 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Digital Shrieks By Robert Freese “Italian Splatter Platters” |
Autopsy (1975)
Blue Underground
Dir. Armando Crispino
“It’ll take you…apart!”
Sunspots are blamed for numerous acts of random violence around Rome.
Pathologist Simona Sana (Mimsy Farmer) suffers from kinky and bizarre
hallucinations and becomes entangled in a murder mystery with priest Father
Lenox (Barry Primus). Pushing the sleaze needle way into the red, this gritty Italio
thriller is certainly not for all tastes, but hardcore giallo fans should dig the graphic
proceedings.
Baron Blood (1972)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Mario Bava
“He sought the ultimate in HUMAN AGONY…With instruments of TORTURE
ghastly beyond belief.”
American student Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) and sexy museum curator Eva
Arnold (Elke Sommer) awaken a centuries old sadist who was known as “Baron
Blood”. When the incantation to send the fiend back to the grave burns, a number
of people are found dead, many in torture devices displayed throughout the
museum. Creepy, atmospheric and graphically bloody in places, Bava’s striking
visual style infuses this gothic thriller with his wicked sense of humor and delivers
plenty of honest chills. If you haven’t experienced the horror films of Mario Bava, I
recommend starting with this Gothic gem.
Bay of Blood (1974)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Mario Bava
“They came to play, they stayed to die.”
An idyllic lakefront property is reason enough to spark a spate of bloody murders
wherein there is no singular killer but a succession of insanely greedy
psychopaths. Bava’s brilliant twist on the giallo practically laid the groundwork for
the cycle of slasher movies that followed in the ‘80s. Wickedly funny and brutal,
this is another example why Bava was, simply, the best of the best. (It was
available via Image Entertainment under the title Twitch of the Death Nerve.) It
was released theatrically stateside as The Last House on the Left Part II. Gory,
shocking and highly recommended.
Blue Underground
Dir. Armando Crispino
“It’ll take you…apart!”
Sunspots are blamed for numerous acts of random violence around Rome.
Pathologist Simona Sana (Mimsy Farmer) suffers from kinky and bizarre
hallucinations and becomes entangled in a murder mystery with priest Father
Lenox (Barry Primus). Pushing the sleaze needle way into the red, this gritty Italio
thriller is certainly not for all tastes, but hardcore giallo fans should dig the graphic
proceedings.
Baron Blood (1972)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Mario Bava
“He sought the ultimate in HUMAN AGONY…With instruments of TORTURE
ghastly beyond belief.”
American student Peter Kleist (Antonio Cantafora) and sexy museum curator Eva
Arnold (Elke Sommer) awaken a centuries old sadist who was known as “Baron
Blood”. When the incantation to send the fiend back to the grave burns, a number
of people are found dead, many in torture devices displayed throughout the
museum. Creepy, atmospheric and graphically bloody in places, Bava’s striking
visual style infuses this gothic thriller with his wicked sense of humor and delivers
plenty of honest chills. If you haven’t experienced the horror films of Mario Bava, I
recommend starting with this Gothic gem.
Bay of Blood (1974)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Mario Bava
“They came to play, they stayed to die.”
An idyllic lakefront property is reason enough to spark a spate of bloody murders
wherein there is no singular killer but a succession of insanely greedy
psychopaths. Bava’s brilliant twist on the giallo practically laid the groundwork for
the cycle of slasher movies that followed in the ‘80s. Wickedly funny and brutal,
this is another example why Bava was, simply, the best of the best. (It was
available via Image Entertainment under the title Twitch of the Death Nerve.) It
was released theatrically stateside as The Last House on the Left Part II. Gory,
shocking and highly recommended.
 |
 |
Beyond the Darkness (1979)
Shriek Show
Dir. Aristide Massaccesi (Directing under the pseudonym “Joe D’Amato”)
“A fate worse than death.”
Terminally twisted Francesco Wyler (Kieran Canter) loses his mind when his longtime girlfriend Anna (Cinzia
Monreale) gets dies. He keeps lovely dead Anna in his bedroom after stealing the corpse and bringing it home.
Francesco graphically dismembers and disembowels his female victims and eventually gets around to noshing
on some of the ravaged innards. He goes completely bonkers when he meets his deceased lover’s twin sister
Elena (also Monreale)! Sick, disturbing and absolutely disgusting, this may be Massaccesi’s horror
masterpiece. The bodies used in the graphic autopsy and cremation scenes were rumored to have been real.
