THE COMING OF SIN

A superstitious, illiterate young gypsy servant girl comes to live with a solitary female artist at her country chateau. The girl has recurring nightmares of a naked man on horseback assaulting and abusing her. As the artist takes the girl under her wing, an sensuous relationship develops between them. At the same time, the naked horseman begins to appear in reality. The girl, convinced that he represents her doom, resists him; but the artist is intrigued and a bizarre erotic triangle is established.

Here’s another sumptuous-looking, highly atmospheric and sensuous fantasy from Spanish art-exploitation director Larraz, who was responsible for Vampyres, the finest of modern vampire movies. The scenes are bathed in soft-focus greens and ochres, emphasising the dreamlike pastoral setting and highlighting the players’ striking emerald and almond eyes. The three main characters are gorgeous in unique ways, the Spanish guitar score is a perfect complement to the mood, there is one memorable surrealistic image, and the story is absorbing and quite unpredictable. Only the rather arbitrary ending is a let-down. A perfect example of the heights reached by 70s Euro-fantasy, with psychological and cultural subtexts intensifying the conventions of the erotic and horror genres.