Atomic_Brain Review of Blood Orgy of the She-Devils

Blood Orgy of the She-Devils (1973)

A truly brilliant slice of 70s occult life from the master, TV Mikels!

[10/10 · 26 May 2020]

Blood Orgy of the She-Devils is one of several stone-cold sexploitation masterworks from the undisputed master of drive-in schlock, Ted V. Mikels. Orgy captures the flavor of the 70s New Age/Occult phenomenon perfectly, a time when curious suburbanites would prance over to their neighbors for a slapdash seance, with cocktails afterwards. Lila Zaborin is incredible as the lead witch, her bold soliloquies really hinting at an actress who knew whereof she spoke. There are some terrific optical effects throughout, specifically for the illustration of spirit plasma and psychic auras. A couple of ritual dance sequences are terribly charming, and supporting characters are charismatic to a fault. The heart of the film are two mind-boggling flashback scenes showing how previous incarnations of main characters were punished amd decimated for their bold feminist views, as terrified patriarchy targeted any woman with a brain and a will as an enemy of phallocentric hegemony. Certainly one of the most lurid and entertaining knock-offs to come after the Rosemarys Baby/Exorcist boom, Orgy has a slick look which belies its humble origins. Mikels was always able to make exceedingly handsome films on his small canvases, and like Russ Meyer, the films of Ted Mikels often look much "bigger" than they actually are. Interesting to see the generally lousy reviews from the video rabble - methinks they can't handle a real exploitation movie which features front and center a powerful matriarch who dispatches weak men with a flip of her wrist. On the other hand, that's my kinda woman...