HORROR MOVIES 101

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:47:57 GMT

Curious to know on how many of you has ever seen or read Gorezone from the U.K. I end up in Barnes and Nobles for a good part of the day on Monday, while waiting to go to class, since its so near campus. I honestly miss Powells in the Northwest. Anyways, yesterday in the new Gorezone, there is a really good article entitled "Eurotrash", for all you that are beginners in this movie genre, I recomend picking it up.

And for all you Argento fans out there, heres a really good kalidascope of his work on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq-IXcwZYBo

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:22:31 GMT

Risselada:

Macabre_FilmNut:
William Desmond Taylor, from the Fatty Arbuckle scenario. I hate to say this and I am hoping not to sound rude but there is a huge difference between drug addicted deaths or narcs and politically motivated deaths! They are saying Pasolini was talking about death before he died and this movie Salo, drove him nuts. He also pissed off alot of Fascit pople and even maybe the mafia.

If you are going to go down the William Desmond Taylor ave, then we should throw in Bob crane! And I honestly dont think this has anything to do with horror italian.

Well I honestly don't know much about it. I am just saying they are both directors whose deaths are debated or unsolved. I don't think there's necessarily any other similarity than that. I was just trying to come up with a list of other directors who have mysterious deaths. I like coming up with lists. Anyways, thanks for the info.

I've heard about Bob Crane. I've been curious to see that movie about him, Auto Focus, but largely becuase it was directed by Paul Shrader. As far as I can tell though Bob Crane was not a director. I think he was just an actor. I bet there are a lot more mysterious deaths surrounding actors than directors. They seem to get themselves into more trouble. At least the public is more interested in the trouble they get in.

I know this isn't about Italian horror, but I don't mind straying from the topic if you don't.

Take a look at Jerrys stahl, who is very much alive, for some odd reason!Well I tagged some of his shows and movies that he has written for on Spout. If you are looking for an interesting read pick up Stahs book called I, Fatty.

Its about Fatty Arbuckle and Bob Crane is about as creepy as you can get! But they say that about me and my tatses!

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:49:30 GMT

Macabre_FilmNut:
William Desmond Taylor, from the Fatty Arbuckle scenario. I hate to say this and I am hoping not to sound rude but there is a huge difference between drug addicted deaths or narcs and politically motivated deaths! They are saying Pasolini was talking about death before he died and this movie Salo, drove him nuts. He also pissed off alot of Fascit pople and even maybe the mafia.

If you are going to go down the William Desmond Taylor ave, then we should throw in Bob crane! And I honestly dont think this has anything to do with horror italian.

Well I honestly don't know much about it. I am just saying they are both directors whose deaths are debated or unsolved. I don't think there's necessarily any other similarity than that. I was just trying to come up with a list of other directors who have mysterious deaths. I like coming up with lists. Anyways, thanks for the info.

I've heard about Bob Crane. I've been curious to see that movie about him, Auto Focus, but largely becuase it was directed by Paul Shrader. As far as I can tell though Bob Crane was not a director. I think he was just an actor. I bet there are a lot more mysterious deaths surrounding actors than directors. They seem to get themselves into more trouble. At least the public is more interested in the trouble they get in.

I know this isn't about Italian horror, but I don't mind straying from the topic if you don't.

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:55:53 GMT

Macabre_FilmNut:

Dr_Gor:
Risselada:

Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

When you say Pasolini's death has been disputed, are you saying there are people who are disputing as to whether he died at all??

Or are you saying that the circumstances surrounding his death are disputed. In the latter case, I would not say he is the ONE director where this is true. What about William Desmond Taylor?

Rizzo, I would like to get a prescription for whatever drugs you are on...

I am pretty sure I explained myself in the last post and even given links to illustrate it. He's is dead, very much so. Well at least on what Iam reading. Its the circumstances surrounding his death!

William Desmond Taylor, from the Fatty Arbuckle scenario. I hate to say this and I am hoping not to sound rude but there is a huge difference between drug addicted deaths or narcs and politically motivated deaths! They are saying Pasolini was talking about death before he died and this movie Salo, drove him nuts. He also pissed off alot of Fascit pople and even maybe the mafia.

If you are going to go down the William Desmond Taylor ave, then we should throw in Bob crane! And I honestly dont think this has anything to do with horror italian.

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Fri, 16 May 2008 01:42:31 GMT

Dr_Gor:
Risselada:

Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

When you say Pasolini's death has been disputed, are you saying there are people who are disputing as to whether he died at all??

Or are you saying that the circumstances surrounding his death are disputed. In the latter case, I would not say he is the ONE director where this is true. What about William Desmond Taylor?

Rizzo, I would like to get a prescription for whatever drugs you are on...

I am pretty sure I explained myself in the last post and even given links to illustrate it. He's is dead, very much so. Well at least on what Iam reading. Its the circumstances surrounding his death!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Thu, 15 May 2008 23:38:50 GMT

Risselada:
Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

When you say Pasolini's death has been disputed, are you saying there are people who are disputing as to whether he died at all??

Or are you saying that the circumstances surrounding his death are disputed. In the latter case, I would not say he is the ONE director where this is true. What about William Desmond Taylor?

Rizzo, I would like to get a prescription for whatever drugs you are on...

Re: Italian Horror....

mercurial — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:25:19 GMT

Risselada:

When you say Pasolini's death has been disputed, are you saying there are people who are disputing as to whether he died at all??

Or are you saying that the circumstances surrounding his death are disputed.

I remember watching some documentary that mentioned how Pasolini's death is still debated: whether it was just some prostitute that killed him for money or a planned assassination by a group that hated the fact that he was a gay, communist, et. al. stirring up too much controversy in Italy.

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Thu, 15 May 2008 20:54:48 GMT

Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

When you say Pasolini's death has been disputed, are you saying there are people who are disputing as to whether he died at all??

Or are you saying that the circumstances surrounding his death are disputed. In the latter case, I would not say he is the ONE director where this is true. What about William Desmond Taylor?

Re: Italian Horror....

mercurial — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:16:34 GMT

Dr_Gor:
mercurial:

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Pier Paolo Pasolini. Surprisingly the only Italian director that I own and whose movies I have watched and loved, Pasolini definitely belongs among the list of great Italian horror directors.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains the only film that has actually made me lose the contents of my stomach (not a lot, just a little in my mouth). The insane nature of the subject matter goes above and beyond pretty much anything I have ever seen.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check it out.

