Severin Films likes to hunt down rare films, this is a fact. Malabimba, in it's XXX form, is news to me. I can't explain how happy I was to find out this Euro Devil sex fest came in an extra sleazy X rated cut!
FILM- This Italian Exorcist ripoff (you wouldn't believe how many there are!) begins with Malabimba, or Bimba for short, being possessed by the spirit of her whore mother. She lives with her family in their historic castle, housing 15 previous generations. The grandmother is trying to persuade Bimba's father to marry the wife of his invalid, dying brother (!), Nais, to save the castle from foreclosure. Bimba begins to change as the possession grows, and begins rebelling against her family. While Nais is seducing every male (except her own husband) in the castle, Bimba begins to spy on them. Sister Sofia, a caretaker for Nais's husband, begins to worry about her. Soon, Bimba begins seducing her family members, and eventually kills her uncle. Can Sister Sofia save her from the possession of her sex driven mother? Or is this just one hell of a puberty like her family thinks?
Malabimba is one crazy movie. It's full of sexploitation, nunsploitation, and enough incest to make the Connecticut Melonheads proud. It has virtually no gore or actual horror moments, so don't expect something like Beyond the Door or even Satan's Baby Doll (the "brother film" to this one, but I'll get to that later). The hardcore inserts look as good as inserts can, but you can still tell they're not entirety meant to be there. The one problem with XXX inserts are they're very quick, almost one second, then it goes back to the "real" movie. That's something that has always annoyed me about this type of movie, but it actually works well here. In all honesty, I think the lack of hardcore content would make this movie boring; because of it's zero gore and minimal violence. Directed by Andrea Bianchi (Euro-sleaze expert), and staring Mariangela Giordano as Sister Sofie (a Bianchi regular); his brother directed the aforementioned Satan's Baby Doll, again staring Giordano as a nun. When it comes down to it, this is an entertaining, sometimes unintentionally funny, slice of triple X goodness. It kinds lagged at the end, but does a porno need a good finish? Wait, don't answer that... 7/10.
PICTURE/ AUDIO- Ah, here we are again. If you haven't noticed by now, most Severin transfers are grade A. Malabimba is no exception. Skin tones (a must for this film) look great, and no major damage or grain. One thing I was afraid of was that the inserts would be bad quality, since they're not part of the "original" film. The transition is seamless, just like this transfer. 8/10.
Malabimba sports an Italian audio track coupled with English subs. The subs are flawless, and the audio sounds great. Sometimes it sounds kinda low in volume, but nothing that requires you to turn to the VOLUME + button on your remote. 7/10.
EXTRAS- When given the ability, Severin packs on the extras. This is no exception. For starters, we get some deleted scenes, along with an Integral Version version which splices them back into the film. They're rough looking, and I'd bet they were sourced from an old VHS. Regardless, you have options with this one, and the deleted scenes added to the film always make it better in my opinion. Also included: Malabimba Uncovered, an interview with Giordano and the cinematographer (where they explain the XXX inserts), and the Italian trailer. 8/10
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Also, check out the the other 's Bianchi take on this story, Satan's Baby Doll!
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