A Candle for the Devil 4K 1973 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

After the museum opened, a small Spanish town was flooded with tourists. However, sisters Marta and Veronica, owners of a small hotel, are not happy about this at all. The moral principles of the old maids are at odds with the behavior of the young, liberated tourists, who are admired by all the local men. Marta's unfulfilled sexual desires result in the brutal murders of the hotel's female guests. She imagines herself to be an angel of destruction called upon to punish sinners. Veronica, although she disapproves of her sister's actions, helps her hide the evidence. However, the sister of one of Martha's victims begins to suspect that something is wrong at the hotel and is determined to uncover the mystery of the tourists' disappearance.

Review 4K Movie

Aurora Bautista and Esperanza Roy play two sisters running an inn in Spain. Young, foreign girls come to visit but end up staying permanently. British actress Judy Geeson plays the sister of one of the girls who begins to put the pieces together of the horrors that have been going on at the inn. Director Eugenio Martin does quite an effective job with this film. It seems that the oldest sister Bautista was jilted on her wedding day by a young, pretty girl of a loose nature. Now, she is out to do God's work and rid the world of girls with loose morals and inappropriate attire. Both actresses playing the crazy sisters do stellar jobs playing off-key, psychotic women of very different natures. Bautista in particular gives a very commanding performance and is indeed very menacing. She also adds some pathos to her role. Martin builds suspense nicely and does several things very well. The use of religion as a tool of sexual repression was a thematic thread throughout. One scene has a girl die by accidentally falling in a pane of stained glass - a religious subject. When the body is removed a piece sticking in her has a bloody sword from the window stand in tact as to say this is the work of God. There are many other religious scenes and references used as well. The film is not particularly gory but there are some scenes that I found quite chilling. One with a baby as witness and then another of Geeson getting to know wine vats. The performers all do fine jobs, the direction is taut, and the script is convincing given the aforementioned two credits toward its credibility. The film does indeed have that European film from the 60's or 70's quality, but I truly am surprised that I had not heard much about this film beforehand. It is one of those minor gems you sometime are lucky enough to come across every now and then.