Mausoleum

This is what it would have looked like if no one had performed an exorcism on the girl from The Exorcist and the devil had hidden inside her until she grew up to be a beauty with voluminous breasts, living in a big house with her rich husband… This American B-movie from the 1980s is both stupid and cheap, but for mysterious reasons you’ll watch it until the end. Perhaps for the feminine charms of the lead actress and the film’s erotic undertones. There are plenty of gore effects, a lot of smoke and glowing green eyes. (06.08.2005)

At its core, Mausoleum is an ambitious attempt at an atmospheric horror movie with supernatural elements and special effects that were obviously inspired by those found in The Exorcist, as well as in the top Italian horror movies of the 1970s. But it remains faithful to its 1980s roots and low-budget origins, sliding into a splendidly entertaining display of straightforward gore effects, rubber masks and always satisfying nude scenes. With its half-baked production and futile acting performances, it stays one step away from the desired boundary that separates solid horror movies from unwanted entertainment and detached, though enthusiastic, viewing of absurd twists. Mausoleum is a gratifying chain of explosively escalating sequences abounding with spectacularly straightforward amusements and copious effects, which in its time guaranteed that the target group of teenage viewers would want to rewind and rewatch certain scenes on their VHS players. (21.02.2021)