Thanks for that, mercurial, and please don't be offended that I have to interject here. Whenever you mention a movie like this you should add a WARNING that this movie is NOT for everyone! I purchased and watched this movie awhile back and I'm almost sorry I did. This movie was TERRIBLE! Think 'Nekromantik' meets John Water's 'Multiple Maniacs' ... only nastier... Still, I watched the whole thing... It's like looking at a car crash... you can't help but look but later you will wish you hadn't. Sorry again, Mercurial. There are innocent women and children reading this so I had to put a 'disclaimer' on that last recomendation of yours. No Offense...

No need to apologize Dr. Gor. I thought that mentioning how it made me vomit was a pretty good warning but alas, it is that screwed up of a movie that everyone should definitely be forewarned of its repugnant nature.

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:11:37 GMT

Risselada:

Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

I was pretty sure Pasolini was murdered before the release of this film. At least according to the dates he was murdered on November 2, 1975 and the movie was premiered on November 22, 1975. Maybe there was an unofficial screening prior to this though...

I am not a fan of Pasolini, yet? I havent seen any of his stuff and like I said earlier Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975) theres something about it, I just keep passing it up. And there isn't really anything I turn Down.

I am not sure on his death, kinda sounds like the JFK conspiracy. I was quoting above from one of my favorite filmzines of this year ParaCinema.But this other article if interested sheds some light on his mind frame at the end http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/directors/02/pasolini.html

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:42:55 GMT

Macabre_FilmNut:
The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

I was pretty sure Pasolini was murdered before the release of this film. At least according to the dates he was murdered on November 2, 1975 and the movie was premiered on November 22, 1975. Maybe there was an unofficial screening prior to this though...

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:31:52 GMT

mercurial:
I can't believe nobody has mentioned Pier Paolo Pasolini. Surprisingly the only Italian director that I own and whose movies I have watched and loved, Pasolini definitely belongs among the list of great Italian horror directors.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains the only film that has actually made me lose the contents of my stomach (not a lot, just a little in my mouth). The insane nature of the subject matter goes above and beyond pretty much anything I have ever seen.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check it out.

Thanks for that, mercurial, and please don't be offended that I have to interject here. Whenever you mention a movie like this you should add a WARNING that this movie is NOT for everyone! I purchased and watched this movie awhile back and I'm almost sorry I did. This movie was TERRIBLE! Think 'Nekromantik' meets John Water's 'Multiple Maniacs' ... only nastier... Still, I watched the whole thing... It's like looking at a car crash... you can't help but look but later you will wish you hadn't. Sorry again, Mercurial. There are innocent women and children reading this so I had to put a 'disclaimer' on that last recomendation of yours. No Offense...

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Tue, 13 May 2008 13:12:31 GMT

digitalconquest:

It definitely has it's repulsive moments, but I'm not a big fan of SALO. I respect the movie, but it's more of a political and social commentary than actual cinema. Pasolini just isn't my kind of director.

mercurial:

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Pier Paolo Pasolini. Surprisingly the only Italian director that I own and whose movies I have watched and loved, Pasolini definitely belongs among the list of great Italian horror directors.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains the only film that has actually made me lose the contents of my stomach (not a lot, just a little in my mouth). The insane nature of the subject matter goes above and beyond pretty much anything I have ever seen.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check it out.

The one director where there been disputing his death for years. According to an article it states" Pasolini was killed following the release of the film. While the investigation into homicide is still open many believe that Pasolini, like the the late great and equally controversial Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gough, was killed becasue of his art."

I still havent seenSalo, Iam not sure why. Nothing really bothers me, but some reason I keep going past this movie. I have few of Pasolina early movies in my que on Netflix but not this film. Something about human humility!

Re: Italian Horror....

digitalconquest — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:47:47 GMT

It definitely has it's repulsive moments, but I'm not a big fan of SALO. I respect the movie, but it's more of a political and social commentary than actual cinema. Pasolini just isn't my kind of director.

mercurial:

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Pier Paolo Pasolini. Surprisingly the only Italian director that I own and whose movies I have watched and loved, Pasolini definitely belongs among the list of great Italian horror directors.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains the only film that has actually made me lose the contents of my stomach (not a lot, just a little in my mouth). The insane nature of the subject matter goes above and beyond pretty much anything I have ever seen.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check it out.

Re: Italian Horror....

digitalconquest — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:45:32 GMT

Macabre_FilmNut:

WHO SAW HER DIE is quite stylish. I'm a huge fan of Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING. Also check out ALL THE COLORS OF THE DARK, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE and man, I could go on and on when it comes to Gialli!

Mark

Macabre_FilmNut:

Just looked at a preview of "SO SWEET SO DEAD". Actually I believe, I just found another cool site foir movies, besides the point. Movie looks great. I am huge into "Giallos". I seen everything Argento has out and one movie I did enjoy that is not an Argento is Who Saw Her Die? (1972) and I loved Don't Torture a Duckling (1972). Thanks again. .

Nick

digitalconquest:

Definitely a Fulci fan. I got the opportunity to write up a magazine article on the director and his movies in ULTRA VIOLENT MAGAZINE. Lots of fun researching and revisiting his films. From ROME 2072 to THE BEYOND.

Other Italian Faves...BAY OF BLOOD, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST, NIGHTMARE CITY, SO SWEET SO DEAD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, DEMONS 1 &2, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, CRIES AND SHADOWS, DAMNED IN VENICE, THE LAST SHARK, FORMULA FOR A MURDER, TENEBRE, PROFONDO ROSSO, HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET, IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, PANIC, RAIN OF FIRE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHERS and many more.

Also, if you're a fan of Gialli films, I highly recommend Italian Crime films of which I am also a huge fan. Tons of violence, twists and turns and some powerful plots (although slightly off topic).

Mark

When I was choosing my magazines or filmzines, Utra Violent magazine was one of the ones, I was thinking of getting. Instead I got Paracinema, which I like alot! Can you recommend any Italian Crime films titles or what is your favorite? Also with Fulci, do you know any of westerns, supposenly there the goreyest out of the spagetti westerns? (slighty off topic)

Nick

Re: Italian Horror....

mercurial — Tue, 13 May 2008 03:36:31 GMT

I can't believe nobody has mentioned Pier Paolo Pasolini. Surprisingly the only Italian director that I own and whose movies I have watched and loved, Pasolini definitely belongs among the list of great Italian horror directors.

Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, remains the only film that has actually made me lose the contents of my stomach (not a lot, just a little in my mouth). The insane nature of the subject matter goes above and beyond pretty much anything I have ever seen.

If you haven't seen it, you definitely have to check it out.

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Tue, 13 May 2008 02:52:02 GMT

digitalconquest:

Nick,

Fulci, I don't know if I'd call them gory westerns. His were violent, but if someone goes in thinking gorehound dream, they may be disapointed. Of his westerns, I'd personally recommend MASSACRE TIME with Franco Nero and George Hamilton.

One of my favorite Gialli is SO SWEET SO DEAD, which plays like a crime film, but is definitely a gialli all the way.

As for Italian Crime films, my personal faves are: CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN, LIVE LIKE A COP DIE LIKE A MAN, THE BOSS, SANGUE DI SBIRRO, MARK THE NARC (plus both sequels), VIOLENT CITY, BLAZING MAGNUM (a good place to start if you are already a gialli fan), BLOOD AND DIAMONDS and THE NEW GODFATHERS.

Macabre_FilmNut:

Just looked at a preview of "SO SWEET SO DEAD". Actually I believe, I just found another cool site foir movies, besides the point. Movie looks great. I am huge into "Giallos". I seen everything Argento has out and one movie I did enjoy that is not an Argento is Who Saw Her Die? (1972) and I loved Don't Torture a Duckling (1972). Thanks again. .

Nick

digitalconquest:

Definitely a Fulci fan. I got the opportunity to write up a magazine article on the director and his movies in ULTRA VIOLENT MAGAZINE. Lots of fun researching and revisiting his films. From ROME 2072 to THE BEYOND.

Other Italian Faves...BAY OF BLOOD, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST, NIGHTMARE CITY, SO SWEET SO DEAD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, DEMONS 1 &2, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, CRIES AND SHADOWS, DAMNED IN VENICE, THE LAST SHARK, FORMULA FOR A MURDER, TENEBRE, PROFONDO ROSSO, HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET, IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, PANIC, RAIN OF FIRE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHERS and many more.

Also, if you're a fan of Gialli films, I highly recommend Italian Crime films of which I am also a huge fan. Tons of violence, twists and turns and some powerful plots (although slightly off topic).

Mark

When I was choosing my magazines or filmzines, Utra Violent magazine was one of the ones, I was thinking of getting. Instead I got Paracinema, which I like alot! Can you recommend any Italian Crime films titles or what is your favorite? Also with Fulci, do you know any of westerns, supposenly there the goreyest out of the spagetti westerns? (slighty off topic)

Nick

Re: Italian Horror....

digitalconquest — Tue, 13 May 2008 00:55:09 GMT

Nick,

Fulci, I don't know if I'd call them gory westerns. His were violent, but if someone goes in thinking gorehound dream, they may be disapointed. Of his westerns, I'd personally recommend MASSACRE TIME with Franco Nero and George Hamilton.

One of my favorite Gialli is SO SWEET SO DEAD, which plays like a crime film, but is definitely a gialli all the way.

As for Italian Crime films, my personal faves are: CONFESSIONS OF A POLICE CAPTAIN, LIVE LIKE A COP DIE LIKE A MAN, THE BOSS, SANGUE DI SBIRRO, MARK THE NARC (plus both sequels), VIOLENT CITY, BLAZING MAGNUM (a good place to start if you are already a gialli fan), BLOOD AND DIAMONDS and THE NEW GODFATHERS.

Macabre_FilmNut:

digitalconquest:

Definitely a Fulci fan. I got the opportunity to write up a magazine article on the director and his movies in ULTRA VIOLENT MAGAZINE. Lots of fun researching and revisiting his films. From ROME 2072 to THE BEYOND.

Other Italian Faves...BAY OF BLOOD, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST, NIGHTMARE CITY, SO SWEET SO DEAD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, DEMONS 1 &2, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, CRIES AND SHADOWS, DAMNED IN VENICE, THE LAST SHARK, FORMULA FOR A MURDER, TENEBRE, PROFONDO ROSSO, HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET, IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, PANIC, RAIN OF FIRE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHERS and many more.

Also, if you're a fan of Gialli films, I highly recommend Italian Crime films of which I am also a huge fan. Tons of violence, twists and turns and some powerful plots (although slightly off topic).

Mark

When I was choosing my magazines or filmzines, Utra Violent magazine was one of the ones, I was thinking of getting. Instead I got Paracinema, which I like alot! Can you recommend any Italian Crime films titles or what is your favorite? Also with Fulci, do you know any of westerns, supposenly there the goreyest out of the spagetti westerns? (slighty off topic)

Nick

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Mon, 12 May 2008 19:35:48 GMT

digitalconquest:

Definitely a Fulci fan. I got the opportunity to write up a magazine article on the director and his movies in ULTRA VIOLENT MAGAZINE. Lots of fun researching and revisiting his films. From ROME 2072 to THE BEYOND.

Other Italian Faves...BAY OF BLOOD, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST, NIGHTMARE CITY, SO SWEET SO DEAD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, DEMONS 1 &2, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, CRIES AND SHADOWS, DAMNED IN VENICE, THE LAST SHARK, FORMULA FOR A MURDER, TENEBRE, PROFONDO ROSSO, HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET, IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, PANIC, RAIN OF FIRE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHERS and many more.

Also, if you're a fan of Gialli films, I highly recommend Italian Crime films of which I am also a huge fan. Tons of violence, twists and turns and some powerful plots (although slightly off topic).

Mark

When I was choosing my magazines or filmzines, Utra Violent magazine was one of the ones, I was thinking of getting. Instead I got Paracinema, which I like alot! Can you recommend any Italian Crime films titles or what is your favorite? Also with Fulci, do you know any of westerns, supposenly there the goreyest out of the spagetti westerns? (slighty off topic)

Nick

Re: Italian Horror....

digitalconquest — Mon, 12 May 2008 07:54:32 GMT

Definitely a Fulci fan. I got the opportunity to write up a magazine article on the director and his movies in ULTRA VIOLENT MAGAZINE. Lots of fun researching and revisiting his films. From ROME 2072 to THE BEYOND.

