Soft core horror film about a couple who go to visit in-laws after a death and end up getting involved in a very randy bunch of witches/ Satanists. There is lots of sex (including bestiality) and I was wondering if this wasn't a cut down adult film. I don't think more than three or four minutes will pass with out some form of coupling. It's so pervasive that you'll no doubt wonder if the film was intended to be scary. Allowing for the various group activities this film isn't bad. Its suffers in the fear department because of all the bedroom activity, but it still manages to create a nice sense of dread that only dubbed Euro-horror can. Worth a look if you like that sort of thing

I saw this for the first time recently. Got enticed into seeing this cos of its cool poster n the often mentioning of satanic cult stuff in review section. The French bearded guy/priest looked like Tom Savini. Apart from the babe in the first sex scene, there is not a single hot or attractive babe. The softcore scenes are not at all erotic or titillating but boring. And just for shock value, a sword is inserted in a fat man's ass and a goat sex scene is inserted.

I didn't go into this film expecting much as I've never heard a good word said about it. Black Candles is basically just a variation on the same sort of plot that worked a lot better in the earlier Spanish horror film 'Satan's Blood', as well as a whole load of other films. It starts out interestingly, as we are introduced to the central characters and we start to get an idea of where the plot is going. There seems to be a correlation between devil worshipping in Europe and having loads of sex, and that's something that director José Ramón Larraz (who made a whole load of trash films, including the sleazy 'Vampyres') seems keen to capitalise on, as the actors spend a good half of the film without any clothes on. The plot is, of course, very simple and starts off with a man dying suddenly while having sex after a woman sticks a pin in a voodoo doll. We then get introduced to his sister and her husband, and they travel down to stay with the dead man's husband; her sister-in-law, and it transpires that she's into devil worship (Shock! Horror!) Everything about this film is completely amateurish! (Which is odd as Vampyres was quite professional for a sleazy slice of Eurohorror. Obviously Larraz didn't get better at film making as he went along!). The acting is terrible; sometimes even cringe-worthy, which is quite shocking since I'm certainly used to watching films with less than great acting. The scene setting is frankly lazy, and Larraz makes practically no attempt to build an oppressive atmosphere or lift the film out of the pits in any way. This would normally stamp out any chance of a decent rating for a film; but Black Candles still deserves a few points as it's actually quite funny, and luckily the director's laziness doesn't extend to the sex scenes; which are actually quite erotic, mostly owing to the fact that the women are nice to look at. There are a couple of nasty scenes too; a sex scene with a goat…which I didn't enjoy too much and a death scene that involves someone having a sword shoved up his backside! Overall, I can't recommend going out of your way to see this film; its obscurity isn't undeserved - but it's not terrible in spite of the fact that everything about it is trash, and that can't be said for every film like this one.

Extremely thin 'plot' of satanic rituals or some such mumbo-jumbo provides the hokey excuse to thread copious amounts of sex scenes together. Straight vanilla sex, *, lesbianism, S&M, bestiality, incest, and a few other sexual proliferation's all get their time in the spotlight here. The problem is the storyline is so dull that the rampant sexuality gets pretty tedious after awhile. Who knew that a film with an intimate goat/ girl encounter could be so damn boring? Well now I do. Eye Candy: Venessa Hidalgo shows all; Helga Line provides T&A (both on display quite frequently); women viewers get the occasional *. My Grade: D+ Region 1 DVD Extras: Trailers for "Pick Up", "Legend of Eight Samurai", "Don't Answer the Phone", "Prime Evil", & "Sister Street Fighter" (also the same DVD holds a second feature movie "Evil Eye")

Once more using very nice location photography (this time in England) we have another amateurish Euro * horror movie. Horror in this case is just an excuse to show uninteresting ritualised sex. Along the way we have a touch of incest and the suggestion that it is all a premonition revealed to the heroine in a dream. There are, very very dim, echoes of Rosemary's baby - except there is no actual baby. All in all a dim film.

"Black Candles" is a rather amusing Spanish exploitation-horror film starring the incomparable Helga Line ("Horror Express", "The Loreley's Grasp", etc.). Co-star Vanessa Hidalgo plays Carol, who travels to England after the sudden death of her brother. She and her boyfriend Robert (Pablo in the Spanish language version), played by Jeffrey Healey, find that her sister-in-law Fiona (Ms. Line) is an unusual sort; Fiona, not surprisingly, is part of a cult that practices devil worship. Carol isn't a particularly interesting character, so it's hard to care that much about what happens to her, but you do feel somewhat bad for her given how easily Robert / Pablo is corrupted. Still, there are some entertainingly twisted characters on hand, including a "reverend" (Manuel Gomez-Alvarez) and a "doctor". Line by herself is enticing enough to carry the film on her own, still looking good at age 50 or so. Director Jose Ramon Larraz ("Vampyres", "Symptoms") does manage to tell something resembling a story, in which it remains to be seen if Carol will get out while the getting is good. Trash fanatics need not worry, however: there's still *plenty* of nudity (male as well as female) and soft core sex to keep them interested. What helps to sell "Black Candles" are two key scenes, one involving a goat, and one involving a sword. Viewers have to wait until almost the end of the movie for the sword scene, but "Black Candles" only runs approximately 83 minutes, so they don't have to stick it out for that long. Overall, this is nowhere near as thickly atmospheric as "Vampyres", but horror fans who love their genre films to be on the sleazy side should be pretty satisfied. Seven out of 10.

