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Reviews
The Baby (1973)
One of my all time favourites!
'The Baby' is a wonderful cult classic that can, I think, almost be viewed in two ways. At first, the film has an obvious camp appeal. Ruth Roman! Terrible fashions, fantastic cars, lurid interiors. It is the kind of film you can watch with company and laugh out loud. That's great. That aside, the film does actually stay with you. The camp factor is fun, but this possibly distracts from what is, in essence, horror at its finest. A man being almost 'buried alive' forced to live as a "baby" - hiding in plain sight. That's heavy stuff!
The soundtrack is also fantastic (released on CD for anyone interested - it's by Gerald Fried. The disc contains a rather wooden interview at the end, but it does present the interesting notion of the film actually being a kind of strange genre of its own. It isn't quite horror, it isn't quite slasher (though clear elements of these play a part).
La corta notte delle bambole di vetro (1971)
Buried alive by giallo...
The idea of being buried alive will always be one of the most dreadful prospects that one could fear. Of course, this fear has made its way into films over the decades - interestingly, two 1971 gialli strongly feature this theme, or to be more precise, that of paralysis. Both films also feature Barbara Bach, so clearly one borrows from another...
The other film of which I allude to is 'Black Belly of the Tarantula', which with it's Bond Girl cast and wonderful score may at first seem more alluring, but it is this film that carries off the subject matter with more aplomb. While 'Black Belly...' has the usual visual flair expected of the genre, it also sadly doesn't break the genre mould in the rather weak ending. 'Short Night of the Glass Dolls' delivers one of the strongest finales of any giallo I have seen - so for me, it has to win out of the two.
Adding to the more unsual features for a giallo is the setting in Prague - some beautiful architecture and beautiful cinematogrpahy add to the slightly otherworldly feel of the film, which in that sense nods to some of Argento's finer works.
One scene in particular, with a murder victim being slowly revealed (in a fridge) adds to the credit that Aldo Lado should take. As with many gialli, the script and dubbing can be unintentionally funny, but the visuals and skilled direction make up for this.
Those looking for several dramatic death scenes may be a little disappointed - which 'Black Belly of the Tarantula' certainly delivers - but this film is more coherent as a whole.
Scream Blacula Scream (1973)
Not quite right...
This follow up to 'Blacula' really doesn't quite deliver what it should. While the first film is by no means perfect, it is highly entertaining and quite well paced. 'Scream Blacula Scream' howls 'cash-in', basically being a carbon copy of the original (myth versus science / voodoo versus science) with the addition of Pam Grier. One might expect Pam's role to be one of a bad ass chick sent down to kick Blacula's ass, but no, sadly she is wrongly cast as a fairly dull damsel in distress.
The pacing of the film is altogether incredibly sluggish - indeed, the most is made out of some of the spooky set pieces, but this feels like a dragged out 45 minute TV show with bigger ambitions than it could actually deliver. There is a vast amount of tedious filler - not that the first film didn't heavily feature musical performances, but these were at least were rather fun.
The ending itself seems to also sum up the film; it just stops really, after the set 'movie length' has been covered it sinks into a severe anti-climax. The director and cast cannot have been proud of this effort which is best avoided. Watching the trailer will sum up the film, and you'll get to see (most) of the highlights and then have time to watch a more decent film!
Un delitto poco comune (1987)
Tedious.
This very "made for TV" movie drags at a snail's pace, and it really shouldn't at one hour and twenty-seven minutes. Anything of merit can actually be seen in the trailer which heavily uses the 'best', or at least most memorable scene in the film featuring an aged child on a swing. This scene, in the actual film itself, is no longer than the footage seen in the trailer - which, when I viewed it, certainly intrigued me. Don't be fooled.
The acting is hammy, and even compared to something like 'House on the edge of the park' this is mediocre. The quality of image and sound (on the Shameless DVD release) leaves a lot to be desired - but judging from some of the night scenes the quality of film used in the first place was not the best. A cheap shoddy production all round it would seem.
Donald Pleasance does nothing of merit, and York's over-acting grates from a very early stage. Tedious plot padding comes in the shape of pointless ventures to Venice - only to kill a prostitute and moan some more at a priest.
The Italian horror genre can offer so much more than this, so unless you are an extreme completist, don't bother.
La tarantola dal ventre nero (1971)
Not "The best giallo ever made" by a far stretch, but still with it's merits.
On the box of my (Blue Underground) DVD the quote "The best giallo ever made" shouts out from the back. Is it? No, not by a long shot, but still a very enticing little film - if a little over long in parts.
As many others have touched on, I think the flaw in the lagging running time is down to one too many scenes focusing on the detective's domestic life, frankly these scenes are boring. The ending, as with many gialli, also falls somewhat flat - but then this does tend to be a typically style over substance genre.
Bad bits, aside, what is good? There is plenty to love about this film; the brilliant cinematography, the menacing scene with a spider dangled over the detective, the horribly perverse gloves and menacing acupuncture needle of the killer. The music score is also one of Ennio Morricone's finest, and it certainly adds a decidedly chilling air to the film.
Oddly, or not so, I was reminded of Aldo Lado's "Short Night of the Glass Dolls", also from 1971, also featuring Barbara Bach...and also with a strong theme of paralysis and murder. I'd say Lado's film carries the theme off with more aplomb - with it's truly horrific ending, so I'd advised all who've seen this to give that a go.
Non si sevizia un paperino (1972)
Fulci's best,a nd one of Italy's best. No joke.
What a surprise this film was. I've seen a good few of Fulci's horror and zombie flicks and was amazed that this was by the same director. He also wrote the screen play which shows that the chap was quite capable of crafting a detailed, complex story line. The dubbing on this is not good, but far from the appalling slop that only further hinders later howlers like 'Manhattan Baby'.
The photography in this film is fantastic. A strange, almost futuristic highway appears throughout the film which focuses on a small town where young boys are being murdered. A scene involving the beating of a woman is uncomfortable to watch, yet refreshing in comparison to usual cinema violence.
What went wrong Lucio? Perhaps there is a strong case to suggest he had reached his peak with this film, and it slowly went downhill after that.