i asked for "lisa and the devil" as a christmas present because I've always been a huge fan of dario argento, and it is common knowledge that he was in part inspired by the work of mario bava. i was not disappointed! like argento, bava has no concern for realism or complex character development and keeps it to the level of what it is, a horror film. it is hallucinatory, imaginative, intriguing, and also works as suspense, even if a little too campy for that genre. telly savalas does an excellent job as satan, and i loved how he enjoyed his trademark lollipop even during an italian horror film as though to say--"the devil loves ya, baby!" modern horror directors get everything wrong and make the mistake of thinking that meaningless action and excessive gore make an effective and memorable film, when nothing could be further from the truth. bava works with mystery and imagination, the two essential ingredients without which there can be no "horror" worthy of the name. of course, both the dialogue and behavior of the characters are ludicrous and laughably erratic, but you should come in expecting this from anyone who helped to inspire argento's film. "lisa and the devil" ranks up there with "suspiria" and "inferno", hands down. check it out.
