This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Fantastic!

Absolutely brilliant

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

This is a stupid movie with a set up somewhat like the dumb fun of "Orgy of the Living Dead," with a bus and it's unlikely passages headed into real bad luck. A pointless prologue doesn't set up much, and you get the feeling they couldn't quite decide what this movie was about and may have turned it into a (very) soft core porn about halfway through. On the plus side, the middle section is funny in a so-bad-it's-good sort of way, with the terrible dubbing helping, but it can't sustain this. The House Butler telling the horrific story of each room to the hapless guests is the comic high point. Also, the guy who plays the devil does have a creepy vibe going on, something like Death in "The Seventh Seal." But you are likely to be more than ready for it to be over by the time we get to the end.

The Devil's Nightmare opens in Berlin, 1945, with Nazi officer Baron von Rhoneberg (Jean Servais) brutally stabbing his newborn daughter as she lays helplessly in her crib. The reason for this jaw-dropping act of cruelty is that Gothic horror cliché, the family curse: the oldest daughter of each generation of the von Rhoneberg family is doomed to become a succubus, an agent of the devil tasked with collecting the souls of sinners. By killing his baby girl, the baron is ending the curse—or so he thinks… Years later, seven travellers seek shelter for the night at the baron's castle, and are killed one-by-one by his servant's sexy daughter Lisa Müller (Erika Blanc), the secret illegitimate offspring of his dead brother Rudolph.Any film that starts with gratuitous baby-stabbing gets my attention—it's not often you see that sort of cold-bloodedness, even in a horror—but the demented fun doesn't end there: this devilish Gothic tale from director Jean Brismée has virtually all the ingredients I look for in my early-'70s cult Euro-horror. A stormy night and the Baron's creepy castle provide the perfect setting, the impressive building coming complete with mad scientist's laboratory in the cellar and torture equipment in the attic. The baron's unexpected guests include a pair of gorgeous young women, Corinne (Ivana Novak) and Regine (Shirley Corrigan), who waste no time in stripping off for some steamy lesbian sex. And the deaths are both gruesome (decapitation via guillotine, impaled in an iron maiden and a high fall onto metal railings) and inventive (drowning in gold!!!).Brismée conducts proceedings with plenty of style, delivering enough sleaze and dreamlike atmosphere to keep most Jean Rollin and Jess Franco fans happy, but with the added bonus that it's never boring! All of this is enhanced by a wonderfully haunting score, and the film ends with a crazy twist that comes out of nowhere. What a shame that this was the director's one and only full length film.

A bus of tourists is directed by a creepy farmer to stay in the castle of Baron von Rhoneberg, an ex-Nazi officer who despite his past seems very welcoming. Things seem to be going well until they are joined by an eighth guest (Erika Blanc), who may very well be a succubus.I know a little something about how succubi operate. I dated one once, back when I was young and stupid. Now that I'm old and stupid, I can reflect back and see her succubus charm and how it is hollow... but I digress. Traditionally, a succubus is a demon that seduces men, often in their sleep, and engages in sexual relations with them. Sadly, the so-called succubus here never does anything of the sort. (But there is a lesbian sex scene for those who are into that sort of thing.) According to many sources, the bus passengers are supposed to represent the seven deadly sins, but it is really hard to make that connection. Lust is clear, gluttony is painfully obvious and greed seems clear. But who is the priest? Pride? It's not clear at all. Who is sloth? Who is envy? Wrath? I could make guesses, but it's not clear. Unlike "Seven", where the sins are laid out very clearly, here it's a guessing game and the fates are far less torturous (though no less deadly).Reviewer Theron Neel, who does excellent work, points out this film has been known by at least fourteen names and seems to have a decent following, yet very little can be found about it. I agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. I really enjoyed the story and the characters and the dark twist towards the end... this film could easily get a decent treatment with special features and whatnot. Yet, it seems to be considered largely disposable. That is unfortunate.If you can find this one, I encourage you to pick it up. The version I own is on the "Blood Bath" collection, which is the bare minimum of quality. There's also a version from Diamond that I presume is superior (but don't take my word for it). I'd love to see Dark Sky or Anchor Bay pick this one up and dig up old footage and such.

"The Devil's Nightmare" is Eurotrash about seven travelers trapped in a castle. But the castle's resident family is cursed: every firstborn daughter is a succubus! And there are Nazis! Mostly, this movie is an excuse for gorgeous Erika Blanc to run around in Frederick's of Hollywood style outfits as she plays the succubus. And as such, it succeeds.The travelers are supposed to represent the Seven Deadly Sins, but we only get gluttony, greed, lust and wrath. Maybe the blonde is supposed to represent vanity, but she gets scared to death by a python, so that goes nowhere."The Devil's Nightmare" is very awkward and talky and slooow, but I won't deny that it has a certain sleazy charm and watchability in spite of its shortcomings.Did I mention that Erika Blanc was hot?