User reviews

You've got to feel a little sorry for Marnie Bannister, a lab worker in Madrid, at the beginning of "Satanik." So hideously scarred--no, we never find out how she got that way--that she makes the Vina character in "Star Trek"'s "The Menagerie" episode look good, life certainly does not hold much promise for her. Until, that is, the day when she swallows an experimental cell rejuvenation serum, and morphs into a hotty that few men seem able to resist. Too bad that her homicidal tendencies don't change with her improved looks, however... "Satanik," I must say, is an interesting experience. A joint Italian/Spanish production, shot in Madrid and Geneva, it boasts some nice European settings and an engaging story. Lead actress Magda Konopka is as sexy as can be, particularly during two striptease scenes; it's difficult to believe that the scarred Marnie is played by the same woman (I'm assuming that she is). Perhaps the single best aspect of "Satanik," though, is its chic, jazzy score; what a terrific soundtrack CD this would make! Unfortunately, the Retromedia DVD presentation here is something of a mess. The full-screen image is quite grainy, and a good deal of the picture seems to be missing at times. The film has been horribly dubbed, as well; subtitles would have been infinitely preferable. The excellent reference book "DVD Delirium 2" claims that this "Satanik" DVD is an improvement over the VHS incarnation, but it still looked pretty crummy to me. And yet, as I said, the movie is pretty interesting, and briskly paced as it is, flies by pretty quickly. It's no Mario Bava picture, but still, I don't regret having rented this one out....

Starting from a fairly common inspiration, we see Dr. Marnie Bannister (Magda Konopka) kill a scientist to recover the formula for a potion that brings new youth. She then becomes the young and beautiful Satanik. Then Dr. Bannister transforms into Satanik after drinking the potion: not only does she change her appearance, but the potion also changes her clothes and covers her with makeup and false eyelashes. Police Inspector Trent (Julio Peña) and Commissioner González (Armando Calvo) and on their heels. Based on the fumetti of Magnus and Max Bunker, highlighting Satanik's vengeful personality, his thirst for revenge against those who have wished him harm. A true heroine of evil, although her name is never spoken!

After the success of Fantomas and later Danger Diabolik, an adaptation of fumetti (Italian comic) and others, the producers felt that they had to continue with the vein. Until 1970, Italian screens were flooded with masked heroes, from the two Kriminales, the most extravagant ones like Superargo vs Diabolikus and Baba Yaga, to the parody Arriva Dorellik, an unequivocal sign of the end of a cycle. These films were entertaining and fun with twisted plots that combined a Mexican-type masked wrestler with the James Bond-style European spy subgenre. The heroines were missing, which is why Satanik appeared on the screen. It is a somewhat monotonous adaptation based on comics, known in Italy as Fumetti, based on a script in which elements from the previous films intervene here and there. Kriminal's cinematic counterpart, Satanik, addresses a theme of physical transformation that we have already seen in theaters through B movies like Wasp Woman and Leech Woman. Mixing here the classic myths of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or even the Picture of Dorian Gray, but counting on the pragmatism of the authors of transalpine comics, who allow themselves the transgressive power that modern times offer, we have the right to excesses without precedents. . But unfortunately this adaptation is of mediocre quality, because Satanik suffers from comparison with Danger Diabolik and, unfortunately, is of less interest. It must be taken into account that in France fumetti is also known as "Demoniak", Satanik being the French version of the Italian "Killing".

It is the qualitative and creative opposite of Fantomas, the film inevitably belongs to the criminal genius genre. There is a certain imbalance during the 81 minutes, as if the authors had wanted to suddenly precipitate the action and quasi-eroticism of the end of the film. Between the decisions of an apathetic police force and the lack of real stakes, director Vivarelli fails to give depth to the film. Apart from deliberate or unintentional atrocities, such as The sensuality, mystery, danger and symbiosis that emanated from the adventures of the Diabolik/Eva Kant couple, for example, are almost absent here. Even the absence of morality, which is also a big part of fumetti's charm, is cemented as a lesson in virtue for the audience. Satanik's seductive outfits and vague zooms of him don't make much of an impression and the film ends up being a parable about waste. Instead of transcending the pop material, the film embraces a linearity and little imagination in the images that will disappoint more than one. Aside from a fun striptease scene and the rarity of the product for lovers of vintage Italian cinema from the '60s, Satanik may not excite many people.

