Lorna the Exorcist – Kino Lorber (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1974
Director: Jesús Franco
Writers: Robert de Nesle, Jesús Franco, Nicole Guettard
Cast: Pamela Stanford, Guy Delorme, Lina Romay, Jacqueline Laurent, Marianne Mariel, Richard Bigotini, Catherine Lafferière, Howard Vernon, Jesús Franco

Release Date: October 24th, 2023
Approximate running time: 99 Minutes 43 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono French, DTS-HD Mono English
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region A
Retail Price: $29.99

"Haunted by erotic visions, a young woman (Lina Romay) comes to discover that her sexual possession is the result of a bargain struck nineteen years earlier between her playboy father (Guy Delorme) and an ethereal, pansexual seductress (Pamela Stafford). In a parallel narrative, a visionary doctor (Jess Franco) tries to unravel the particular form of psychopathia sexualis that torments a beautiful patient (Catherine Lafferière).” – Synopsis provided by the Distributor

Video: 4.25/5

Lorna the Exorcist comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.8 GB

Feature: 31.6 GB

No information is provided about the source used for this transfer. That said, it appears that the source is the same one used for Le Chat Qui Fume’s 2018 Blu-ray/DVD combo release since source-related damage is in the same places. Details look crisp, colors look correct, and there are no issues with compression. It should be noted that this release from Kino Lorber does use the longer fade-out of music playing over a black screen that Mondo Macabro used for their DVD release. Though this transfer appears to come from the same source Le Chat Qui Fume used for their release, Kino Lorber’s release has a stronger encode.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with two audio options, a DTS-HD mono mix in English and a DTS-HD mono mix in French. Both audio mixes sound clear and balanced throughout. Included with this release are removable English subtitles. These audio tracks are on par with the audio tracks that Le Chat Qui Fume used for their 2018 Blu-ray/DVD combo release.

Extras:

Extras for this release include an archival interview titled Fear and Desire with Stephen Thrower, author of Murderous Passions: The Delirious Cinema of Jesus Franco (30 minutes 3 seconds, DTS-HD stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with actress Pamela Stanford titled Meet Pamela Stanford (22 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD stereo French with removable English subtitles), an interview with filmmaker Gérard Kikoïne titled The Kiko and the Count (25 minutes 23 seconds, DTS-HD stereo French with removable English subtitles), an audio commentary with novelist and film critic Tim Lucas, and a slipcover (limited to the first pressing).

Summary:

Lorna The Exorcist is a Faust-like tale that incorporates elements of Dracula and The Exorcist into its bizarre plot about a woman who can give you anything you want, at least if you are willing to pay the price. Lorna The Exorcist opens up with a lengthy lesbian scene that clocks in at nearly nine minutes in length. There is no dialog in this opening scene, with only music and visuals to guide us on this bizarre journey.

The narrative as a whole is very simple, with a few lesbian sex scenes thrown in for good measure. These lesbian sequences are full on hardcore as the camera peers ever so closely into private parts. The narrative has a hypnotic pace, and the climax provides a very satisfying conclusion to the events that have unfolded. Twenty-eight years after making Lorna, The Exorcist, he would remake it and rename it Incubus in 2002.

Jess Franco was a filmmaker who often worked with meager resources and recycled themes, plots, and musical motifs. And, while these two factors have contributed to some of his films appearing haphazardly put together, In most instances, what drives Jess Franco’s cinematic vision? is his distinctive visual quirk. And with Lorna, The Exorcist, he is at the top of his game. Many of the ideas and stylistic techniques that he employs in Lorna The Exorcist are prominent in many of Jess Franco’s other films. Most notably, films like Vampyros Lesbos and Female Vampire.

There are a handful of standout moments in Lorna: The Exorcist. The first outing moment is a lesbian scene that takes place in a bubble bath. The other standout moment involves crabs crawling on a woman’s private parts. The lead character, Lorna, is a cross between Faust and Dracula in the way she can hypnotically control the women who serve her, much like Renfield obediently served Count Dracula.

Performance-wise, this is one of the stronger casts that Jess Franco had to work with. The most enduring assets of this film are its two female leads, Pamela Stanford as Lorna Green and Lina Romay as Linda Mariel. Pamela Stanford is one of Jess Franco’s lesser-known leading ladies. With her performance in Lorna: The Exorcist being her most prominent and accomplished collaboration with Jess Franco, Some of Franco’s fans will recognize her from the film Cannibals, where she portrayed Al Cliver’s wife. Lina Romay’s performance in Lorna, The Exorcist, is the strongest and most memorable in the film. Howard Vernon (The Sadistic Baron Von Klaus, Diabolical Doctor Z.) appears briefly as Lorna's bodyguard, Maurizius.

There is no denying that The Exorcist was at least loosely inspired by Lorna The Exorcist. The end result is so far removed from that aforementioned film. To simply label Lorna The Exorcist as an Exorcist clone couldn’t be farther from the truth. Ultimately, Lorna The Exorcist is a well-made erotic thriller that flawlessly mixes erotica with its more supernatural moments.

Lorna The Exorcist gets an excellent release from Kino Lorber that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and insightful extras, highly recommended.

Written by Michael Den Boer