You decide. A great chunkblower. For those with strong stomachs only!
The Black Cat (1981)
Blue Underground
Dir. Lucio Fulci
“Flesh eating felines!”
Moody, creepy chiller concerns gruesome murders in a small English town caused by a ferocious feral feline.
Patrick Magee is a medium who tries to communicate with the dead. He shares a psychic link with the deadly
creature causing all the carnage. David Warbeck is the detective investigating the case. Not the gut-spiller
most Fulci fans demand, but certainly better than what some would have you believe. It is a quieter horror
experiment from the grand old godfather of Italian gore, who delivers more mood than gratuitous mutilation.
(But, it is still a Fulci flick, so when he employs the wet stuff, it splatters the walls!) Check it out.
Black Demons (1991)
Shriek Show
Dir. Umberto Lenzi
“They will tear, rip and bite anyone in their path of vengeance.”
Gore galore when a bunch of bone-headed tourists invoke the spirits of deceased slaves who return to life as
flesh ravaging zombies. Filled to the brim with voodoo rites, gouged eyes and pissed off, axe wielding slave
zombies. What else could you possibly want? The pacing does seem to lag at times compared to some of Fulci’
s zombie-o-ramas, but stick with it. There’s enough good stuff to warrant a viewing.
Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Image Entertainment
Dir. Antonio Margheriti
“POWs in Vietnam…starved in captivity…released with a taste for HUMAN FLESH!”
A trio of ‘Nam vets infected with a cannibal virus after a short time in a prison camp reunite in Atlanta for a balls
out murder spree that involves much flesh scarfing and ends with a tense chase beneath the city. John Saxon
is Norman Hopper, the commanding officer leading his troops on a delirious meat mission through downtown
Atlanta. The pace never slackens as our heroes try to evade authorities while painting the town blood red. The
meatiest, moistest moment sees Giovanni Lombardo Radice having a bowling ball sized hole blown through his
midsection courtesy of a law enforcement officer with a shotgun and an itchy trigger finger. Released on
stateside video as Invasion of the Fleshhunters. A wild, satisfying gore ride.
Cat in the Brain (1990)
Grindhouse Releasing
Dir. Lucio Fulci
Fulci plays a manic movie director of gory horror flicks who suffers from extreme hallucinations of insanely
violent tableaux. But, is he a killer? He tries to purge his inner perversions out through film but still he fears he
may possibly be the killer slaughtering people close to him. He seeks psychiatric help, only to be hypnotized
and further traumatized. Jaw dropping in its over the top scenes of graphic bloodletting, Fulci pulled out all the
stops in this exercise in madness made flesh. Scenes from some of his later films (as well as scenes from some
of his filmmaker friend’s flicks) are spliced between the blood-dripping action. It is obvious Fulci was having a
ball here and fans of the maestro’s will delight in all the spastic splatter. AKA Nightmare Concert. You
absolutely want to seek this one out.
Cemetery Man (1994)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“Zombies, guns and sex, OH MY!”
Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) is a disturbed caretaker at a local bone yard where the inhabitants don’t
stay dead. He keeps the wily undead from getting out of hand and wandering off the premises with his right
hand man Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazaro). (The outside world has no idea the dead regularly return to life.) On
several occasions, Francesco meets his perfect woman (who is always played by the stunningly beautiful
Natasha Hovey), but their trysts always end badly. Incredibly entertaining and engaging, original, gory and
blackly funny, I honestly have to say that Soavi delivered a near perfect zombie romp that has yet to be
surpassed. If you haven’t seen it yet you are missing a real treat.
The Church (1989)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“You haven’t got a prayer.”
Trapped in a grand cathedral, a group of people band together to battle a deadly demonic threat released from
beneath the ancient structure. Soavi shows a unique visual flair for directing scenes of outrageous violence. (It
is pretty obvious he trained under guys like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.) Flick features Asia Argento in an
early performance and Giovanni Lombardo Radice as a priest. I believe this was originally conceived as a film
for the Demons series, and may have been released in some countries as Demons 3. An excellent shocker.
Demons (1985)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.”
