Showing posts with label giallo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label giallo. Show all posts

Saturday, October 23, 2010

BAY OF BLOOD (1971) Movie Review

BAY OF BLOOD (1971)

bay of blood movie poster


On a grand estate on the shore of a bay, an elderly woman clings desperately to the land so that it will not be bought and turned into a resort. However, her murder sets off a chain reaction that brings all of the potential heirs to the estate out of the woodwork, and more disturbing, an unknown killer who begins to systematically murder each of these heirs. The situation takes another turn for the worse when a group of teenagers decide to trespass on the estate, and are quickly targeted by a killer who knows no remorse, sympathy, or limits to their cruel imagination for slaughtering their next victim.

In 1970s Italy the murder-mystery, also known as a giallo, was coming into its golden age soaking the screen in blood, filling it with red herrings and sleazy sexuality and generally confusing the hell out of the audiences with complicated plots. But when famed director and writer Mario Bava brought BAY OF BLOOD to the screen, it was like nothing anyone had seen before. Starting off from a generic storyline that could be found in any run-of-the-mill giallo, Bava quickly amps everything up from the almost insane weaving of all the characters' relationships, to the one-after-another murders that are each committed in a more horrific way, to the gratuitous and graphic sex and nudity.

This film has become known as the very first official slasher film, and is (or at least should be) the water mark to compare all other films that compete for the slasher subgenre label. In America, it can be debated whether BLACK CHRISTMAS or HALLOWEEN was really the first US slasher film, though both owe all their screen credit to Bava's masterpiece. The early FRIDAY THE 13TH films in particular also borrow heavily from this film, right down to the first-person POV and some of the signature murders in the series. For better or worse (and for most fans it is probably the better), due to BAY OF BLOOD, sex and violence will always be married in the slasher genre.

It is not just that the film is the very first slasher, it is a great slasher and can still to this day hold up against any would be film adversary. The groundbreaking murder sequences within the film alone make the film worth seeking out, even if you are passive fan of the genre. The make-up special effects, helmed by Carlo Rambaldi (who would later work on E.T. and ALIEN among others) can still hold up almost forty years later, which is testament to their realism. It is truly a crime that as the years passed this film has become more obscure, fallen off the "must see" lists of some horror stalwarts, and may even be unknown to younger and newer faces to the horror scene.

This was one of the last films that Mario Bava would make, and it is a culmination of a lifetime of work. Even though the movie's essence can be boiled down to a horror shocker, each of the film's individual parts are given the respect and professionalism that would be seen in a high art or dramatic picture. Bava has always been known as one who uses color to manipulate and enhance his films, and it is no exception here. The music plays a critical part in setting moods and building up suspense. Bava's camerawork pulls from the well established "unknown killer" motifs and makes them his own, which set the stage for future directors and cinematographers to mutate to their own needs.

Any horror fan owes it to themselves to give this film, and Mario Bava, the full credit and respect that it deserves, and that even if it doesn't become a permanent part of your home collection, that it is seen at least once for historical purposes. When watching this, try to keep in mind when it was made practically no one had done anything like this before. And guaranteed, no one will see the ending coming, nor has anyone had the balls since to make an ending quite like BAY OF BLOOD. The couple being double-impaled on the bed while having sex is just icing on the bloody cake.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

DEEP RED Movie Review

DEEP RED (1975)



Helga is a telepathic visiting Italy who feels the frightening presence of a disturbed mind when she is at a lecture. That night, while trying to focus on that mind, she is brutally killed by a hatchet-wielding maniac. Her death is seen by Marc, a jazz pianist who lives in the same building as her. While trying to save her, Marc thinks he sees something as he races through her apartment. It is this sliver of memory, that he can't recall if he imagined or if he truly saw something, that propels him through the city streets, trying to piece together the puzzle. His path leads him into constant contact with a local reporter, Gianna, who is trying to make a name for herself. But as each piece comes into play, or as a person comes too close to a vital clue, the black-gloved assailant returns from the shadows to murder again. Marc is certain that he is closing in on the truth, but the final discovery could also spell the end of his life!

