Teenage Exorcist (1991)

Earlier this year, I saw Fred Olen Ray's horror-comedy "Evil Toons", in which some young women spend the night in a house and accidentally release an evil cartoon character. I never would have guessed - though I should have figured - that Ray had just a year earlier co-written the completely ridiculous but absolutely lovable "Teenage Exorcist". This one has a similar plot: young Diane (Brinke Stevens) moves into a mansion previously inhabited by a certain Baron de Sade. Sure, Diane starts hearing strange noises, and the evil spirits possess her before too long. But right before the possession, she calls her sister Sally (Elena Sahagun) and tells her to come over. So, Sally and her business-obsessed husband Mike (Jay Richardson) arrive and find Diane acting quite unusual.From there...well, let me just put it this way. There's a shower scene, and I can't begin to tell you how hot Elena Sahagun is! When Diane's hubby Jeff (Tom Snell) arrives, there's a major confusion about the circumstances! A priest (Robert Quarry) comes to the mansion, only to have to deal with zombies! But it's only when a pizza delivery guy (Eddie Deezen, of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "1941" fame) enters the movie that the really great scenes come about. Of course, Eddie Deezen can make pretty much anything cool, and he sure does here. Also starring Michael Berryman (of "The Hills are Alive" fame).All in all, this movie has pretty much everything that one would expect in such a flick. Nice, silly brain candy it is, especially due to the comments from the guy at the pizza parlor. I'd like to be able to get recordings of all Eddie Deezen's lines, and perpetually watch the shots of Elena Sahagun naked and...well, I won't spoil that scene. But this is certainly a very entertaining movie. A true forerunner to "Evil Toons" (especially with what the "Evil Toons" DVD shows right before the movie starts!).

Whether you're a Brinke Stevens fan or a fan of cheesy horror movies, this is the one for you. An actually entertaining movie that'll keep you laughing all the way through it. Unlike the parody movies of today that are just one stupid joke after another, Teenage Exorcist at least takes it's humor somewhat seriously, while not being afraid to poke fun at itself or the genre. Horror fans will be pleased to see the inclusion of Michael Berryman, who gives a rather comedic performance. And, of course, we can never forget the beautiful Brinke Stevens. Who, as it turns out, wrote the screenplay for this movie. Highbrow humor it's not, but it's a thousand times better than the fart joke mentality of todays comedies. One of my top ten favorites.

Teenage Exorcist is one of those God-awful films to video that makes the viewer give up any expectations of decent entertainment for low brow sexual antics, adolescent humour, and empty writing. This film delivers exactly what its was trying to deliver. It is about a girl moving into a house where a Baron de Sade(hmmm) once lived and finally being drawn to him through her own inner demon. Her sister and brother-in-law, along with an Irish priest, her boyfriend, and a pizza delivery boy, try to save her and exorcise her demon. Well, not much here in way of horror or suspense. In fact, one line from the film pretty much sums up what to expect. Mike(the girl's brother-in-law) has tied her(the name is Diane by the way and she is played by Brinke Stevens) up after trying to chainsaw her sister. He removes a gag from her mouth and says something like, "This won't be the last gag we see tonight." Indeed, it was not. The special effects are cheesy and poorly crafted, and the film makes use of this by playing on its comedic appeal. Some of the lines and situations are funny. Robert Quarry, old Count Yorga himself, really steals his scenes as an Irish priest. He hams it up wailing Biblical verses and crooning Irish songs. You know you are in trouble, however, when Eddie Deezen gets top billing. Deezen does his schtick and has a couple nice moments as well, but the material is just too threadbare than to be anything more than teenage sophomoric time filler. Michael Berryman, from The Hills Have Eyes, also has a brief but interesting cameo in the film. As for the other thespians, well, they are all pretty good at being pretty mediocre. Stevens is lovely in fishnet stockings and French-cut panties, but beyond that don't expect too much more from her. Her sister is played by Elena Sahagun, and she shows a bit more than Brinke(a very lovely young lady by the way) and out acts Brinke by miles. Her husband, played by Jay Richardson shows off his ability to act and be funny amidst mediocrity. Again, not a bad film to waste a little time that involves NO thinking on. If you are a Robert Quarry fan, watch it for his performance at the very least.

You can smell the cheese directly from the plot. A good girl goes bad, a bunch of evil is running around and they need a pizza boy to save them. It is well worth watching, very funny and I even own the silly thing. If you like Army of Darkness or Idle Hands then you'll enjoy Teenage Exorcist.