Magdalena is an orphaned teenager who lives at a girls boarding school. After her grandfather is crucified by a prostitute (!) she becomes possessed by the Devil in this hilariously bad German rip-off of The Exorcist. The plot itself is at times incoherent but don’t let that spoil things for you; if you’re a fan of trashy exploitation movies just sit back and enjoy the ride.

Once Magdalena becomes possessed her symptoms include fainting, being rude to priests and running around in the nude a lot. The headmistress of the girls school initially dismisses this strange behaviour, acting as if the girl has nothing more than a bad cold despite being witness to levitating furniture, demonic noises, a satanic cat and Magdalena kicking a door in with her bare feet. Elisabeth Volkmann’s performance as the headmistress (in cahoots with whoever dubbed her voice into English) put me in mind of Celia Imrie’s portrayal of Miss Babs in the iconic soap opera spoof Acorn Antiques and this certainly adds to the general air of slapdash that permeates the film.

After being subjected to medical tests Magdalena is diagnosed with possession, runs around in the nude some more, tries to seduce various male cast members and then accuses them of rape and is sexually abused by an invisible spirit a few times. All in all, just another day in the life of a possessed teenage girl. More highlights: dopey dialogue, dodgy disco dancing, more gratuitous nudity and did I mention the outrageously bad dubbing?

If you want to witness this movie car-crash for yourself Magdalena is available on dvd on a double-bill with blaxploitation Exorcist rip-off Abby.

Review by Richard Gladman