Other Italian Faves...BAY OF BLOOD, ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST, NIGHTMARE CITY, SO SWEET SO DEAD, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE?, TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE, DEMONS 1 &2, THE CHURCH, DELLAMORTE DELLAMORE, CRIES AND SHADOWS, DAMNED IN VENICE, THE LAST SHARK, FORMULA FOR A MURDER, TENEBRE, PROFONDO ROSSO, HOUSE OF THE YELLOW CARPET, IN THE EYE OF THE HURRICANE, BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, PANIC, RAIN OF FIRE, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO OUR DAUGHERS and many more.

Also, if you're a fan of Gialli films, I highly recommend Italian Crime films of which I am also a huge fan. Tons of violence, twists and turns and some powerful plots (although slightly off topic).

Mark

Re: Italian Horror....

Macabre_FilmNut — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:01:47 GMT

New to Spout. Gor actually refered me to this discussion. I would of probally found it anyways, but I do tip my hat to all of you in this discussion. A lot of interesting tidbits, especially for someone like me, that is just fascinated and just loves Italian Horror/Giallos!

On another note just wanted to let all the "Fulci" fans out there know, that there is now a documentary out about him! A company by the name of "Paura" put it out and its called Luci Fulci Remembered Volume 1. Heres the Link http://www.pauraprod.com/site.html

Also HorrorHound(March/Apil 2008) did a very decent article titled Fulci Cinema .

Its funny, I too have known alot of Italians. My dads family coming from Jersey and my great grandparents being from Naples, Italy. My grandmother was huge into horror! She was either reading something disturbing or watching it. I think its in are blood, Violence and Gore!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 05:27:29 GMT

Anyhow, I wanted to resurrect this discussion yet again to say a few words about Dario Argento... His new movie, The Mother of Tears: The Third Mother is due out this year. This is the third movie in his 'three mothers' trilogy that began with Suspiria and Inferno ... two of the most visually stunning and graphic movies ever made. While at times a bit convoluted and hard to follow plot wise, and featuring bizzare and surrealistic sets and colors consisting of luminescent deep reds and blues against stark black, both of these movies involve the discovery of, and battle against, two of the 'Three Mothers', the most powerful witches of all time. There are plenty of very graphic slasher-type murders in both of these movies as well as some supernatural type killings as well, including a seeing-eye dog who rips out the throat of his master in Suspiria and 'death-by-cat' in Inferno ... I am looking forward to this third installment with much anticipation.

Other Argento movies of note include the seminal slasher films Deep Red (considered to be the inspiration for all the slasher films to come, including Halloween and Friday The 13th ) , Tenebre and Trauma . One of my personal favorites is Phenomena , which features a stunningly beatiful Jennifer Connolly as a young girl with some sort of a psychic link to insects (!) and a murderous, razor-wielding chimpanzee (!!) ... (God, I hate those murderous chimpanzees! See also Link and Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan ...)

< GOR >

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:27:35 GMT

I was going to start my rant about ' zombie-sex ', but the Superbowl is about to start, and I have to go and watch the most important football game of the year... bbl ...

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 22:17:30 GMT

Don't be 'closed-minded' , Ms June.... Zombie Porn can be a lot of fun! ... Things are always falling off and shit...

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 02:15:02 GMT

Yes, I am bringing this back from the dead too. I have really been enjoying watching a lot of these old Italian Horror movies. I watched two Mario Bava movies The Girl Who Knew Too Much and Blood and Black Lace.

The Girl who Knew Too much was very suspenseful shot in black and white and very dark and creepy. John Saxon was in it as the very handsome young doctor (I liked watching him on the EXTRAS remembering the movie), anyway, I thought the lead actress was really good at being distraught. It was a pretty good movie and I would definately recommend it.

Blood and Black Lace was about a murderer in the fashion world. I really enjoyed this movie (especially seeing all the latest styles from the 60s), it had a few really good scares and it really pointed the finger at several different people. It was a very good murder mystery.

Anyway, if I see any others I will bring this one up again, Gor, I think I may take your advice and watch a few of your recommendations too (I might leave out the zombie porn though...hee hee).

Re:Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 19:54:26 GMT

I wanted to return to this discussion to comment some more on one of MY favorite directors from the 'golden age' of Italian Horror, Joe D'Amato. Also known as the 'Evil Ed Wood' , D'Amato actually directed under several aliases so it can be difficult at times to know if you are actually watching a D'Amato film. (More on this later...) A quick look at his directorial credits on IMDB lists an astounding 199 movies dating from 1972 - 2005 (!), which is a bit surprising considering that, according to his bio, he died of a heart attack in January 1999! How he managed to continue making movies for 6 years after his death is anyones guess... I can only assume that he made these films before he died and, for some reason, they were 'shelved' only to be released years later. His filmography ranges from some early westerns and war movies to sword-and-sandal and futuristic sci-fi to dramas and thrillers to (of course) horror/gore to LOTS and LOTS of porn - the latter ranging from (not so) softcore to extreme hardcore! The few examples I have seen of these types of movies would certainly be rated XXX if they had been released state-side. For our purposes here, I will only deal with the movies I have seen and that I have in my collection...

Innocents From Hell (1973) ; Actually a rather thoughtful and interesting 'nunsploitation' or 'nun-horror' movie. No supernatural elements and very little blood/gore, there is enough full frontal female nudity and lesbian sex and violence to keep even the most depraved viewer interested... Recomended.

Naked Warriors (1974) ; Not quite as lurid as the title implies, this is actually one of my favorites. A tale of female gladiators in ancient Rome with (almost) all of the nudity, sex and violence that that implies, this is, again, a rather thoughtful and interesting study in ancient Roman mores and values. And starring Pam Grier! Highly Recomended.

Trap Them And Kill Them (1977) ; aka Emanuelle And The Last Cannibals ... Plenty of hardcore nudity, sex, rape and torture and gut-munching cannibals as well... 'Nuff said. Recomended... for those who might like this sort of thing...

Buried Alive (1979) ; aka Blue Holocaust aka Beyond The Darkness ... Now here we go! Mr. D'Amato trying his hand at the 'over-the-top-gore' genre with such success that it landed him in court to try to explain just HOW he achieved some of his 'effects'! Of course there is plenty of the prerequisite nudity and sex... all in all a great movie and one of the Doctors all time favorites... Highly Recomended.