A new cinema opens and the patrons soon find themselves locked inside fighting off a horde of flesh ripping
demons. This simple premise is squeezed for every drop of blood, pus and bile its worth. Its 88 minute running
time rockets from one gore scene to the next, never letting up and delivering the goods to a throbbing, kick ass
‘80s heavy metal soundtrack. The sanguinary assault never lets up in one rambunctious sauce spattering kill
scene after another. Film fans will no doubt enjoy the little in-jokes sprinkled throughout the film. Gore hounds
will delight in the relentless latex slinging. Dario Argento co-wrote and produced. Flick is a Euro classic and
should not be missed.
Demons 2 (1986)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“The Nightmare Returns!”
A demon infested high rise is the setting for this sequel that features many of the original film’s cast in new
roles. Demon pulsates out of a TV screen and crashes the birthday party of teen drama queen Sally (Coralina
Cataldi-Tassoni), who transforms into a bile spewing demonoid and rips her friends’ faces off. Unfortunately,
this sequel suffers the fate of sequelitis and is not nearly as inspirationally gory as its predecessor, but it is not
as bad as some fans have claimed. Uncut on disc and worthy of a night’s rental.
Demons III: The Ogre (1988)
Shriek Show
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“What happens when the nightmares of your childhood suddenly become reality?”
A little girl who was troubled by an ogre grows up to be a bestselling horror author. When Cheryl (Virginia
Bryant) moves to a castle with her family for the summer to write her new book, an egg sac in the basement
births the ogre from her childhood. The creature haunts her every waking hour, but no one believes her that an
ogre is on the loose. Hard to believe that this is considered part of the Demons series. While not a horrible film,
it certainly lets the viewer expecting a balls-to-the-wall gore epic like the first film down in a most depressing
way. This is a dark fantasy and it is enjoyable as a lightweight creature feature. Lower your expectations and
enjoy it for what it is.
Hitcher in the Dark (1989)
Shriek Show
Dir. Umberto Lenzi
Psychotic geek Mark Glazer (Joe Balogh) tools around Virginia Beach in a motor home abducting young girls for
rape, torture and murder. Some tense moments, as well as a couple really uncomfortable scenes, build some
suspenseful momentum, but this is far from the “classic thriller” the back cover write up tries to convince you it
is. Balogh does the crazy geek shtick really well. Screamy victim Josie Bissett later found fame on the teen TV
hit Melrose Place. One great scene has Glazer visiting a local drive-in theater for a double feature while his
victim squirms around in the back of the camper, desperately trying to get the attention of any of the passion pit’
s horndog patrons. Lenzi fans will best enjoy this thriller.
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
Blue Underground
Dir. Lucio Fulci
“Read the fine print. You may have just mortgaged your life!”
A young family moves into a creepy old manse where the former resident, Dr. Freudstein, lives in the basement
as a cannibalistic zombie who must regularly consume fresh human flesh to sustain life. Little Bob (Giovanni
Frezza) has visions of a little ghost girl who constantly warns him to stay away. Scalps are ripped and throats
are slit as the family tries to escape the undead madman. One of Fulci’s best, it’s a wet ‘n wild, gross and meaty
hybrid of ghost movie and zombie flick. Should not be missed.
Phenomena (1985)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Dario Argento
“Jennifer has a few million close friends. She’s going to need them all!”
Young Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) is sent to a Swiss boarding school where numerous murders are
taking place. It is revealed that Jennifer shares a psychic link with the insect world and she utilizes that bond to
track the killer. Wheelchair bound entomologist John McGregor (Donald Pleasence) assists her on her journey.
This trippy, nightmarish fantasy delivers its fair share of dreamy ambiance and grotesque thrills. Connelly does
well in her first staring role and Argento delivers his requisite gore set pieces with his usual visual panache.
Flick was originally released to stateside theaters shorn of nearly twenty minutes under the title Creepers. Great
heavy metal soundtrack accompanies the splatter spectacle. Well worth your time.
Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)
Blue Underground
Dir. Aldo Lado
In this bizarre but thoroughly entertaining giallo, the “corpse” of reporter Greg Moore (Jean Sorel) recounts the
days spent searching for his missing girlfriend and climax with his apparent murder. Uncovering conspiracies
and getting into more and more trouble with each passing hour, Moore is constantly on the move as he tries to
locate his gal pal. A totally unique and engaging thriller. Although this is not a hardcore horror flick, fans in the
mood for something different are sure to enjoy.
Stagefright (1987)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“The Theatre of Death!”
