By Melissa Antoinette Garza
Sometimes, I quite enjoy being a mark. When people know your weaknesses, they often cater to them. One of my weaknesses is sexy feminine beauties who are pursued by freaks of the night. There must have been quite a few people with my shared kicks, because I have an endless supply of raunchy material that I enjoy on the regular. Thank you wild and crazy drug-fueled days of dark love and demented minds.
SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER (1970) is about a gorgeous redhead bio-chemist Dr. Ivanna Rakowsky (Erna Schurer) who goes to get a job from Baron Janos Dalmar. Baron is a man who people believe to be Jack the Ripper. He owns dogs that some think were used to rip the dead bodies of the women apart. She doesn’t believe that.
On her way there her creepy driver (Ezio Sancrotti)warns her not to proceed with the trip. He then tries to rape her, but gets scared when he hears barking.
When she escapes, she doesn’t heed the driver’s warning – probably because he’s a rapist. She continues on her way and finally reaches the estate. Olga (Cristiana Galloni) is upset to see she’s not a man and insists she leaves. She goes as far as to grab Ivanna’s belongings, but Rakowsky is a scrapper. The two play a game of tug-of-war when the Baron (Carols Quiney) comes out.
The weather is horrendous so he insists that Ivanna stay for the night but leave in the morning. He also says he will give a full month salary for her troubles. Ivanna shows him the signed contract and insists he live up to the arrangement. When she turns down 2 months salary and so on, he relents.
She is near instantly attracted to him which infuriates Olga. Olga isn’t the only one who has a thing for him. His servant Cristiana (Agostina Belli) also desires him. To be honest, the women aren’t wrong. Janos Dalmar does have the qualities of a Demon Lover that I like. Perhaps a little too much hair, but beyond that – he’s good.
Ivanna starts working very closely with Janos. He tells her of his plans to find regenerative powers thru his current project that involves a cadaver in a bathtub. His work fascinates her and she’s happy to be there. The first night, he tries to kiss her, but she resists and sends him away.
That night in bed, she appears to be alone, but is not. The killer is hiding and emerges. He begins by sending her to a sensational climax – again and again and again. The man ties her down and in between orgasms she manages to ask why she was brought there. Though her question remains unanswered, a voice promises that nothing will happen if she doesn’t resist and he commands her to obey. She agrees which prompts him to delicately caress her body. He talks of her purity and promises she’ll remain safe as long as she stays pure. Her demon lover has a bit of the Madonna-Whore fetish going on. As fetishes go, that’s not a bad one to have.. He just takes it to the extreme of forbidding any fun. He puts her to sleep and when Ivanna awakes she thinks she was drugged. Olga convinces her everything was a dream. Later when she starts having memories of the night before something draws her to the corpse that Janos is working on.
Meanwhile, the inspector (Mariano Vidal Molina) comes by to the Baron’s to investigate murders he’s suspected of. There are no charges or enough evidence to pin it on him, but there is some circumstantial pieces that seem to link him to the deaths. The inspector sensing something may be wrong with her asks, but she denies any issue.
Afterward, the Baron and Ivanna get into a small fight. They make up and the Janos makes a pass. She likes the attention, but sends him away. When she undresses she senses something watching her. She’s right and soon she passes out once again on the bed. She wakes up and tells Baron she’s had nightmares again. He chides her for that, but compliments on her passion for work. They have an unusual relationship of levity one second and fury the next without much rhyme or reason. Still, it’s fun to watch.
After being spawned by Ivanna, the Baron goes and gets some love from Cristiana, who is all too eager to offer. She gets to have a great romp, but then comes face-to-face with a disfigured man. Could it be that the Baron is not the killer? Yeah – I think that was a given.
Ivanna meanwhile becomes entranced with a book and suddenly notices all the full-moons they’ve been having. She begins to investigate, but once again nearly passes out. Janos catches her and brings to her bedroom. She is a willing girl ready to play, but the Baron is a gent and tells her that he didn’t want it like this.
In the end, the killer is revealed and it is spectacular. It’s over the top. It sort of ends on a tone similar to PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925) meets THE PROWLER (1981).
I enjoyed it immensely. It’s crazy and wild and twisted. When the killer is revealed, he informs of his mindset on lovemaking, foreplay, touching and sex in general. It’s well-written lunacy and wonderfully done.
Watch SCREAM OF THE DEMON LOVER on YOUTUBE or catch it on Amazon for a rental or purchase.
Scared Stiff Rating: 6.5/10
