The Movie:

While Andrea Bianchi's Cry Of A Prostitute and Strip Nude For Your Killer stand as popular Italian genre films, the director remains best known for the insanity that is Burial Ground starring the one and only Peter 'Mother, this cloth smells of death!' Bark and Mariangela Giordano who, not so coincidently, also stars in Malabimba The Malicious Whore. While the first three films mentioned all stand out as remarkably depraved, the can't hold a candle to Malabimba and its mix of hardcore sex scenes and off the wall murder set pieces.

A young woman named Bimba (Katell Laennec) is saddened when her mother passes away during a séance but soon begins to act rather strangely. At first, Bimba's behavior is just odd - she lifts up her skirt at rather inappropriate times and seems to be suffering from, shall we say, an inflamed libido. Soon, however, she's completely out of control and giving her bed-ridden old uncle oral pleasure while he lies in bed, unable to stop her from doing the dirty deed.

Bimba's father, Andrea (Enzo Fisichella), seems more intent on getting laid than dealing with his dwindling finances now that his wife is out of the picture but when Bimba kisses him on the mouth and gets fresh with him, he starts to wonder if something isn't a little off. Daddy's little girl ain't a girl no more. Complicating matters even further is the fact that Andrea also has to deal with his overbearing mother, and his sister-in-law, Nais (Patrizia Webley) who is intent on getting into bed with him now that her paralyzed husband (Giuseppe Marrocu) is no longer able to perform. After having some doctors explain that Bimba is just dealing with some morbid sexual issues, he decides to bring in a foxy nun named Sister Sofia (Mariangela Giordano) to help him out. They soon find that his daughter is possessed by a spirit bent on ruining her.

Filled to the brim with all manner of perversions, the film leaves no kink unturned. Once poor little Bimba is possessed she'll stop at nothing to get herself off, whether that require an encounter with the nun or a graphic romp in the bed with her stuffed animals, the girl is intent on doing it as often as possible and with whoever or whatever is handy. As such, these scenes make up a fairly large portion of the film's running time and, seeing as there are hardcore inserts included here, essentially throw what appears to be a horror film into straight up porno movie territory. That said, it's a very well shot film with some truly inspired and insane performances from its cast and a couple of eerie moments that remind us we're watching more than just a simple spank film.

Bianchi's picture borrows quite liberally from Friedkin's The Exorcist what with Bimba's indecent exposure at a party held in the family home and with the way she's able to move furniture around the room without actually touching it. The influence is obviously there though the locations and sexual overtones definitely set this one apart. The whole melodramatic affair plays out in a wonderfully creepy looking old stone castle out in the middle of nowhere, giving Malabimba a fantastic gothic look that works quite well in the picture's favor. Despite the uber-trashy content the film looks fantastic and it's obvious that the crew put some serious effort into the visuals and that the cast put their all into the performances with Laennec really standing out in the lead. As it stands, the film is an interesting mix of sex and gothic horror that makes no qualms about exploiting its ridiculous premise.

Video:

Severin's 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of Malabimba looks great. There's a little bit of grain noticeable in a few of the darker scenes but aside from that the picture is quite clean and clear and there are no major print damage problems to report. Mpeg compression artifacts are never an issue and only a hint of aliasing is present. Color reproduction is strong and flesh tones look lifelike and natural. Detail levels are quite solid and really, the movie looks surprisingly crisp on this DVD.