The Devil's Plaything

Lore & Background

The plot is set in a central European castle, where two young girls are summoned to learn about a will making them heirs to the property, on condition that they stay there for a full year. They are received by the hostess, an austere-looking woman named Wanda, who organizes satanic lesbian rites at night that celebrate, in sex and sapphism, the vampire Varga. Coincidentally, on the same day an anthropologist studying local superstitions and her brother were victims of a road accident and asked for accommodation at the castle.

Wanda turns out to be the descendant of a vampire baroness, Varga, burned alive centuries ago by the villagers for vampirism. Through the lesbian priestess Wanda, Varga seeks revenge by eliminating the families of her torturers.

The film received mixed critical response. Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave it one and a half out of four stars, writing that it exhibits a disinterest in horror and an inability to muster eroticism. Ed Hulse of Video Business describes the film as a key title in the history of erotic horror, noting that the attractive young leads are not surgically enhanced bottle-blondes and that their acting is more than equal to the limited demands the script makes of them.

Reader's Guide

The Devil's Plaything occupies a niche in the history of erotic horror as a European co-production from 1973. Its significance lies in its blending of horror tropes—vampirism, satanic rites, and a revenge plot—with explicit sexual content, particularly sapphic themes. The film's uncut version, featuring more suggestively sexual scenes, reflects the era's loosening censorship standards in European cinema. Critical reception is divided: one reviewer dismisses it as failing in both horror and eroticism, while another hails it as a key title in the erotic horror genre, praising its natural-looking cast and adequate acting. The film's international production (Sweden, Switzerland, West Germany) and its director Joseph W. Sarno, known for sexploitation films, place it within the broader context of 1970s European genre cinema. Its legacy is primarily as a cult item for fans of vintage erotic horror, rather than a mainstream or critically acclaimed work.

Did You Know?

• The film is an international co-production of Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany.
• Its uncut version features more suggestively sexual scenes.
• The hostess Wanda is a descendant of a vampire baroness named Varga, who was burned alive by villagers.
• Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave the film one and a half out of four stars.

Production & International Origins

The Devil's Plaything, known in its original German-language release as Der Fluch der schwarzen Schwestern, is a 1973 horror film helmed by director Joseph W. Sarno. What makes its production history particularly notable is its status as a genuine international co-production, bringing together the film industries of Sweden, Switzerland, and West Germany under one creative umbrella. This multinational collaboration placed the project squarely within the European horror tradition of the early 1970s, a period when the genre was expanding beyond its American boundaries. The film exists in at least two distinct cuts: a standard theatrical version and an uncut edition that retains additional scenes of a more suggestively sexual nature. This dual-release approach suggests the filmmakers were navigating different market expectations across their three home countries, calibrating the level of erotic content to suit varying censorship climates. Sarno's direction anchors the project, lending it a singular authorial voice despite the collaborative production structure spanning three European nations.

Plot & Narrative Structure

The story unfolds in a central European castle where two young girls are summoned to learn they have been named heirs to the property, with the stipulation that they must reside there for an entire year. Their hostess, a stern woman called Wanda, conceals a dark secret: she presides over nocturnal satanic lesbian rites that honor the vampire Varga. The narrative takes a coincidental turn when an anthropologist researching local superstitions and her brother, both survivors of a road accident, seek shelter at the same castle. Wanda is revealed to be a descendant of Varga, a baroness who was burned alive by villagers centuries earlier for her vampirism. Through Wanda's role as a lesbian priestess, the ancient vampire channels her will to exact vengeance, systematically eliminating the families of those who once tormented her. The plot weaves together gothic inheritance, supernatural retribution, and occult ritual into a single sustained narrative set within the castle's walls.

Critical Reception & Legacy

Critical responses to The Devil's Plaything have been notably divided, reflecting the film's position at the intersection of horror and eroticism. Nick Schager of Slant Magazine awarded the picture one and a half out of four stars, criticizing what he perceived as a fundamental lack of engagement with the horror genre and a failure to produce genuine eroticism. His assessment frames the film as lacking conviction in both of its primary genre commitments. In contrast, Ed Hulse writing for the trade journal Video Business elevated the film to landmark status, calling it a key title in the history of erotic horror. Hulse specifically praised the young leads, noting they are not the surgically enhanced bottle-blondes typically found in Hollywood productions of the same type, and that their performances rise above the limited demands the script places on them. This divergence in critical opinion underscores the difficulty of evaluating a film that deliberately blends supernatural terror with sexual content, where different critics prioritize different elements of the viewing experience.

Genre Positioning & Thematic Elements

The Devil's Plaything occupies a distinctive niche within the erotic horror subgenre, combining gothic supernatural elements with explicit sexual content in a way characteristic of early-1970s European cinema. The narrative centers on satanic lesbian rites conducted in secret, celebrating a vampire baroness named Varga who was burned alive by villagers centuries earlier. This fusion of vampirism, occult ritual, and sapphic sexuality places the film at a crossroads of multiple genre traditions. The revenge plot, in which the ancient vampire operating through her descendant Wanda systematically targets the families of her former torturers, gives the story a sustained narrative drive beyond mere atmosphere. The uncut version of the film, which preserves additional suggestively sexual scenes, offers a more complete picture of the filmmakers' original vision for blending eroticism with horror. The film's European co-production background and its German-language title further situate it within a continental tradition of horror filmmaking distinct from the American model.

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