There is atmospheric retro-pop-lounge music by Manuel Parada , which will delight fans, some unconventional images and along with the inevitable flamenco scene (mandatory Spanish co-production), adding endless jazz pieces. Produced by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero, who wrote/financed several Spanish-Italian co-productions. Manzanos built a small western town in Hoyo De Manzanares (Madrid) where shot uncountable Spaghettis with sets by Jaime Pérez Cubero and José Luis Galicia, who were also in charge of Satanik's sets. To play Satanik, Vivarelli turns to the beautiful Magda Konopka, who, coincidentally or not, bears a certain resemblance to Marisa Mell, who plays Eva Kant in Danger Diabolik. Like the countless shooting stars of popular cinema, he had his moment of glory in the particularly rich decade of 1965/1975. Satanik is probably his most striking work, although we already saw it in the credits of ¨When the Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth¨, ¨Lucky Luciano¨ and the classic Spaghetti ¨The Blind Man¨, before slowly sliding through its twilight, sailing between light thrillers as ¨Diabolicamente...Letizia¨ and subgenres like Nunsploitation, softcore and cheap Giallos. Here, she carries out the task with class and firmness, giving Bannister/Satanik different personalities, and co-stars Spaniards like Julio Peña as a bloodhound police inspector, Antonio Pica and former 1940s heartthrob Armando Calvo.

The film was average but professionally directed by Piero Vivarelli. At times using pseudonym Donald Murray, only had limited resources at his disposal, and we're left with a fairly flat and unengaging adventure that often seems to be little more than a standard crime movie with a comic book character attached. He also tried his luck with Mister X , but that project still suffered from some of the same shortcomings and failures. A screenwriter since the early 1950s, Vivarelli stepped behind the camera in 1960 for a very opportunistic San Remo La grande Sifida, about the San Remo Song Festival. Passing the stage of collaborating on the script for Django, he also posted Emanuelle in America, Emanuelle Nera: Orient Reportage, and directed some secondary films such as El Dio serpente, El Decameron negro, La Rumbera, Provocazione. And Piero makes a small appearance here under the guise of Inspector Leduc. For the curiosities of the credits, it is Benito Mussolini's son who produced the film and the assistant director is none other than Pupi Avati. The film was a public and critical failure, and it's easy to see why in retrospect.

They call this film "euro trash horror".

Well, it's not horror. The film takes place in Europe, so yes, it's "euro". Trash? Ah yes, it's trash all right.

You know you're in for a great movie when, right at the beginning, the DVD gives you text on the screen apologizing for the quality of the print you're about to watch. Expect crackles, odd jarring cuts, and for the movie not to fit the screen. Plus there's the sound -- at first I thought I was watching a dubbed film. Then, watching the lips carefully, I realized that, no, it's that the sound quality is embarrassingly bad and out of synch.

The plot itself is fairly goofy -- an old, disfigured woman named Dr Bannister kills a scientist for his youth formula. I'm not giving much away because when you see the "old woman" it's pretty obvious she's under a layer of thick, badly applied make-up. Anyone with a lick of sense, seeing the fake old age, knows what's coming next.

Yes, the "old crone" is miraculously transformed into a beautiful young woman -- complete with face make-up and a long wig of hair! Zounds!

When I say the old woman is disfigured, I mean she has cornflakes glued to her face. The film makes no attempt to explain how the cornflakes got there. For that matter, there is no attempt to explain anything at all relating to any of the characters. They're never developed beyond the level of finger puppets.

The two policemen pursuing our anti-heroine just wander about, apparently baffled by the simplest clues. The murdered scientist was working on a youth serum, the old woman has disappeared, and we keep running into a young woman -- how do these pieces fit together?! What does it all mean?! One of the cops sweats a lot and pats his face with a cloth. The other smokes a pipe. That's pretty much all we get, character-wise.

Dr Bannister (the crone, now a beauty) goes around wearing odd costumes and then taking them off so we can see her flesh. She has affairs with men. She gets in a catfight with a young woman in a nightgown. She goes to Geneva so we can see the lake there. She water- skis a bit, then takes off her wet suit to reveal a strange bead-curtain bikini. She takes off her clothes again in a strange ninja costume striptease.

The ending? Well, without giving anything away, it's just a bizarre, tacked on conclusion that makes about as little sense as the rest of the picture. It's the sort of thing a writer comes up with when the director wakes him up at 4 AM and says, "Quick! We need an ending for our movie! What happens next?"

The writer mumbles something half awake, and the director runs with it.

What's good about this movie? Some of the music is campy and fun. That classic 60s organ music that's so corny it's enough to make you laugh out loud. There are some odd seduction scenes, bizarre dialogue, goofy moments.

It's very close to being so bad it's good. I did manage to watch it from start to finish without gouging out my eyes or sobbing. I guess that's praise, of sorts.'