An insane stage director keeps his cast locked in for a long night of rehearsals. One-by-one the assembled
players are stalked and slain in ridiculously gory fashion by a lunatic with an insatiable bloodlust. Soavi’s
directorial debut proved he learned a thing or two after years of working under Italy’s horror elite. Incredibly
violent and dripping with gore, Soavi also delivers some deliciously black moments of humor. Produced by
Aristide Massaccesi (AKA “Joe D’Amato”) and written by Luigi Montefiore (AKA “George Eastman”). Highly
recommended.
Torso (1973)
Blue Underground
Dir. Sergio Martino
“One day she met a man who loved Beautiful Women…But not all in one piece.”
A quartet of pretty young college girls spend a weekend in an isolated cabin in the mountains. Unknown to
them, a psychopath is watching and stalking them and has plans of killing and dismembering the best “parts”
from these living “dolls”. Gruesome thrills will have you literally on the edge of your seat during certain scenes.
Uncut on DVD, this Italio giallo will delight fanatics of the stalk ‘n slash scene with its liberal helpings of sleaze,
bare flesh and interpersonal mayhem. Worth viewing.
Touch of Death (1988)
Shriek Show
Dir. Lucio Fulci
Psycho cannibal Lester Parson (Brett Halsey) runs into money trouble with ever mounting gambling debts and
begins preying on wealthy women, seducing them then slaughtering them and taking their cash. One of Fulci’s
goriest flicks, it is also incredibly misogynistic, mean spirited and down right cruel. The proceedings are not to
be taken seriously, as this works like a gore comedy. Lester lays waste to his lady friends and slowly loses his
mind. AKA When Alice Broke the Mirror. It’s never gotten much attention, no doubt because of its mile long
mean streak, but Fulci connoisseurs will want to seek it out.
Shriek Show
Dir. Aristide Massaccesi (Directing under the pseudonym “Joe D’Amato”)
“A fate worse than death.”
Terminally twisted Francesco Wyler (Kieran Canter) loses his mind when his longtime girlfriend Anna (Cinzia
Monreale) gets dies. He keeps lovely dead Anna in his bedroom after stealing the corpse and bringing it home.
Francesco graphically dismembers and disembowels his female victims and eventually gets around to noshing
on some of the ravaged innards. He goes completely bonkers when he meets his deceased lover’s twin sister
Elena (also Monreale)! Sick, disturbing and absolutely disgusting, this may be Massaccesi’s horror
masterpiece. The bodies used in the graphic autopsy and cremation scenes were rumored to have been real.
You decide. A great chunkblower. For those with strong stomachs only!
The Black Cat (1981)
Blue Underground
Dir. Lucio Fulci
“Flesh eating felines!”
Moody, creepy chiller concerns gruesome murders in a small English town caused by a ferocious feral feline.
Patrick Magee is a medium who tries to communicate with the dead. He shares a psychic link with the deadly
creature causing all the carnage. David Warbeck is the detective investigating the case. Not the gut-spiller
most Fulci fans demand, but certainly better than what some would have you believe. It is a quieter horror
experiment from the grand old godfather of Italian gore, who delivers more mood than gratuitous mutilation.
(But, it is still a Fulci flick, so when he employs the wet stuff, it splatters the walls!) Check it out.
Black Demons (1991)
Shriek Show
Dir. Umberto Lenzi
“They will tear, rip and bite anyone in their path of vengeance.”
Gore galore when a bunch of bone-headed tourists invoke the spirits of deceased slaves who return to life as
flesh ravaging zombies. Filled to the brim with voodoo rites, gouged eyes and pissed off, axe wielding slave
zombies. What else could you possibly want? The pacing does seem to lag at times compared to some of Fulci’
s zombie-o-ramas, but stick with it. There’s enough good stuff to warrant a viewing.
Cannibal Apocalypse (1980)
Image Entertainment
Dir. Antonio Margheriti
“POWs in Vietnam…starved in captivity…released with a taste for HUMAN FLESH!”
A trio of ‘Nam vets infected with a cannibal virus after a short time in a prison camp reunite in Atlanta for a balls
out murder spree that involves much flesh scarfing and ends with a tense chase beneath the city. John Saxon
is Norman Hopper, the commanding officer leading his troops on a delirious meat mission through downtown
Atlanta. The pace never slackens as our heroes try to evade authorities while painting the town blood red. The
meatiest, moistest moment sees Giovanni Lombardo Radice having a bowling ball sized hole blown through his
midsection courtesy of a law enforcement officer with a shotgun and an itchy trigger finger. Released on
stateside video as Invasion of the Fleshhunters. A wild, satisfying gore ride.