Anthropophagous (1980) ; aka The Grim Reaper aka Savage Island, etc. ... I recently showed FroggyBabe the very rare and hard to find 'uncut' version of this movie. She might have some thoughts.... For me, it is, again, one of my all time favorites. A VERY good monster/horror movie set on a deserted Greek island... plenty of the red stuff and a few very effective gore scenes in a genuinely scary (!) movie make this one one of the very best... Very Highly Recomended!

Erotic Nights Of The Living Dead (1980) ; LOTS of hardcore nudity and sex and gut-munching zombies... Recomended... again, if you're into that sort of thing...

Porno Holocaust (1981) ; XXX porn cleverly disguised as a 'horror movie'! Something about a radioactive mutant who goes around raping all of the nubile, young and very horny girls who are shipwrecked on his island... who then die gruesome deaths from the monsters radioactive sperm! ... Recomended... but not for everybody...

Anthropophagous 2 (1981) ; aka Absurd aka Monster Hunter ... Perhaps my FAVORITE D'Amato movie! At least tied with Anthropophagous ! This is so much like a MUCH gorier version of Carpenter's Halloween , that I can't help but feel that D'Amato was at least somewhat inspired by that earlier classic! A GREAT movie, all the same! ... Very Highly Recomended!

I wish to apologize for not linking any of the titles above but these movies are known by so many different names that it would have taken me a month to type all of that had I attempted to do so!

Oh yeah... I mentioned earlier about D'Amato directing under several different names... this goes back to what I talked about earlier in this discussion about the marketing of these movies. Here is a quote attributed to Joe D'Amato on IMDB... "I change my name many, many times, mainly for the European market because it makes the movies seem like they're American or British. It's better for European distribution that they seem that way."

I hope this has been helpful... < GOR >

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Tue, 28 Aug 2007 03:54:34 GMT

Dr_Gor:
I have yet to see "Blood And Black Lace" though I have heard MUCH about it.

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!! I just saw a Horror movie that Dr. Gor has never seen!!! Shocking!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 23:11:24 GMT

I have yet to see "Blood And Black Lace" though I have heard MUCH about it. I AM, however, somewhat familiar with the works of Mario Bava and Lamberto Bava as well. Mario was a veteran director before he ever discovered the use of color film... he directed Barbara Steele in "Black Sunday" and a few other early B&W's as well... "Baron Blood" was quite a good Bava film as well... Of course, I did not consider "Black Sunday" as a 'Bava' film but rather as a 'Barbara Steele' film... of which there were many. With several different directors... The one thing I know, is they were ALL great!

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:41:20 GMT

divinemsjunebug:
I am going to check out more of his movies. I've gone through just about all Argento films, trying to see more Fulci films, now I'm really interested to see more Bava films.

Ok, I watched Blood and Black Lace this weekend.

According to the commentary this movie really set a lot of the standards for Italian horror and what a lot of the conventions would be in the future. Specifically this movie essentially invented the giallo genre, which he says is the longest lasting Italian genre to date.

Also I guess this was one of the first influential horror movies to use technicolor and all of that bright candy colors that has become so signature to the Italian horror movie style.

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 19:14:33 GMT

I'm the same way, I don't like colorization. I think the black and white makes them creepier and scarier, more shadows, a lot darker. I'm also one of those people that can't stand dubbing. I would much rather read subtitles because I want to hear how the original actors sound, I think it makes it much more dramatic. But of course when there is no other choice I will watch it and like it anyway.

I also agree, I never thought of any of those movies as prequels or sequels because they stand alone so well, although Land of the Dead took us to more of the evolution of the zombies...

Re: Italian Horror....

TheWorkingDead — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:48:14 GMT

I guess, even though they're all part of the same trilogy, I never thought of Romero's Dead films as sequels or prequels. I like that each of them is self-contained. A little snapshot of the world as it devolves further and further into nightmarish insanity.

I've never seen any of the colorized versions, because I dislike the process myself and prefer clean black and white to a painted image. But on the Elite Entertainment release of NOTLD, Romero notes that the colorized version had accidentally recreated the horrid yellow color of the tie Johnny is wearing, in the exact shade it had originally been(although the rest of the clothes apparently weren't so accurate). He seemed amused.

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 03:32:19 GMT

Dr_Gor:

"Black Sabbath" is an excellent movie that scared the living hell out of me as a kid. I think it was the second segment... 'A Drop Of Water' or something like that... that was a ghost story that was just creepy as hell. Also, I will have to rewatch it as it has been many years, but I'm pretty sure Karloff was using his own voice in my copy...
This movie was also the inspiration for the name of one of the greatest rock bands of all time!

The version I got from Netflix was Italian dubbed with subtitles, I absolutely LOVE Boris Karloff's voice so it was just strange, that would be like watching Vincent Price or Peter Lorre with dubbed voices...just wrong...now I went back to watch the extra's and they had the TV advertisements of the movie and it was in English with his voice...

Yes, that was the LAST segment about the dripping water, it was so spooky, I LOVED it. It was the old woman's face with the wide eyes and the gritted teeth. shiver. It was great. I am going to check out more of his movies. I've gone through just about all Argento films, trying to see more Fulci films, now I'm really interested to see more Bava films.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:51:20 GMT

Good job, WorkingDead! I just want to clarify one thing. I do NOT think "ZOMBIE" is a better film than "Night Of The Living Dead" . I said that I thought it was a better PREQUEL to "Dawn" and "Day Of The Dead" than was the original "NOTLD"...

I keep hearing that someone is remaking "Day Of THe Dead", by the way.... Also, have you ever seen any of the 'colorized' versions of the original NOTLD? there are a few different ones and I think I have them all... (I have, I think, 6 copies of this movie!) ... anyhow, the colorized ones are pretty cool in that the blood is bright red (!) instead of black, and it is EVERYFUCKINGWHERE! It just makes the movie all the more gory and brutal to SEE all that blood all over the place!