Director and co-writer Dario Argento once again returns to a familiar world of unknown killers in this genre defining mystery, which was also written by Italian screenplay master Bernardino Zapponi. Together, the two create a film that would shape the crucial ingredients for the 70's giallo - shocking gore, a dizzying storyline, characters that evolve so that any of them could be the killer, and a pounding soundtrack. But though these would be the standard ingredients, it is Argento's eye aided by Luigi Kuveiller's cinematography that keeps DEEP RED a unique film experience that brings fans new and old to the movie again and again.

The story, which revolves around Marc Dely (David Hemmings), is a swirling mystery that keeps the viewers guessing throughout, offering red herrings and subplots to keep things interesting throughout the two hour plus running time. Like most of the gialli that precede DEEP RED and like the hallucinating Argento films to follow, the story often plays second fiddle to the atmosphere and style of the set designs where the scenes take place, but it is never compromised to allow such scenes to exist. The script also allows room for some sex equality banter between Marc and Gianna (Daria Nicolodi), as they vie against one another to be the more important amateur detective.



Argento literally goes for the throat in his quest to shock the audience with his brutal assault on the body. The film's title indeed delivers, as the deep red stuff pours several times throughout, and each one out does the other. Helga's murder, which we all know is coming but is still startling when it does happen, sets the bar high early on. Her attacker cleaves her several times with a hatchet, and each time we see the blade sink in. It is a horrific murder, and Macha Meril's screams resonate in the air. Argento keeps the shocks coming, as a woman's head is scalded, a knife pins a victim's head to a table through the neck, another head is crushed, and the finale death that must seen to be believed. In the ironically titled alternate version THE HATCHET MURDERS, almost all of the gore is cut out, so it is best to avoid that one.

Beyond the atmospheric sets and the always-thinking storyline, is Kuveiller's stunning work with a camera. Early on in the film, the camera pans across a series of small objects, leading up to an extended switchblade. Each item is larger than life, crisp and in focus, and the fluid of the camera as it pans so close is just breathtaking. The camera repeats these extreme close ups of objects throughout, each time with the same precision, bringing our eye so close that we are unable to see the importance to object represents. Argento's framing of scenes, accompanied by the elaborate crane shots, wild zooms, and dollying through windows continues to be as smooth and fluid as a quiet stream. The camera merely hovers and floats around the characters trying to keep up with the subtle important clues.



Also hovering around the characters is the incredible thumping and booming of prog-rockers Goblin. DEEP RED marks the first of several collaborations between Goblin and Argento, and their work here turns the concept of music to create mood head over heels. Often times, when one would normally expect a soft violin or small horn section drawing out single notes to build suspense, Goblin cranks up the deep driving bass, lets the guitars rip, the keyboard eerily chime, and the tom-toms rattle and roll. The result is almost a music video, with a band playing over the scene, instead of being part of it, and slams out much louder than any of the conversations and ambient background. Goblin would go on to much wider acclaim with their soundtrack work on the Italian cut of DAWN OF THE DEAD, but here is where they got their start and created an unequivocal sound in the world of horror.

Over thirty years later and even looming in the shadow of Argento's greatest triumph, SUSPIRIA, DEEP RED remains an important part of both his filmography and the horror community at large. The professionalism of all involved, as well as the daring use of music, keeps this movie at the head of the list of Italian giallos. In a distant past where gore was an asset and accompaniment to the story instead of merely a distraction, Dario Argento was one of the greats.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

SCHIZO Movie & DVD Review

SCHIZO (1976)


When professional ice skater Samantha’s wedding plans are splashed across the newspaper, a grizzled-looking man sees the announcement and makes a trek to from northern England down into London. Once there, he begins to torment Samantha, starting with the placement of a bloody knife at her wedding reception. He continues his psychological games with phone calls and even places an old photo of Samantha’s mother in her house where she will see it. Samantha tries to explain to her new husband that she is being followed, but hesitates to give him any real details.

Worried for her safety, Samantha finally turns to her friend Leonard for advise. She admits to him that she knows the man, who went to jail for murdering her mother and now Samantha thinks he is after her. Leonard is skeptical, and brushes it off as purely an over-active imagination. But when people close to Samantha start showing up murdered in a most gruesome fashion, she knows that it is only a matter of time before she will again have to come face-to-face with her past, and that this time she may not survive.

Read my full review at The DVD Lounge!