Cat in the Brain (1990)
Grindhouse Releasing
Dir. Lucio Fulci
Fulci plays a manic movie director of gory horror flicks who suffers from extreme hallucinations of insanely
violent tableaux. But, is he a killer? He tries to purge his inner perversions out through film but still he fears he
may possibly be the killer slaughtering people close to him. He seeks psychiatric help, only to be hypnotized
and further traumatized. Jaw dropping in its over the top scenes of graphic bloodletting, Fulci pulled out all the
stops in this exercise in madness made flesh. Scenes from some of his later films (as well as scenes from some
of his filmmaker friend’s flicks) are spliced between the blood-dripping action. It is obvious Fulci was having a
ball here and fans of the maestro’s will delight in all the spastic splatter. AKA Nightmare Concert. You
absolutely want to seek this one out.
Cemetery Man (1994)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“Zombies, guns and sex, OH MY!”
Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett) is a disturbed caretaker at a local bone yard where the inhabitants don’t
stay dead. He keeps the wily undead from getting out of hand and wandering off the premises with his right
hand man Gnaghi (Francois Hadji-Lazaro). (The outside world has no idea the dead regularly return to life.) On
several occasions, Francesco meets his perfect woman (who is always played by the stunningly beautiful
Natasha Hovey), but their trysts always end badly. Incredibly entertaining and engaging, original, gory and
blackly funny, I honestly have to say that Soavi delivered a near perfect zombie romp that has yet to be
surpassed. If you haven’t seen it yet you are missing a real treat.
The Church (1989)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“You haven’t got a prayer.”
Trapped in a grand cathedral, a group of people band together to battle a deadly demonic threat released from
beneath the ancient structure. Soavi shows a unique visual flair for directing scenes of outrageous violence. (It
is pretty obvious he trained under guys like Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci.) Flick features Asia Argento in an
early performance and Giovanni Lombardo Radice as a priest. I believe this was originally conceived as a film
for the Demons series, and may have been released in some countries as Demons 3. An excellent shocker.
Demons (1985)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs.”
A new cinema opens and the patrons soon find themselves locked inside fighting off a horde of flesh ripping
demons. This simple premise is squeezed for every drop of blood, pus and bile its worth. Its 88 minute running
time rockets from one gore scene to the next, never letting up and delivering the goods to a throbbing, kick ass
‘80s heavy metal soundtrack. The sanguinary assault never lets up in one rambunctious sauce spattering kill
scene after another. Film fans will no doubt enjoy the little in-jokes sprinkled throughout the film. Gore hounds
will delight in the relentless latex slinging. Dario Argento co-wrote and produced. Flick is a Euro classic and
should not be missed.
Demons 2 (1986)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“The Nightmare Returns!”
A demon infested high rise is the setting for this sequel that features many of the original film’s cast in new
roles. Demon pulsates out of a TV screen and crashes the birthday party of teen drama queen Sally (Coralina
Cataldi-Tassoni), who transforms into a bile spewing demonoid and rips her friends’ faces off. Unfortunately,
this sequel suffers the fate of sequelitis and is not nearly as inspirationally gory as its predecessor, but it is not
as bad as some fans have claimed. Uncut on disc and worthy of a night’s rental.
Demons III: The Ogre (1988)
Shriek Show
Dir. Lamberto Bava
“What happens when the nightmares of your childhood suddenly become reality?”
A little girl who was troubled by an ogre grows up to be a bestselling horror author. When Cheryl (Virginia
Bryant) moves to a castle with her family for the summer to write her new book, an egg sac in the basement
births the ogre from her childhood. The creature haunts her every waking hour, but no one believes her that an
ogre is on the loose. Hard to believe that this is considered part of the Demons series. While not a horrible film,
it certainly lets the viewer expecting a balls-to-the-wall gore epic like the first film down in a most depressing
way. This is a dark fantasy and it is enjoyable as a lightweight creature feature. Lower your expectations and
enjoy it for what it is.
