of prey. 

stop being so cheeky Carol!

There’re so many repulsive and yet titillating sex scenes. Maybe the humping was just too good to pass up because Carol’s man Robert/Pablo joins up with the cult willingly. Carol by the way has an amazing body and is no prude, so what’s the deal? I like how she always wears her long-legged boots even at night. The amount of sex in this movie is pretty obnoxious, although if I were a 12-yr. old watching this on Skin-a-Max I’d feel like I won a prize. One of the first Eurotrash movies I’d seen was The loves of a French Pussycat (1972) with Sybil Danning. I give this 4 out of 5 blood drenched merkins, it’s Satanically majestic!

Both posters for this film are astounding!