Friday, August 24, 2007

PHANTOM OF DEATH Review

PHANTOM OF DEATH (1988)



A brilliant pianist in his mid-thirties and at the peak of his career is diagnosed with a disease that is quickly eroding his mind and degenerating his body at a rapid rate. Spurned by this disease, the ever maddening Robert lashes out at those who know his secret and are too close to his heart. His murders attract the attention of Inspector Datti, who become obsessed with catching a man whose appearance changes every week. Robert, who knows deep within that he must be stopped, but can not bring himself to merely surrender, eggs Datti on in an cat and mouse in which both the lives of Datti's daughter and Robert's pregnant lover at stake.

To many, the name Ruggero Deodato means only two words - CANNIBAL and HOLOCAUST, with a few less knowing his JUNGLE HOLOCAUST and THE HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK. But the director has marched on through the eighties and into the millennium churning out lesser quality works as he distanced himself from his landmark pictures. This is one of those flicks, as Deodato works from a trio of screen writers whose work had been previously brought to the screen by Deodato and Lucio Fulci among others.

This psychological slasher is a bit uneven, as the first half hour starts out in strong giallo fashion with two brutally graphic and impressive murder sequences and what appears to be camera tricks to not only keep the killer's identity a secret, but gives several side characters that will serve as false leads for the audience. This is all disposed of though as Robert is revealed to be the killer, and the film switches gears into a tragedy that watches Robert deteriorate, with some quite convincing make up effects. Robert gets several chances to turn back to his killing stylings, and after several false starts and some hammy silloquies about death and savoring life, the film switches gears back into a thriller, as Robert closes in on his final victim.

Deodato unfortunately blows the gore load pretty early on. The first is an jugular gushing sucker punch as a woman's throat is gashed open by a sword. Another woman is then impaled before being shoved through a pane of glass. The two shocking kills should promise of even greater grue to splash across the screen later in the film, but unfortunately never does, despite Robert's menacing threats to kill the young because they have the lives ahead of them and the elderly for having lived a full life.






Michael York, who you'll recognize as Basil Exposition from the AUSTIN POWERS series, stars as Robert. His physical acting here is far better than the cheesy dialogue he has to chew through, as he easily musters up the proper movements and vocalization to match the always aging make up. Donald Pleasance, who returned to the role of Dr. Loomis the same year in HALLOWEEN 4, essentially is Loomis here. His intensity and great character traits that he created with Loomis is alive and well in Datti. He may not have the much of a range, but he is a master of the range he possesses. Also of note to Italian cinema fanatics, this movie marks what is basically Edwige Fenech's final screen performance. She would return in a few television mini-series and HOSTEL 2, but this is where her career basically ends. Her talents are mostly wasted here as well, with little to do but sit on the couch and wait for Robert to come and try to kill her. But in a throwback to many of her pervious roles and the giallo genre, her character does work in fashion.

This hard-to-find title is now available from Bloodwave DVD
. As with most rare films, this is a full-screen transfer with the English soundtrack (of which York and Pleasance voices are included) and is VHS quality. Fortunately, to get over the lackluster quality, this is the even harder to find uncut print, with the complete two opening murder sequences in all their blood-spraying and shocking glory.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES Review

RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES (1972) As little girls, sisters Kitty and Evelyn learned from their grandfather about their family legend - that every 100 years one sister would murder six innocent people before finally killing the other sister. Now an adult, Kitty has become a popular photographer, while it is believed that Evelyn has disappeared to America and her third sister Franziska cares for grandfather. It is now the anniversary of the legend, and in the dead of a January night, a woman dressed as the Red Queen materializes from the shadows, and murders the grandfather. Everyone immediately suspects that it is Evelyn, but Kitty knows that is impossible, for Evelyn has been dead for months, accidentally killed by Kitty's hands.

When Kitty's boss becomes the next victim of the red-cloaked killer the suspects list opens up, including Martin, Kitty's lover and next in line to become head of the fashion corporation. More importantly, the covered-up death of Evelyn may be threatened, as both Evelyn's boyfriend has been desperately searching for her, and eyewitnesses to the murders have described the killer have features that resemble Evelyn. As the bodies start piling up, Kitty becomes frantic to figure out who is using her family's past to eliminate those around her before she finds herself on impaled on the vengeful killer's knife.