Along with her Latin professor beau Robert(Mauro Ribera), Carol(Vanessa Hidalgo) returns to London to visit her dead brother's wife, Fiona(Helga Liné)regarding his will. What she soon discovers is that her brother could very well have been a victim of witchcraft and that Fiona could belong to a Satanic cult. When John falls prey to Fiona's seduction, eventually joining the cult of his own free will, will Carol be able to escape? Notorious for it's displays of a Satanic cult's sordid activities, José Ramón Larraz's BLACK CANDLES seems to be about an innocent's potential danger, as she pursues the real truth about her rather athletic and active brother's heart attack. You get plenty of soft-core sex, as the three leads often engage in spirited acts of love-making(Ribera has the privilege of having sex multiple times with both Liné & Hidalgo). As mentioned, a member of the cult(..the one having sex with Fiona's husband when the voodoo doll needle action took place)willingly copulates with a goat as Carmen Carrión(..as the lusty maid Georgiana)and her stable hand grounds keeper husband and lover watch. The film also features a sinister "reverend" who serves as the leader of this clan of Devil worshipers(..and gets to have sex with Helga and Vanessa as well). The film isn't really complex with any depth involving Satanism, just the exploitive nature of a clan of wealthy British aristocrats enjoying all the debauchery that their religion provides(..it's established that these people became rich due to selling their souls, enjoying the fruits by conducting ceremonies to Lucifer). ROSEMARY'S BABY is an obvious inspiration, shades of that premise(..except for the "baby" part), the practice of Satan worship by normal-looking people, hiding their religion from the outside world(..it's also mentioned that these covens are everywhere, establishing their "threat"). Besides the infamous goat sex is an unfortunate victim's anal stabbing by a sword(..Georgiana's husband who threatened to expose the coven)..we realize that this coven will resort to whatever measures are necessary to keep their secret worship just that. The film is essentially soft-sore *, with the devil worship an excuse to display deviant behavior. Hidalgo fulfills the Mia Farrow role here, spending a vast amount of time either naked or in her undergarments..very little time is Hidalgo wearing a wardrobe of any kind. The real star here is Helga Liné, embracing her role with relish, easily one of her best performances displaying a middle-age seductress who peeps on Carol and Robert having sex, moves in on her sister-in-law's man(..stealing him away with her impressive feminine wiles), and converts new members to Lucifer's flock because of this overwhelming power she has at her disposal. SPOILER:The incredibly insipid conclusion, using the clichéd "it's all a nightmare" scenario with Carol awakening to find that all we have witnessed before was fictional, is an absolute cop-out that feels forced on us as if director Larraz had to include it due to outside influence.

Jose Ramon Larraz's "Black Candles" is a rare Spanish horror/sleaze film about a young woman named Carol who finds out that various family members are involved with a satanic cult.The film is loaded with sleazy sex and satanism,so I wasn't disappointed.Still it's not as memorable as Larraz's erotic masterpiece "Vampyres".The lighting is poor and the acting is amateurish.The sex scene between a black goat and a woman has to be seen to be believed.There is also an incredibly nasty moment which has a man killed by having a sword shoved into him between his legs.To sum up,if you are into European exploitation cinema give this one a look.However if you like your horror without sleaze avoid this one like the plague.7 out of 10.

Made by Spanish director José Ramón Larraz. So many thought it was going to be another masterpiece like his Vampyres (1974) sadly for many this is a pure sleazefest. Every reason in this flick to have sex, they have. When a guy dies by voodoo while having sex his sister goes to London to find out what went wrong. She suddenly finds herself in a satanic cult. From the first shot you do know what you will get, sleaze and nudity. If you are going to search for this flick be sure to find the uncut version. Two reasons, the sword scene and the bestiality scene with a goat. The Spanish title refers what you will get, the English title moves away from that part. Black Candles are to see throughout the whole flick but doesn't refer to anything except the satanism. Strangely not only the director uses a pseudonym, almost all actors have a fake name on the credits. A bit hard to find this one, mostly dubbed in English, only for the sleaze geeks. Gore 0/5 Nudity 3/5 Effects 0/5 Story 1,5/5 Comedy 0/5

Black Candles (1980) * (out of 4) Spanish horror film has a sister and her boyfriend going to a rural castle in Spain to search for her brother. What she doesn't know is that her brother got involved in a sex crazed Satanic cult and they've got their eyes on her now. This film is best known for all its softcore sex scenes, which eat up at least half of the 82-minute running time and this isn't a good thing. The film tries desperately hard to be an erotic horror picture but it fails on both levels and by the ten minute mark I started watching the clock waiting for this thing to be over. The sex scenes are trying to be erotic but they often times create some unintentional laughs and this includes a scene where a woman is raped by a goat. Nothing graphic is shown but this is just one example of this film being watered down compared to other movies that were out there in this era including several by Joe D'Amato, which didn't stop at softcore scenes. The horror elements, clearly inspired by Rosemary's Baby, are also very lame and don't contain enough suspense, gore or violence to keep things moving. The pacing of the film is the biggest problem because you'd expect eighty-minutes to fly by in an exploitation film but that's not the case as each scene just drags on and on. This includes the before mentioned sex scenes but the dialogue sequences are even worse. The performances are all bland, which is just the death nail to this thing. Director Beaunstein made films in this horror/sex manor before so all the blame must fall on his shoulders.