Hitcher in the Dark (1989)
Shriek Show
Dir. Umberto Lenzi
Psychotic geek Mark Glazer (Joe Balogh) tools around Virginia Beach in a motor home abducting young girls for
rape, torture and murder. Some tense moments, as well as a couple really uncomfortable scenes, build some
suspenseful momentum, but this is far from the “classic thriller” the back cover write up tries to convince you it
is. Balogh does the crazy geek shtick really well. Screamy victim Josie Bissett later found fame on the teen TV
hit Melrose Place. One great scene has Glazer visiting a local drive-in theater for a double feature while his
victim squirms around in the back of the camper, desperately trying to get the attention of any of the passion pit’
s horndog patrons. Lenzi fans will best enjoy this thriller.
The House by the Cemetery (1981)
Blue Underground
Dir. Lucio Fulci
“Read the fine print. You may have just mortgaged your life!”
A young family moves into a creepy old manse where the former resident, Dr. Freudstein, lives in the basement
as a cannibalistic zombie who must regularly consume fresh human flesh to sustain life. Little Bob (Giovanni
Frezza) has visions of a little ghost girl who constantly warns him to stay away. Scalps are ripped and throats
are slit as the family tries to escape the undead madman. One of Fulci’s best, it’s a wet ‘n wild, gross and meaty
hybrid of ghost movie and zombie flick. Should not be missed.
Phenomena (1985)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Dario Argento
“Jennifer has a few million close friends. She’s going to need them all!”
Young Jennifer Corvino (Jennifer Connelly) is sent to a Swiss boarding school where numerous murders are
taking place. It is revealed that Jennifer shares a psychic link with the insect world and she utilizes that bond to
track the killer. Wheelchair bound entomologist John McGregor (Donald Pleasence) assists her on her journey.
This trippy, nightmarish fantasy delivers its fair share of dreamy ambiance and grotesque thrills. Connelly does
well in her first staring role and Argento delivers his requisite gore set pieces with his usual visual panache.
Flick was originally released to stateside theaters shorn of nearly twenty minutes under the title Creepers. Great
heavy metal soundtrack accompanies the splatter spectacle. Well worth your time.
Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)
Blue Underground
Dir. Aldo Lado
In this bizarre but thoroughly entertaining giallo, the “corpse” of reporter Greg Moore (Jean Sorel) recounts the
days spent searching for his missing girlfriend and climax with his apparent murder. Uncovering conspiracies
and getting into more and more trouble with each passing hour, Moore is constantly on the move as he tries to
locate his gal pal. A totally unique and engaging thriller. Although this is not a hardcore horror flick, fans in the
mood for something different are sure to enjoy.
Stagefright (1987)
Anchor Bay
Dir. Michele Soavi
“The Theatre of Death!”
An insane stage director keeps his cast locked in for a long night of rehearsals. One-by-one the assembled
players are stalked and slain in ridiculously gory fashion by a lunatic with an insatiable bloodlust. Soavi’s
directorial debut proved he learned a thing or two after years of working under Italy’s horror elite. Incredibly
violent and dripping with gore, Soavi also delivers some deliciously black moments of humor. Produced by
Aristide Massaccesi (AKA “Joe D’Amato”) and written by Luigi Montefiore (AKA “George Eastman”). Highly
recommended.
Torso (1973)
Blue Underground
Dir. Sergio Martino
“One day she met a man who loved Beautiful Women…But not all in one piece.”
A quartet of pretty young college girls spend a weekend in an isolated cabin in the mountains. Unknown to
them, a psychopath is watching and stalking them and has plans of killing and dismembering the best “parts”
from these living “dolls”. Gruesome thrills will have you literally on the edge of your seat during certain scenes.
Uncut on DVD, this Italio giallo will delight fanatics of the stalk ‘n slash scene with its liberal helpings of sleaze,
bare flesh and interpersonal mayhem. Worth viewing.
Touch of Death (1988)
Shriek Show
Dir. Lucio Fulci
Psycho cannibal Lester Parson (Brett Halsey) runs into money trouble with ever mounting gambling debts and
begins preying on wealthy women, seducing them then slaughtering them and taking their cash. One of Fulci’s
goriest flicks, it is also incredibly misogynistic, mean spirited and down right cruel. The proceedings are not to
be taken seriously, as this works like a gore comedy. Lester lays waste to his lady friends and slowly loses his
mind. AKA When Alice Broke the Mirror. It’s never gotten much attention, no doubt because of its mile long
mean streak, but Fulci connoisseurs will want to seek it out.