This Spanish-Italian co-production tells an interesting and weird story about Dr. Bannister, a woman that not only has the best years behind her, but also has a scarred face that makes her look like a freak. But in Madrid, a professor she knows has conducted some experiments on animals with a substance which regenerates cells. The experiments were successful, but the animals became aggressive. Because the professor won't allow Dr. Bannister to be the first human guinea pig, she kills him and consumes the substance. She becomes a beautiful young woman, but also a vicious killer when it comes to keep her secret a secret.

The plot of the film is great fun, but Piero Vivarelli had not enough skills and money to make a cool movie out of it. Also, the film becomes boring after a good start and doesn't manage to regain a fast pace even though the film's running time doesn't exceed 83 minutes. And as the setting changes to Swiss city Geneva for the last third of the film, it sometimes even looks like a vacation movie as we see how beautiful Geneva is (which it is indeed - but it doesn't help to push the plot forward...). So, with a more talented director, better actors and a bigger budget, "Satanik" could have become an obscure Italian classic. But, as it is, it's just a lacklustre and boring crime film that isn't really worth looking for. Rating: 3 out of 10.

Deformed, aged female scientist kills fellow scientist in order to steal formulae for rejuvenating cells and reversing the aging process. She takes it and turns into the beautiful, evil Satanik (Magda Konopka) who goes around, seducing and murdering wealthy businessmen.

She dresses very stylishly in late-60s mod clothes and manipulates those around her, looking a lot like the late Marisa Mell from the DIABOLIK film. Coincidence??

However, in spite of all this, it's amateurish and sloppy without the James Bond pop-art gadgetry that DIABOLIK had had. Even the Madrid and Lake Geneva filming locations don't make up for this.

The soundtrack is by Manuel Parada & Roberto Pregadio and it isn't bad at all, consisting of lush orchestration with a little fuzz guitar used as an embellishment. Perfect for one of those European Loungecore CDs that came out in the 90s.

The Retromedia DVD also uses a substandard grainy color print that's in poor shape, with an explanation at the beginning saying that this was due to the age of the film. Bull ! They either didn't bother looking for a better source or they couldn't find one at all. There are only a few stills of Magda and that's it.

Sloppy & poor all around, this one gets a 3 out of 10.

There are a lot of misconceptions about this film due to various marketing facts. In a nutshell, Satanik (the title card in the film gives it as "Satanic") is the story of Dr. Marnie Bannister (Magda Konopka), who takes drastic measures to try to get rid of her disfiguring scars. She's pursued as a criminal, and the film is basically an extended cat and mouse game. The cats never get too close until the end, and the film also indulges in various modes that were somewhat stereotypical at the time, including nightclub scenes (some with go-go dancing), playboy/playgirl "romance" subplots (complete with a small amount of gratuitous nudity), and a slight travelogue feel. But at its heart, this is simply a crime/thriller with elements of the police procedural, mystery and sci-fi genres present and a heavy late 1960s/early 1970s vibe. Even though there is a very broad expanse of gray on the border between thrillers and horror films, calling Satanik horror is a stretch that results in breakage.

It's not exactly easy to find the relevant background information, but the story seems to be taken from a couple different, perhaps interconnected, sources. In 1964, Italian comic book author Max Bunker (a pseudonym for Luciano Secchi) began a series that initially was called "Killing", although "Satanik" appears as a subtitle on some, if not all of the books, which eventually ran to at least 300 issues. The series, one of many Italian comics ostensibly influenced by or based on the 1911 French comic, Fantômas, featured a male protagonist who would dress up like a skeleton. Later, there was also a French photography-oriented fictional magazine based on Satanik. In that version, Satanik's lover, Dana, appears to have been more heavily emphasized--probably because it allowed sexy photographs of women.

Italian director Piero Vivarelli, who later wrote a couple of the Emanuelle films, and producer/scriptwriter Eduardo Manzanos Brochero, took extreme liberties with their source material. There is no male protagonist, and no person dressing up like a skeleton to be found in the film. The consensus is that Satanik was made in the wake of Mario Bava's superb early 1968 film Diabolik (aka "Danger: Diabolik") as an attempt to cash in on its success and recapture its swanky vibe. The transformed Konopka bears some resemblance to Diabolik's Eva Kant (Marisa Mell), although unfortunately Satanik can't come near Diabolik in terms of visual excellence or plot momentum and suspense. Vivarelli and Brochero forgo Diabolik's trumping of James Bond for a grittier Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde theme (which again, might make some viewers think along the lines of horror, but that's the wrong genre to file Satanik under).