From director Emilio Miraglia, who is best known for his other mystery film, The Night Evelyn Came Out Of The Grave (1971), this lesser-known, but wonderfully suspenseful Italian mystery-thriller (these are also referred to as giallo films) features all the necessary trademarks of the genre - brutally violent deaths, copious amounts of nudity, a swaying musical score and more red herrings than a fish market. The murder sequences in Red Queen are some of the more graphic examples in genre, including one that involves a wrought-iron spiked fence, and pushes the boundary of acceptable violence in 1970s Italy. Red Queen also adds some gothic imagery into its overall feel, which helps the film standout in comparison to its contemporary brethren.

Red Queen gives needed clues throughout the film, as well as offers several fake suspects to throw off the mystery film watching sleuth that will try to figure it out before the end. But as with many well-written giallo films, the story line here will have you guessing until the inevitable final scenes where the mastermind explains the entire scheme. Unfortunately, when everything is explained at the end, it brings in too many elements and is spoken far too quickly to fully comprehend. This is the movies greatest flaw, so viewing this on DVD will allow for the added benefit of rewinding and listening again to the explanation.

On a whole, this is a really good place to start for the introduction into the giallo genre, which has been receiving a well-deserved renaissance over the past few years on DVD here in America. Other easily accessible films to keep an eye out for include The Case of The Scorpions Tail, Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key and What Have You Done To Solange?

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975) Movie Review



STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975)




When a fashion model dies during an abortion, it sparks a series of murders that are all connected to the modeling agency she worked for. As the models drop like flies in grisly deaths by a mysterious killer dressed in a leather jumpsuit and motorcycle helmet, those remaining alive become the key suspects by the police who are unable to crack the clues left behind. The key suspect becomes Carlo, a hot-tempered photographer who would rather keep vital information to himself and try to solve the case himself, even if it means putting his lover Magda and his boss in mortal danger of becoming the next nude body to be found.

Director Andrea Bianchi, who would later gain horror notoriety as the director of the zombie shocker THE NIGHTS OF TERROR, sets the mood right away for the sleaze-drenched giallo. His opening credit sequence, a grainy night time drive through Italy's neon lit sex and crime riddled streets (think TAXI DRIVER's opening) with a soft and jazzy score, instantly gets you in the right frame of mind. The film's title doesn't hurt either. He takes full advantage of the giallo cliches and themes that had been established during the past five years or so - utilizing killer POV shots, a swirling and baffling plotline that will remain a mystery until the final reel, and of course copious amounts of gratuitous nudity from practically the entire cast.

Bianchi, who also wrote the story, sets up his murder sequences with a relishing delight using false scares and shocks before getting to the true blood-spraying final blow. The effect is a great success, keeping a high level of suspense for the viewer, who never knows if the next swoosh of the camera lenses will bring the relieving view of an innocent face or a close up of a shiny black helmet as a blade plunges into flesh. Bianchi doesn't shy away from the red stuff here. He know what his core audience wants and delivers in spades. Though the blood is brightly colored (and obviously fake) it doesn't take away from the demise of the victims, and the over abundance of arterial sprays helps to make up for the inaccurate color.

At the other end of the spectrum of murder sequences in a picture like this is the aforementioned gratuitous nude and borderline soft/hardcore sex scenes. Italian sexpot Edwige Fenech leads the fray here, showing off what she has in practically every scene she's in. This is classic Euro-sex trash - the women are curvy, natural, and sexy, and sporting the undeniable 70's burning bush, while the men are tanned, greasy, and showing off a suave sex appeal that is both repulsive and irresistible at the same time, which can only be properly obtained by Europeans. Set decoration, which will put you in a time warp to a distant world of high contrast colors, impractical lighting, and impossibly impractical furniture adds to the world the film takes place in. Ikea would be wise to take a few pointers from this era of cinema.

This film is definitely not for everyone to say the least, but if you've made it this far in the review, it may be something you need to at least rent and witness for yourself. Hell, after a set up like that you may even be compelled to seek this out! Although in poor taste bordering on trash, the film never submits itself to being nasty or vicious, and never once takes itself seriously. And while the victims in death may be the female characters, the male characters are equally victims of the women in life. Plus with the over-the-top style and ludicrous storyline, it even slips into the realm of camp (especially when dealing with the English dubbing) when compared to today's quite grisly flicks. Packaging gore, sex, mystery thrills, red herrings, and lowbrow comedy, it is a sampler platter of all that the genre had to offer and what was regularly on display in the heyday of 42nd Street's less-then-upscale theatres.

Pick it up on Amazon today!

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