i absolutely despise this movie . no wonder jose larraz disown it at one point and refuse to discuss it . i admire larraz work and especially his more obscure slasher or sex maniac thriller like savage lust or scream and die . his work have a kind of inescapable artiness about it that he can not seem to switch off and owe in part to his secondary career a a painter and cartoonist . it too bad he never make a western and his vision would have be perfect . black candle be easily his most notorious film and probably his best know after the masterpiece vampyres . and it notoriety revolve around one scene where a satanic coven enact a bizarre rite involve extract the reproductive fluid of a goat symbolize the beast a some kind of nauseate balm to be use in prepare the waif like sister of a murdered man for her role a the bride of satan . the scene in question be stag in a way that look rather convincing even without the display of any plumbing apparatus the goat may have be endow with and rely upon the histrionics of the actress recruit to play the supplicant in the ritual and lot of guttural chant on the film recycle musical score heard in a half dozen film attribute to jacinto molina . the perverse nature of the scene be more implied than show in graphic detail and heighten somewhat by the knowledge that say supplicant be actually the teen age daughter of the satanic priest . my but they have fun concoct this movie . the problem with it be that there isn not much to deconstruct or contemplate aside from the paper thin rosemary baby derive story of a woman be wean into her role a satan bride by a sophisticated coven of satanist live in the hedgrowed outlands of a very sinister britain . lead by eurohorror sensation helga line these satanist be comprise of doctor and lawyer and land owning magnate and other upper crust dignitary who actually owe their professional success to their worship of the devil . all you have to do be sell your soul and the world can be yours and only watch out whom you may sell out to pay back petty personal conflict or you may end up be felched with a sword . the film attempt to combine this heady satanic trip with oodles or borderline graphic sex and and should correctly be regard a a kind of apex or culmination of the sex and horror spanish thriller tradition popularize in part by mr. molina and ms. line and and which have amazingly flourish under the disapprove eye of one generalissimo franco and the dictator who control spain up until 1976. while he live his decree be that spanish cinema be to be free of graphic depiction of on screen sex . spanish director often make two version of their film and one with the sex conceal for their own screen and one with the fornication on display for export . as difficult a it be for the filmmaker to express themselves the result be a sort of interest tension that usually result when artist flirt with the forbidden represent spanish horror from the 1970s have a very special flavor to it that be somewhat of an acquire taste . it not for everyone . but in a bizarre turn of event and without franco influence on their culture spanish horror sort of dry up in the late 1970s and when their gothic castle and demonic orgy suddenly find themselves passé when compare to new sensation like jaw and the star war phenomenon . and without franco constraint their be suddenly a flood of overtly graphic thriller that come tumble out of the pipe in the very late 70 or early 80 and of which black candle be perhaps the best know due to it emphasis on sexual deviancy with a barnyard animal . larraz major horror film have always revolve around sexual taboo ( the lesbianism of vampyres and the incest of scream and die and deviation ) but here the effect of the depravity be to overshadow the rest of the production . nobody care about anything else but the traditionally censor trip to the goat barn and and watch a cut version without the scene in the barn be almost an exercise in pointlessness . the sex isn not graphic enough to rate a porn and the chill aren not chill enough to rate a horror . so and black candle be essentially a behavior study here be how high society british satanist might behave in their secluded mansion out in the west midlands or whatever . between sex scenes the actor or actress sit around and have lot of discussion . the best thing the film have go for it be an undeniably oppressive atmosphere of claustrophobia and with most of it action take place in the tightly confine interior of ms. line character mansion . nearly every avenue of fornication be hint at so fan of soft core sex romp with a hinting of supernatural horror will be amuse and and of course the vicarious sex criminal amongst u will enjoy choke their chicken to the goat barn scene . but the ultimate conclusion of the film be silly and pretentious and intelligence insulting and and probably perfect for such an otherwise forgettable exercise in applied sleaze . negative while without the goat barn this movie just isn not the same and and with the scene it probably a bit too much for most viewer . larraz be correct to disown it .