There are a couple big flaws in Satanik. The first is that we never get to know any of these characters very well, including Dr. Bannister. What kind of doctor is she? What happened to her to disfigure her? There is also a significant lack of character building for the other principal roles--Inspector Trent (Julio Peña) and George Van Donan (Umberto Raho). Van Donan introduces us to a gangster subplot, but this is very inadequately developed. To make things worse, the pacing on a number of scenes is achingly slow--including scenes that we very well know how they'll end, like Dr. Bannister's early encounter with a fellow doctor doing regeneration research.

But there are pluses, too. The overall atmosphere is good if you're into genre films of the era and locale. Konopka can come across as very beautiful. The music is enjoyable, fits the atmosphere well, and even the fact that Brochero didn't spring for a full 90 minutes of score ends up helping, because the final effect suggests various musical leitmotifs that we periodically revisit. Most importantly, the story is often suspenseful, despite the lack of fully fleshed-out exposition, and it is almost always interesting, even when it's a bit slow.

Retromedia's DVD release of Satanik is unfortunately not in the correct aspect ratio, and like many of their releases, the print quality is a bit rough. There are a couple bad splices, and the color is not very vivid. Still, having a film like Satanik available on a less-than-perfect DVD is better than not having it at all. I'm sure it's not easy to track down pristine prints of these kinds of films, if indeed pristine prints exist. Retromedia is laudable for its efforts to re-release these lesser-known titles on modern media.

The level of success of SATANIK as a film is entirely dependant upon the audience viewing it. An audience expecting something along the lines of OPERAZIONE PAURA or CASTLE OF BLOOD will be disappointed. This isn't a horror film. Even an audience expecting a giallo in the Argento / Fulci tradition is bound to be dissatisfied by the lack of creative violence and relatively mild gore. In 1968 the target audience for this film were the readers of the hugely successful fumetti neri that had already led to popular cinematic spin-offs of DIABOLIK and KRIMINAL. When viewed in this light, SATANIK becomes a much more successful, though no better, film.

In most respects the film is fairly faithful to its literary origins. Marny Bannister, a brilliant but horribly disfigured scientist, ingests a chemical formula that transforms her into a beautiful, but soulless, homicidal femme fatal. Though the base premise relies upon science fiction rudiments, the stories in the original comics tended more towards the Rialto Edgar Wallace krimis than any genre effort by Antonio Margheriti. Horror elements did crop up in the comic, notably the Dorian Gray like character Alex Bey and Satanik's long running battle with the vampire, Count Wurdalak, but such fantastical story lines were interspaced with more conventional crime thrillers. It is from the latter that SATANIK the film takes its inspiration.

It is easy to dismiss the movie as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde done up as a travelogue, but it is unlikely that film audiences familiar with the comic original would have been disappointed. In terms of plot all the fundamentals have been transferred from the comic into the screenplay, with some scenes lifted almost verbatim. The casting of the central role is excellent. The beautiful Magda Konopka displays both the proper malicious delight in her newfound beauty and callous disregard for her pawns and victims and even very much resembles her comic book counterpart. Where the film falls short is in structure, directorial ambition, and resolution.

Other than the avaricious desires of our central character, there really is no central narrative to the film. To its detriment, it is more a series of episodes, strung loosely together. While the same criticism could be easily leveled against the film version of DIABOLIK, that film enjoyed superior pacing and visual interest thanks to the brilliance of director Mario Bava. Indeed Bava could have done much for SATANIK as the direction of Piero Vivarelli is only workmanlike throughout, lacking in ambition and dynamism. The most blatant weakness of the film is its final few minutes. The ending of the film seems hurried, hackneyed and uninspired, owing more to a bland requirement to see justice done at the end then to provide a satisfying conclusion. Something akin to the last moments of SILENCE OF THE LAMBS or the original HALLOWEEN would have been far more effective.

This film is available on DVD in North America in an unspectacular, cropped 4:3 English dubbed release. A superior widescreen DVD release is currently available in Europe, with the original Italian audio track. The Italian DVD has no English audio or subtitles.

Historical Note: SATANIK is closely adapted from the Italian comic series created in 1964 by writer Max Bunker and artist Magnus (pseudonym of Roberto Raviola). In the same year the pair also created the character "Kriminal" whose modus operandi and skull and bones costume were usurped by the character "Killing" two years later. When the fumetti Killing stories were reprinted in France the character was renamed "Satanik" and eventually "Sadistik" in America. This character was brought to film as "Kilink" in a series of productions from Turkey. The original Satanik series was renamed "Demoniak" when reprinted in France, so as not to be confused with the already existing "Satanik" title. And of course an entirely different character called "Demoniak" already exited in Italy.

