Satanico Pandemonium – Mondo Macabro (Blu-ray)

Theatrical Release Date: Mexico, 1975
Director: Gilberto Martínez Solares
Writers: Jorge Barragán, Adolfo Martínez Solares, Gilberto Martínez Solares
Cast: Enrique Rocha, Cecilia Pezet, Delia Magaña

Release Date: May 26th, 2020
Approximate Running Time: 88 Minutes 48 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 1080 Progressive / MPEG-4 AVC
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD Mono Spanish
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $29.95

"Sister Maria (Pezet) is known in the convent for her good works and charity, but, in the secret depths of her sexual fantasies, she is tormented by visions of another world - a world where her forbidden passions are allowed to run free. In this world Satan is her master.

As her acts of violence and blasphemy mount, Maria realizes that she has been chosen by the Devil to destroy the convent and lead her sister nuns into hell!" - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 4/5 (Theatrical Print Scan), 4.25/5 (Pre-Print Scan)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "a brand new 4k transfer from film negative."

Here is additional information given about the transfer, “We were delivered two scans for the film on this disc. The first, taken from pre-print materials, turned out to have a slight optical blemish on some reels. We asked the licensor to correct this and they eventually supplied us with a scan taken from a positive print, according to them the only 35mm source that did not have this issue.

The flaw is minor and not present on every reel. However we felt it best to give the viewer a choice on which version they prefer. Each has its merits and demerits.”

Satanico Pandemonium comes on a 50 GB dual layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 43.1 GB

Feature: 20.4 GB (Theatrical Print Scan), 20.3 GB (Pre-Print Scan)

The main differences between these two transfers are that there are vertical line scratches on the pre-print transfer. Other areas where they differ are color timing and image clarity, and the pre-print scan transfer is the more organic of these two presentations. Despite their limitations, Mondo Macabro has done a great job with these two transfers.

Audio: 4/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD mono mix in Spanish with removable English subtitles. Though limited range-wise, dialog always comes through clearly, and everything sounds balanced.

Extras:

Extras for this release include a Mondo Macabro preview reel, a featurette on nunsploitation movies with Redemption Films Nigel Wingrove (11 minutes 13 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with screenwriter Adolfo Martínez Solares titled The Devil Went Down to Mexico (15 minutes 7 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), and an audio commentary with Samm Deighan and Kat Ellinger (Daughters of Darkness podcast).

Summary:

A chance encounter with the devil in the woods unlocks a nun's sexual desires, and her decadent behavior leads her on a downward spiral.

Faith and repressed sexual desires collide in Satanico Pandemonium. The narrative revolves around a nun named Sister Maria, who one day, while wandering outside of the confines of the convent in the serene country, encounters a naked man. Disturbed by the sight of a naked man, she flees back to the safety of the convent. Unfortunately for Sister Maria, she’s unable to distance herself from the desires that arose from that moment in the woods. And from there, she continues her descent into depravity.

Content-wise, though Satanico Pandemonium has all the elements that have become synonymous with nunsploitation, The result is a film that straddles that delicate line between exploitation and art-house cinema. That said, Satanico Pandemonium has an ample amount of nudity, lesbianism, guilt-related self-mutilation, and gruesome torture.

Performance-wise, the cast is all very good in their respective roles, especially Cecilia Pezet’s tormented portrayal of Sister Maria. Another performance of note is Enrique Rocha’s devilish portrayal of Luzbel (Lucifer).

From a production standpoint, there’s not an area where Satanico Pandemonium does not deliver. Sister Maria's descent into depravity is superbly realized and perfectly captured in the well-executed narrative, though the premise covers familiar ground. Other strengths include visuals filled with symbolism and an atmospheric score that reinforces Sister Maria’s state of mind. Ultimately, Satanico Pandemonium is a must-see film for fans of nunsploitation.

Satanico Pandemonium gets a solid release from Mondo Macabro that comes with a strong audio/video presentation and a trio of insightful extras, highly recommended.

                                                   Pre-Print Scan Screenshots.

                                               Theatrical Print Scan Screenshots.

Written by Michael Den Boer