THE DISCO EXORCIST (2011)

Directed by Richard Griffin.

Written by Tony Nunes, Guy Benoit.

Check out the trailer here!!

Wow, it just doesn’t get any retro than this. THE DISCO EXORCIST feels as if every ounce of it was born, bred, and boogied from the 70’s. Much more so than Tarantino/Rodriguez’s forced retro effects of GRINDHOUSE, the folks behind THE DISCO EXORCIST channel the very essence of the era of low-budget filmmaking. Though low on scares, I found THE DISCO EXORCIST to enjoyable from start to finish. Even the credits sequence which consist of fade in’s, intro credits, and funky music and animation, feel as if it were unearthed and dusted off after being in a vault for 35 years.

Michael Reed plays Rex Romanski, a happening guy who loves dancing at the club, doing copious amount of drugs, and having plenty of the sex. In fact, this film is filled with sex and usually Rex is having it with just about every woman in this film. Those of the prudish nature will most definitely want to give this a pass, but if you like lots of soft core style sex one often found in the exploitation films in the seventies with bare asses grinding in every position, this is the film for you.

The story itself is a lot of fun, but it is not the point here. Rex does the wrong girl wrong and his whoring ways get the better of him when he sleeps with Rita then moves on to the next dance queen the next day. Rita (Ruth Sullivan) plays the scorned psycho particularly well. It also turns out that she has an interest in the occult and curses Rex and his new porno actress girlfriend Amoreena (Sarah Nicklin) with a voodoo devil curse. Though in actuality, this film is more about voodoo than actual devil possession, it is somewhat indicative of the lack of differentiation between voodoo and exorcism of films during the era THE DISCO EXORCIST is homaging.

If I were to compare this film to anything, it would be to early Troma, but where Troma films always seem to veer off into an incohesive party/fever dream, THE DISCO EXORCIST maintains its focus right up until the end. But the real achievement here is how the filmmakers authentically recreated a distinctive era of filmmaking.

With scenes lost, scratched film, hokey cuts, and an over attention to all of the things that made up the era of the 70’s (disco, drugs, and sex), anyone who remembers that era, loves that era of films, or just has a great sense of humor will most definitely want to groove to THE DISCO EXORCIST.