Il Demonio (region-free Blu-ray)

For his second film as writer/director, famed Fellini collaborator and Oscar® nominated screenwriter Brunello Rondi (LA DOLCE VITA, 8½) created this “profoundly unnerving” (Film at Lincoln Center) “overlooked classic” (Gruesome Magazine) that would influence WITCHFINDER GENERAL, DON’T TORTURE A DUCKLING and THE EXORCIST: In rural Southern Italy, an emotionally disturbed young woman – “a damn near perfect performance” (Rock! Shock! Pop!) by Daliah Lavi of THE WHIP AND THE BODY – turns to witchcraft to curse her former lover. But is her increasingly alarming behavior due to obsession or possession? Frank Wolff (ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST) co-stars in this still-potent 1963 shocker co-written/co-produced by Luciano Martino (THE STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH), scanned in 4K from the original negative in Rome with newly discovered footage – including the complete ‘spider walk’ scene – missing from all previous releases.