Also, I mentioned this before but I heard Mr. Romero state in an interview that he would have loved to have filmed this in color... the only reason they didn't was purely budgetary... they couldn't afford the color film!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 23:25:51 GMT

"Black Sabbath" is an excellent movie that scared the living hell out of me as a kid. I think it was the second segment... 'A Drop Of Water' or something like that... that was a ghost story that was just creepy as hell. Also, I will have to rewatch it as it has been many years, but I'm pretty sure Karloff was using his own voice in my copy...

This movie was also the inspiration for the name of one of the greatest rock bands of all time!

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 16:54:42 GMT

divinemsjunebug:

I had to go all the way down to the bottom to find Italian Horror Discussion. I just watched a really good movie directed and written by Mario Bava called Black Sabbath. It starred Boris Karloff (which was funny because they dubbed his famous voice in Italian and without his voice it was very weird watching him). ANYWAY, it was 3 short films in one movie, very good, very creepy, if you get a chance I think you will like this one (it is a little bit older but it is in color and the cheesey special effects are pretty good for the 1960s. Anyway, I just had to tell you about it. I've been watching a LOT of Italian horror lately, so much fun!!!!!

Oooh, I'm just about to watch MY first Mario Bava film this weekend too! Blood and Black Lace. I'll let you know about it.

Re: Italian Horror....

TheWorkingDead — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:27:12 GMT

Dr_Gor:

First off, the 'Zombie vs. Shark' scene. For all of you younger members, this was WAY before CGI was ever invented! In other words, this scene was filmed using a VERY REAL Tiger Shark! (probably drugged... but still!) ... On the day they were to film this scene, the 'stuntman' suddenly 'got sick' and so they had to put the 'shark handler' in zombie make-up and film the scene with him (!) It worked quite well! Except for the obviously fake "arm being bitten off" this scene was quite exceptional!

"ZOMBIE" was filmed as a 'prequel' to this movie and, actually, this WAS a much better 'prequel' to "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Day Of The Dead" than was the original "Night Of The Living Dead" ...

Third, and this is an interesting one, you might have noticed how these infamous Italian movies are 'dubbed' ! and yet it would appear that they are all speaking in English! Here is why.... At the Time, American Horror Movies were quite popular in Europe! Italian movies were NOT! So, they tried to disguise these movies as 'American' by filming them in english etc.

Ok, I know I'm always showing up late to the party, replying to these things months after they were posted, but screw it... I'm still semi-new to the group. Also I checked, and it doesn't look like anyone replied directly to this yet. In order:

The zombie vs. shark scene is mind boggling. Sure the shark was drugged, and they had trained proffesionals, and it was a fake arm and all that, but the fact remains: The man was taunting a shark until it tried to bite off his arm! Italians are crazy!

Zombie(the Fulci one, so Zombie 2) was actually written and begun as a standalone zombie movie, before Dawn of the Dead came out over there. This explains why the zombies in the movie bear little to no relation to Romero's zombies. The opening and ending scenes in New York were added to the script to shoehorn it into the mythology after Dawn became such a huge hit. And are you saying that Zombie is better than the original Night of the Living Dead? Sure, Zombie may have the gonzo gore and nudity, but Night is just awesome, gets better and deeper the more you watch it. From a filmmaking standpoint, and a story standpoint. The example I like to use is the exposition in that movie. Usually it slows a movie down when you have characters stop and explain things so the audience can follow along, instead of just showing them(like in Day, which has great set-pieces, but is a dull movie otherwise due to too much needless exposition, in my eyes). In Night, Romero has scenes of the survivors boarding up the house or doing other survivory things overlaid with audio from a TV or radio that gives info on what's going on around the world. Without ever leaving that location he keeps us aware of the threat of zombies, keeps the story going while giving information about the zombies, AND lets us know this is a global nightmare. Truly excellent.

And as for American dubbing, thats still a common occurence. Many foreign directors(even bigger name directors, like Lars Von Trier for example) will film in english, because the biggest movie markets in the world are all english speaking. Or at least, say the film is made in Sweden. Well, there are more english speaking countries than Swedish speaking countries. Filming in english opens up many more markets, because lets face it, people don't go see subtitled movies as often as movies where they don't have to read. Sad but true.

Re: Italian Horror....

TheWorkingDead — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:11:44 GMT

Dr_Gor:
"Don't Torture A Duckling" is one of Fulci's FIRST, AND less 'splattery', movies! Although, it DID have it's moments! ...

I bought Don't Torture a Duckling(the re-titled American release of Don't Torture Donald Duck) sight unseen during the height of my Lucio Fulci craze, and was severely disappointed. The gore, which is always a highlight with Fulci films, was imaginative, but they didn't have the resources or skill to make what was on screen match what was in his head. Or maybe it was just experience. That scene where the guy falls down the hill, hitting his face on every rock and sharp surface around, would have been much cooler done by late-period Fulci, I think.

Also, with the exception of a few Argento films, I don't think I'm a fan of the Italian giallo movies. They're often dul, melodramatic and silly beyond belief. Even Argento doesn't escape that, in my eyes. But, thats probably just me. I also think Suspiria is overrated(Argento's masterpiece is clearly Opera), so obviously I'm not completely in tune with other aficianados of the Italian horror sub-genre.

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 05:17:11 GMT

I had to go all the way down to the bottom to find Italian Horror Discussion. I just watched a really good movie directed and written by Mario Bava called Black Sabbath. It starred Boris Karloff (which was funny because they dubbed his famous voice in Italian and without his voice it was very weird watching him). ANYWAY, it was 3 short films in one movie, very good, very creepy, if you get a chance I think you will like this one (it is a little bit older but it is in color and the cheesey special effects are pretty good for the 1960s. Anyway, I just had to tell you about it. I've been watching a LOT of Italian horror lately, so much fun!!!!!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:32:06 GMT

"Don't Torture A Duckling" is one of Fulci's FIRST, AND less 'splattery', movies! Although, it DID have it's moments! ...

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Tue, 08 May 2007 18:47:59 GMT

Dr_Gor:
It involves a serial-killer who talks like 'Donald Duck' !

What's the deal with Fulci and Donald Duck? I've only seen one movie of his. I think it was one of this first. And one of the translations of the title is Don't Torture Donald Duck.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Tue, 08 May 2007 01:01:58 GMT

And, Yes! I HAVE "The New York Ripper" ! It involves a serial-killer who talks like 'Donald Duck' ! I shit you not! The infamous 'nipple-slicing' scene made ME squirm! (Yes, MEN have nipples, too!) ...