A brilliant scientist by the name of "Professor Greaves" (Nerio Bernardi) has just invented a serum that rejuvenates cells and reverses the aging process. His assistant, "Dr. Marny Bannister" (Magda Konopka) desperately wants the formula due to the fact that she is scarred and ugly. However, Professor Greaves is cautious and wants to do more research before even attempting to try it out on a human being. Dr. Bannister then kills Professor Greaves and ingests the serum which turns her into the young and beautiful woman she always wanted to be. But there are two important factors which Dr. Bannister failed to take into account. First, the formula unleashes savage and primordial desires into whoever takes it. The second factor is that the serum wears off after a period of time and the person reverts back to their previous form. What follows is a murderous rampage by Dr. Bannister who is not averse to using her beauty to further her evil desires. Although it was originally filmed in Italian, the English dubbing was very noticeable. Also quite noticeable was the fact that a scene or two was cut rather abruptly. This gave the film a kind of choppy feel. Still, Magda Konopka looked great and the film had a nice late-60's atmosphere to it. All things considered I give it an average rating.

Many of the other reviewers cite the suspect quality of this release on Retromedia. I just purchased this title from Sinister Cinema and the print quality is very good. The color is not as vivid as one would prefer but is not washed out in the least. Considering the movie is almost 40 years old the color of the print is really quite fine. The print has no jump cuts or jarring splices, the audio and video are in perfect sync and the print runs a full 84 minutes.My rating is specifically for overall print quality. As with most other reviewers, I found the movie a bit tedious but I'm glad that I watched it and own a copy. Kudos to Sinister Cinema as they are a consistent class act in regards to making hard to find titles available in the best possible presentation. Their Krimi releases are especially outstanding!

Greetings And Salutations, and welcome to my review of Satanik; here's the breakdown of my ratings:

Story: 0.50 Direction: 0.75 Pace: 0.75 Acting: 0.75 Enjoyment: 0.75

TOTAL: 4.00 out of 10.00

The primary element that ruins Satanik is the story - or the lack of one. There's little a director could do when the narrative was defunct. Nowadays, he trusts the CGI Director and their artists to fill in with overly-long eye candy fight sequences, like Justice League. However, in the sixties, all they could turn to was stock footage for stuffing, and that usually had to follow the storyline.

The concept is a passable one. An elderly scientist who has been visibly scared by life is offered a second chance at youth and beauty. One of her colleagues has been working on a fountain of youth serum. However, he's not ready for human trials though it works on the captive animals. There is one flaw. The mutated animals are not merely changed visually; they're mentally altered - they become aggressively violent. Dr Marnie Bannister cannot wait for her fellow researcher to change his mind, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. She kills him and goes all Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde. The grim turn of events should have given the writer carte blanche to deliver a dark and moody thriller. Sadly, the writer was lacking in imagination and skill. From the moment Dr Bannister awakens as the glamourpuss Satinik the story takes a steep nosedive into insipidity. Five minutes later, my attention shifted from the youthful reincarnation to other things. I'm unsure if Satanik is a dark force that does good or evil. That is how poor the story is. Even when the writer introduces the drug dealers and Satanik's infiltration of the gang, it's ambiguous as to what her goals are. Is she trying to stop them or trying to take over the business?

The direction is only slightly better. Regrettably, Piero Vivarelli isn't a maestro behind the camera. His cinematography borders on the mundane. Luckily for the audience, he does throw in a few semi-decent compositions. But as one reviewer states, when the action shifts to Geneva, we get a lot of "Holiday" footage showing how beautiful the city is, but nothing of import to the story.

The cast is abysmal, though that could come down to the direction. Magda Konopka is better and more credible as Dr Bannister than she is as Satanik. Satanik is a beautiful but blank individual with next to no personality, whereas Bannister is anxious and worried because she killed Professor Greaves.

I'd advise everyone to stay away from this poor excuse of a story. There are many better and more entertaining thrillers out there. But should you have watched them all, I suggest picking up a book and having a gander at the printed page instead of watching Satanik.

When the kick from the Serum Of Youth wears off, please visit my Killer Thriller Chillers and The Final Frontier lists to see where I ranked Satanik.

Take Care & Stay Well.

Old bat transforms to younger OK looking girl after drinking a potion. This movie was dreadful. The acting atrocious. The camera work made me head spin. And it features the longest, most excruciatingly boring strip-tease ever put to film. Piero Vivarelli should be ashamed for directing this. Eduardo Manzanos Brochero should'voe been blacklisted just for writing something so awful.Don't rent this movie, the only exception I can this of is maybe If you're dying and only have less then 90 minutes to live, watch this film cause it will feel like an eternity and you'll be begging the Grip Reaper come a little early.

My Grade: F