Apparently inspired by a comic book, "Baba Yaga" is an unusually compelling, surreal nightmare of movie that also is vibrant with the essence of the late 1960s. The story follows pretty young fashion photographer Valentina (Isabelle De Funes) who runs afoul of seductive sorceress Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker) who proceeds to meddle in her life via a tiny doll in an S&M getup. Baba is not one to take rejection lightly, and subjects Valentina to physical and psychological torments. Well-made, hard-to-pigeonhole film, director Corrado Farina succeeds in creating moody atmosphere and a warped logic in which anything can and will happen. Funes in particular does a superb job of convincing the audience of the vacuum that's engulfing her; a young George Eastman ("Anthropophagous") fares well in the role of her disbelieving commercial-director boyfriend. The direction, which intercuts comic-book imagery with hallucinogenic dream sequences (which all seem to possess a Nazi angle),is skillful and unpretentious.

Guido Crepax erotic comic 'Valentina' was the basis for this movie. The comics themselves were not very plot-driven so the screenplay here was more inspired by them rather than being a straight adaption. Perhaps because of this, plot is not a strong point in this one. A fashion photographer called Valentina encounters a mysterious witch called Baba Yaga. The latter puts a hex on Valentina's camera meaning that anyone she photographs experiences some trauma. It's a fairly basic narrative but it has been used as a framework here for all manner of stylish madness.

Isabelle De Funès plays Valentina and she looks suitably chic in the part, regular Italian genre actress Carroll Baker is the enigmatic Baba Yaga, while George Eastman gets to appear in a role that unusually does not call for him to be a psychopath but instead is a romantic lead of sorts who works as a director of commercials (his effort for a soap power advert really has to be seen to be believed!). The director here is Corrado Farina who had previously helmed another strange art-horror film called They Have Changed Their Faces (1971). While both films are in the horror bracket, it would be fair to say that their arty leanings are at least as strong as any horror angle. Baba Yaga is very dreamlike in tone with a deliberate pace. It is highly stylish in its visual approach with its sensibilities being divided between pop art and surrealism. Of the latter there are several dream sequences involving Nazis. Odd moments happen in the dead of night such as Valentina discovering a puppy lying within a circle of candles. There are strange items such as an S&M doll which has the power to transform into a woman. So, there is a great deal of oddness to this one, resulting in a film with a strange tone. Farina executes this kind of stuff with a bold visual style which is the movies main strength. Particularly nice were the sequences in which the action suddenly becomes visually formatted like one of the fumetti comics from which it was inspired. Piero Umiliani provides a pretty varied musical score which splits itself into three styles – upbeat easy-pop for the fashion shoot scenes, slower orchestral stuff for scenes involving Baba Yaga and jazzy compositions to accompany the more surreal episodes.

On the whole, this is quite a strange movie which will not have widespread appeal. It's quite restrained as a horror movie and is not visceral in any way. While it does have some erotic elements, they aren't very exploitative. This is very much an art-house/horror hybrid in a lot of ways. It's not necessarily entirely successful in execution but it definitely does a lot of things very well and has some admirable ambition. It's one that is mainly aimed at those who have an affinity with style-heavy early 70's Italian movies. A very intriguing oddity that's for sure.

This film is a bit of an oddity, a movie that has more in common with art-house cinema than the more conventional stalk-n-slash murder movies that were popular at the time. The story of a woman descending into madness is a familiar one that was utilised through the '70s, so don't expect anything new from the plot. The style of direction, the fashions and the camera-work is also very typical of the period which gives this film a solid grounding as well as making it extremely dated – but hey, isn't that part of the fun of watching?

Ultimately, BABA YAGA, DEVIL WITCH is a disappointment because nothing seems to happen. Once the story has evolved, the movie alternates between scare scenes and dialogue, neither of which are done very well. It's a shame, because many of the horror ingredients here have the opportunity to be extremely frightening, had better use been made of them. The idea of a hole in the ground leading to hell I loved, and the weird fetish doll is an extraordinarily creepy idea. As another plus, Carroll Baker is effective in the role of Baba Yaga, the witch, even though she isn't given much to work with...she certainly gave me the chills!

Sadly too much of the film is filled with filler material, and it seems that the director struggled to adapt this movie from its comic book roots. There seems to be a focus on female nudity rather than plot, and minor characters like the black man come and go with little impact on the actual storyline. There's no faulting the acting, as Isabelle De Funes' heroine is pleasingly complex, far more than a simple screaming victim, and big George Eastman gives one of his better performances early on in his career. It's just that BABA YAGA, DEVIL WITCH is so familiar. There's absolutely nothing in the way of originality here, and while a good few individual moments are decently done, as a whole the film is run-of-the-mill entertainment.