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Tue, 08 May 2007 00:54:40 GMT

Yes, you are correct, Froggy! Mr. Fulcii's movies DID deteriorate during His final years!

I would suggest, in this order, "Zombie" , "The Gates Of Hell" (aka "City Of The Living Dead") and "The Beyond" ... beyond that, you are entering at your own risk! ... "House By The Cemetary" was not bad...

Re: Italian Horror....

FroggyBaBe15876 — Mon, 07 May 2007 21:04:52 GMT

Okay. So I only discovered the Italian Gorror scene semi-recently, but these guys are serious about trying to make people heave. i'm not really familiar with too many of the directors, but I am familiar with Argento and Fulci, especially. Speaking of Argento, have you caught one of the Master's of Horror pieces, Jenifer? That one was something. Deformed succubus eats little neighbor girl. Eek! I bought Pelts, too, but haven't had the chance to watch it and might return it because I spend-a too much money, heh.

Regarding Fulci, are you familiar with the magazine Rue Morgue? It's like Fangoria, but I like it better for some reason. Anyway, if you haven't heard of it, the magazine had a Halloween issue dedicated to Fulci and his films and life and what not. It was pretty interesting. There was an interview with his daughter and everything. The maggoty-eyed dead guy from Zombie was on the cover. But, if you haven't seen it, here's a link to get a back issue. I highly recommend spending the $7.95 to get it. It's a good one.

Now, in the magazine, I was reading about Fulci's career and his subsequent movies. The little biography dealy commented that his movies got a little ... tasteless as the years went by. For instance, the nipple slicing scene in The New York Ripper. Are you familiar with that movie? I haven't seen it, but, being a lady, myself, and having similar anatomy, I think that I would be very hesitant to watch such a mutilation. I shiver at the thought.

I have yet to see most of the movies mentioned in the magazine, but perhaps you can assist me in picking the ones I should see first. Have a day!

Cheers

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:29:16 GMT

... Although D'Amato DID Direct "The Naked Warriors" ! A brutal tale of female gladiators in ancient Rome!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 06 May 2007 00:21:18 GMT

No, He did NOT! Good Movie, though!

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Sat, 05 May 2007 01:02:41 GMT

Didn't Joe D'Amato direct Calligula? Now that's a movie that stays with you for a while. I still have nightmares about seeing Peter O'Toole naked. ha ha.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Fri, 04 May 2007 00:24:33 GMT

But now I want to move on to Joe D'Amato! This guy was INSANE! The 'special effects' on his movie "Buried Alive" were convincing enough to get him dragged into COURT (!) to PROVE that he didn't steal, and USE, an ACTUALL DEAD BODY (!!!) on this film! (!!!!) For REAL! He defended himself by saying that they used a "shaved down dead pig" to film the infamous "autopsy scenes" .... I could not find this movie listed on SPOUT, but this IS some real sick shit!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Tue, 01 May 2007 23:49:52 GMT

I do agree that I think Sergio Leone might have started this phenomenon!

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 05:41:50 GMT

lbenschwartz:
It's funny, because the Italian horror industry was actually invented as a way to "up the ante" on the already pretty extreme Spaghetti Western. Once the Western sort of played itself out, a new wave of Italian shockmeisters rolled in to bring on that mix of blood and extreme violence that works so well in foreign markets.

Huh, I kind of suspected that it was born from the extreme spaghetti westerns.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 03:29:55 GMT

"Cannibal Holcaust" was, I believe, at least partially the inspiration for "The Blair Witch Project" in that it tells the story of a 'documentary fim crew' that disappeared in the Amazon jungle. When a would be rescuer discovers the groups film cannisters and takes them back to 'civilization' we discover the gruesome fate of these people! Full of over the top gore and brutallity (including a very disturbing rape scene), this movie is NOT for everyone!

"Cannibal Ferox", while perhaps not quite as good story wise, is actually a better movie in that it is filmed in a straight-out 'movie' style rather than the 'documentary' style used in "Holocaust". Thus the gore effects, of which there are MANY, are much more graphic. These two movies are the two most 'hardcore' and graphically violent of the Italian 'cannibal' genre and, as I mentioned, are probably NOT for everyone! Especially if you are a member of P.E.T.A. or any other 'animal rights' group as several animals definately WERE harmed in the making of BOTH of these movies!

Some other Italian cannibal fare of note:

"Emerald Jungle"

"Jungle Holocaust"

"Mountain Of The Cannibal God"

"Trap Them And Kill Them"

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 02:35:21 GMT

I cannot leave this discussion behind without mentioning my OTHER favorite 'Italian Horror' Genre.... the 'Cannibal' flick! Oh Man! .... There were SO many of these that were SO cool!!! ... I will start with EVERYBODIES Favorite , "Cannibal Holocaust" (aka 'the movie that launched a thousand lunches') ... And then quickly move on to my OWN personal favorite... "Cannibal Ferox" (aka "Make Them Die Slowly") .... And YES, these ARE 'HORROR FILMS' (duh!) .... One of my FAVORITES is "Doctor Butcher, M.D." .... a movie that mixes both the 'zombie' genre AND the 'cannibal' genre quite well!

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 05:25:59 GMT

Thanks for sharing all of that, extremely interesting Trivia. I always wondered about the voices and how out of sync they are but I just swear they are speaking English. So, now I know. That is really cool. Well I have The Beyond and Zombie on my Netflix cue so it will be very interesting to watch both of them. Did Argento and Fulci collaborate a lot on movies? It sounds that there wasn't a huge rivalry between them.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 05:15:56 GMT

"The Beyond" is my second favorite Fulci flick! I was going to get into that one in time! But, before I get into my other favorite Italian Horrors, I want to share a couple of interesting tidbits about "ZOMBIE" and about Italian Horror from that era in general...

Second, about the "title" thing.... This movie is known as "ZOMBIE" , "ZOMBI 2" and "ZOMBIES 2" ! The reason for that is this... George Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" was released in Europe in a re-edited (by Dario Argrnto) form as "ZOMBI" or "ZOMBIES: Day Of The Dead"... "ZOMBIE" was filmed as a 'prequel' to this movie and, actually, this WAS a much better 'prequel' to "Dawn Of The Dead" and "Day Of The Dead" than was the original "Night Of The Living Dead" ...

