Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

VividSimon Simply Perfect

Glimmerubro It is not deep, but it is fun to watch. It does have a bit more of an edge to it than other similar films.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Leofwine_draca A good cast and a clever storyline help to make this supernatural spooker a bit better than your average kind of fare. Short on actual supernatural content (a few weird dream sequences are all we get) and long on conversations, this is unfortunately let down by an overly wordy script which makes the film quite hard to watch, as it goes on so long as well.On the plus side, it is a seventies film, which means there are a number of weird psychedelic visuals and some awful and absurd fashions to enjoy. There are a few chills too from the ROSEMARY'S BABY-style plot which shows just how powerful Satanism can be. The acting is all of a high standard, from Jacqueline Bisset as the tough heroine who won't be killed, to the scene-stealing Curt Jurgens as the rich but sinister pianist. However it's Alan Alda who carries the film as the mild-mannered everyday kind of man who gets a soul transformation, he may not be totally believable but he's fun to watch. Barbara Parkins is also good and unlikeable as the fiery Satanist while '70s fave Bradford Dillman is an unfortunate victim of the Satanic cult.While THE MEPHISTO WALTZ has a few scattered good moments (the dog with the human mask, the weird dreams, the twist ending) it never reaches the scale of becoming a full-fledged classic, which is unfortunate. If you're a fan of psychological horror though, then this one might just be for you.

brefane Though it may seem like a West Coast-made-4-TV Rosemary's Baby, The Mephisto Waltz was an R-rated theatrical feature, but the talents who made it are from television and it shows. Producer Quinn Martin and director Paul Wendkos are known mainly from television as are Alan Alda, William Windom, Barbara Parkins, Kathleen Widdoes, Pamela Ferdin and Brad Dillman. Poorly paced film is more about bitch craft than witchcraft with glamorous Jacqueline Bisset and Barbara Parkins going to devilish lengths to possess Alan Alda's body and soul. Really? Nothing said about the amiably bland Alda in the film is confirmed by what we see. You'd think Bisset would gladly hand him over. Besides, Bissett seems distracted and impatient from the start. The film starts slowly and the supporting characters, esp. Bradford Dillman, seem largely unnecessary. The plot is confusing and making a pact with the Devil is a cinch apparently. Who knew? Don't take it seriously and you'll enjoy it as a decent enough time killer that may raise a few goosebumps thanks to Jerry Goldsmith's score, fish-eye lensing and angular cinematography. Has none of the subtlety or skill of Rosemary's Baby(1968). And frankly the outcome hardly seems to matter.

nomorefog I had a copy of this film that I found on ex-rental and would love to see it come out on disc, but the 'The Mephisto Waltz' may only have curiosity value these days, so I'm not getting my hopes up. I got rid of my VHS copy to make room for more discs (which I probably don't watch and don't even like as much as this) and I'm sorry that I did.The acting is corny and the script is melodramatic but 'The Mephisto Waltz' manages to work as classic escapist entertainment. Alan Alda and Jacqueline Bisset play the protagonists. Alda is a no-talent music journalist who makes a pact with a famous musician, who is living as a closet Satanist, and has an incestuous relationship with his daughter (Barbara Parkins). The plan is for the Alda character to take over the pianist's talent when he dies, so his music will live forever. Alda's wife, played by Jacqueline Bisset bears the brunt of her husband's hijinx with the dark forces. It seems that a husband selling his soul can have deleterious consequences on one's life such as losing him to another woman (boo hoo) and having your child sicken and die because you do not want to join up with a cult of Satanists (far more serious).The scares are very effective and exist within an atmosphere of angst and foreboding and just seem to happen ( naturally, don't we all wonder what it would be like to sell our soul to the devil?) Meanwhile the audience is pummelled with a load of satanic mumbo-jumbo, outrageous sixties fashions and blaring classical music on the soundtrack, which uses Liszt's piece of the same name over the opening credits. (I have just found out the soundtrack was composed by Jerry Goldsmith, presumably with apologies to Franz Liszt).As you may have figured by now 'The Mephisto Waltz' is not meant to be taken too seriously and as a consequence it just happens to be a lot of fun. It is a bit silly but it also works on the level it has set for itself. I think it is actually superior to other horror movies made on bigger budgets with bigger directors who try to turn the fact that they are making a horror movie into some kind of big event. The quandary the Jacqueline Bisset character finds herself in, is genuinely distressing, and the film wisely milks this for everything its worth. The result is a very satisfying horror experience if you don't analyse the hokey plot, or the silly characters too much and just sit back and enjoy it.

rixrex Very strongly reminiscent of Rosemary's Baby in substance and style, and why not? When did Hollywood not endear itself to cash-ins of other popular films? Jackie Bissett got to do two of them - this one and The Deep.She's great in both. Everyone else is very good, but for Alan Alda, who is merely adequate. Funny, even Bradford Dillman is better here, but then Alda wasn't yet into his stride. This almost reeks of TV movie entrapments, it's a Quinn Martin production, but manages to overcome most of them with a fairly literate denouement.There's the momentary lapse into trite dialog, and silliness, as exhibited by a trip to Mexico where entry into Mexico is announced by a painted billboard on a two-lane highway running past a park with water sprinklers going and with no border guards nor line of cars. Believe me, I went to Mexico in 1971 both from San Diego and inland Calexico, and there was no such sweetheart road of entry.Well, watch it and you'll see what I mean. It's worth a view just for the great opening credits.