Flavia the Heretic
Flavia the Heretic
R | 01 January 1977 (USA)
Flavia the Heretic Trailers

Puglia, southern Italy, around 1400. A convent is invaded by the Tarantula cult, whose fanatical and crazed members desecrate the sacred place by committing obscene and bloody acts.

Reviews
Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Sarita Rafferty There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
jessicacoco2005 Described as nun exploitation film of the 1970's, this film is far beyond such a description. Vastly underrated, this film is Intelligent, though gory. It is both a complex feminist tract and a radical anti-war film.Flavia is a beautiful and intelligent 14th century young lady forced to live the life of an obedient nun in a strict convent by her father. Flavia questions the oppressive and inferior position of women, not just in the church, but in scriptures and the world at large. She witnesses and endures many things, including the rape of a poor local woman, a young stallion having his testicles removed, and a nun tortured to death by the so-called church fathers.For sister Flavia, male-dominated Christian society is brutal and the position of women is either to be an obedient child-bearing wife, prostitute, or celibate nun. In a scene difficult to forget, she goes so far as to question a statute of Jesus why it is that the father, son, and holy ghost are all male? The Muslims come to invade the coast and in another great scene the old nun Agatha asks the women in the town why they are running? After all, the Muslims can't do anything more to them the Christian men already have. Trapped by a male-dominated cruel Christian world, in the Muslims she hopes to find saviors; but hoping and reality are not the same. There is no escape. Nor is there fulfillment in revenge as seen in some of the most disturbing and gory scenes in the film. Is the solution in acquiring justice and ending female oppression based based upon male violence and becoming like the brutish men that enslave them? Not for the faint at heart.
Witchfinder General 666 "Flavia, la monaca muslmana" aka. "Flavia the Heretic" of 1974 is a truly disturbing and uncompromising piece of Italian Exploitation cinema that, to a certain extent, follows a somewhat feminist premise (though the level of sleaze and brutality would probably disgust the majority of feminists). Set mostly in a convent, and with a nun as the eponymous central protagonist (great performance by the wonderful Florinda Bolkan), "Flavia the Heretic" may be referred to as a 'Nunsploitation' film. However, this film differs quite drastically from the typical Nunsploitation flicks from the time, as it doesn't so much focus on the nunsploitation elements such as lesbianism, sadistic lesbian punishments, etc. Personally, I saw more similarities to the Hexploitation flicks of the time, such as "Mark of The Devil", (even though this one doesn't treat the topic of witch-hunts), which focus on the brutal execution of Christian fundamentalism in the middle ages and early modern period.Italy around 1600: After witnessing her despotic father behead a wounded Muslim soldier, young Flavia is forced to become a nun in a convent. When her father condemns a fellow nun to a torturous death for a small misdemeanor years later, Falvia's disgust with male violence against women turns into hatred against the despotic church, and she joins a band of Arabic scavengers...One thing is for sure, "Flavia the Heretic" is not for the faint-hearted, and neither is it for those who want happy endings. Director Gianfranco Mingozzi obviously tried to make his film as realistic and disturbing as possible, especially in its nasty scenes. The many torture- and execution-scenes are extremely disturbing, with skinnings, spikings and other gruesome scenes in explicit detail, the most shocking scene probably being the torture of the young nun quite in the beginning of the film. The violence here is never superfluous, however. After all, this gruesome methods actually were reality in the time the film is set in. The film is very well-made, with realistic costumes, fantastic settings an elegant cinematography and a great score by Nicola Piovani. The stunningly beautiful and great Florinda Bolkan has proved her talent in many great Italian cult-productions (including Lucio Fulci's Giallo-masterpiece "Non Si Sevizia Un Paperino" of 1972). She delivers another great, charismatic performance here, and I couldn't imagine another actress fitting as well in the role as she does. The film has some minor inconsistencies (E.g. why does the rigid church let bizarre cult-followers into convents in the first place). However, it is overall amazing how realistic this film is. "Flavia the Heretic" should definitely not be missed by my fellow fans of Italian Exploitation Cinema. This is a great Exploitation flick overall, though it definitely is a deeply depressing one and therefore should be watched in the right mood. Highly recommended to fans of disturbing exploitation cinema. 7.5/10
MovieGuy01 I watched Flavia The Heretic a while ago, and found it to be quite a good film, It is set in around Italy 1600, about a Nun called A convent of nuns are invaded by the Tarantula Sect on their annual pilgrimage. The cultists invade the place of worship, orgying in the chapel and desecrating the altars well as many other things. One nun Flavia decides she can not take the religious invaders any longer and flees the convent from where she is staying. She is not very happy that all the leaders of the cult are male so see sets out to fight against them. This was a good nun exploitation film. which i think that others will enjoy.
ccmiller1492 Reportedy based on actual historical events, this disturbingly violent, bloody, and shocking period epic sustains viewer interest by creating a verisimilitude missing in the majority of films set in a remote era. Ms. Bolkan's portrayal of the rebellious nun is a tour de force. Her gradual transformation in character from an obedient if unwilling complicitor in social injustices of her day is adeptly evidenced by telling sequences: her witnessing of the hated local Duke's casual rapist activity, her forbidden love affair with a Jew, her criminal defection to the invading Moslem forces of the sensual Prince Ahmed (Anthony Corlan) There are some painfully realistic gory sequences (human flaying) in this film that are not for the squeamish, but viewers with strong stomachs and an interest in medieval history should find ample interest. Deserves to be seen, if only as an antidote to Hollywood depictions of the medieval world.