Re: Italian Horror....

lbenschwartz — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 02:19:23 GMT

It's funny, because the Italian horror industry was actually invented as a way to "up the ante" on the already pretty extreme Spaghetti Western. Once the Western sort of played itself out, a new wave of Italian shockmeisters rolled in to bring on that mix of blood and extreme violence that works so well in foreign markets. I don't if Dario Argento was the first, but he's probably the best known. Out of his stuff, I love Suspiria and Deep Red.

Speaking of Fulci, The Beyond is great piece of bizarro gross-out cinema. Involves the gates of hell existing under an old New Orleans hotel. The plot makes little sense, and the gore is more funny than scary, but Fulci at times creates some great atmosphere.

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 21:53:42 GMT

Risselada:
What is it about Italy that produces directors and people who make movies like this? Is it some sort of cultural thing that is obsessed with this kind of violence, gore, and shock? Or was there something to do with the movie industry and the way that movies were being made and the situation in Italy in that respect that produced these? Are there films like this that were made in any considerable quanity by any directors in any other European countries? What is the deal??

It is a little of both, Rizzo! Throughout my life I have known MANY "Mafia-like" type of characters.... ( I have to be careful what I say over the internet! remember?).... Just watch "The Godfather" ! This movie is AMAZINGLY true to life! (don't ask me how I know this!) ... My answer is YES, these people ARE 'obsessed' with this kind of violence, gore and shock! NOT that there is anything WRONG with that! (I am somewhat the same way myself!) ...

My answer the second part of your question is... YES this has EVERYTHING to do with the movie industry in Italy at the time! ... That is what I wanted to talk about, anyhow! I think your questions will be answered in the following post!

Re: Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 23:40:20 GMT

Thank you, Froggy! But, I have to ask you, it sounds like you have seen this movie only once? If that is the case then you need to watch it again! This is one of those movies that actually gets BETTER every time you watch it! Much like...

... I will quit here before I wander TOO far off track!

Ooh! wait! ... a couple more! ...

Cannibal Holocaust

Make Them Die Slowly

Re: Italian Horror....

FroggyBaBe15876 — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 19:21:44 GMT

Ah, "Zombie". A pioneer in horrifying gore. I don't necessarily like the film, but I respect it greatly. At one point in my life, I was a major gore-hound and looked up "gore" on Amazon.com. The results were staggering and I wrote a lenghty list of all the films I wished to see. I sprinted to the video store and began searching for my listed titles. I only found one, though. That film was "Zombie". I rented it of course and then took it home lovingly (kidding), whipped up a bowl of popcorn and sat down to watch the film.

I was horribly bored through about the first hour, thinking that perhaps I had been duped. Then came the infamous eye-gouging scene. I was fascinated by this scene and still remember quite vividly. And I remember thinking, while the wood splinter inched closer to her eye, "It's not going to happen. She'll back up and everything will be fi...BWAH?! " And as the eyeball - obviously plastic but disturbing nonetheless - oozed goo, I sat with a look of horrified bewilderment for about a half hour. Since then, I have encountered several horror fans such as myself and we have stumbled upon the topic of "best horror sequence". And my pick is always the same. A lot of people I know have not seen "Zombie", but I always recommend it.

As for Fulci, I'll get to him later so prepare for a rant. At the moment, I need to have lunch. So cheers to all and have a fun day.

Re: Italian Horror....

Risselada — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 18:48:10 GMT

What is it about Italy that produces directors and people who make movies like this? Is it some sort of cultural thing that is obsessed with this kind of violence, gore, and shock? Or was there something to do with the movie industry and the way that movies were being made and the situation in Italy in that respect that produced these? Are there films like this that were made in any considerable quanity by any directors in any other European countries? What is the deal??

Re: Italian Horror....

Phantasma-gore-ia — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 04:32:28 GMT

The Italians are some sickos...Fulci, Argento, Lenzi, D'Amato, etc. I, naturally, experienced my foray into Italian perversion through Fulci, who I think is pretty much everyone's main conduit into the genre. I will admit up front that I have little experience with Italian horror outside of these individuals, but one has to start somewhere...:)

Re: Italian Horror....

divinemsjunebug — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 04:09:59 GMT

I don't think I've seen Lucio Fulci's movies, I'll have to check them out. I'm that way with Dario Argento's movies, I think I have all the ones that are on DVD right now and the Master's of Horror DVDs. His movie's are usually very visually stunning and very different. Mario Bava is the same way...Did anyone ever see The Whip and the Body? That was a little um...different...hee hee. I liked Blood and Blacklace too. I am going to have to watch some of these others.

Italian Horror....

Dr_Gor — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 02:43:27 GMT

I was 19 years old during the period of late '79- early 1980. And it is during that time that I wandered into a seedy, downtown Denver 'movie-house'. The only thing I knew about the movie I was about to see was the name on the marquee... "ZOMBIE"...

I was STUNNED! This Movie Was PHENOMENAL! Up to this point, the 'goriest' movies I had ever seen would be "Night Of The Living Dead" and "The Exorcist" ... (I had not yet seen "Dawn Of The Dead" which was released the year before...) ... and some B-movie Drive-In fare like "Last House On The Left" and "The Toolbox Murders" and "Driller Killer" and "The Drive-In Massacre" and, of course, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" ...

This movie (for me, at the time) outdid them ALL! From the FANTASTIC 'comic book' story line to the AMAZING, 'in your face'', "GORE FX"! ( "excuse me, Miss... you have something in your EYE ...") , This movie was great in EVERY way! At the time, I did not even know that this was an Italian Movie! (I did not pay any attention to the credits) ... And then, about a year later, I saw another Horror Movie that just 'blew me away'... "The Gates Of Hell". I didn't have a clue at the time that both of these movies were directed by the same insane genius!

It was a couple of years later when I began reading about Lucio Fulci in FANGORIA and GOREZONE and then I started collecting his movies! I have about 14 so far and they are ALL good! It seems that Mr. Fulci liked to include at least one really messy 'gore-scene' in each and every movie! (NOT that there is anything WRONG with that!) ... It is also at this time that I learned of OTHER Italian Horror Movie Directors! I will not go into all of them here because my dinner is ready! But, here are some names to ponder... D'Amato, Lenzi, Bava, Argento...

Be back later with more... peace and love ... < GOR >