At once a tribute to Italian horror of the 1980s — “the times of Lamberto Bava, when monsters and dolls squirted blood” — and a modern-day attempt to reinvent it, Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show is more successful at the first point than the second. Regardless, it’s both comforting and disturbing that wardrobes of fright-film geeks … Continue reading Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show (2010)→
Dr. George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel, Belle du Jour) puts his San Francisco clinic and publicity tricks over everything, from his credibility to his homely, heavily asthmatic wife, Susan (Marisa Mell, Danger: Diabolik). While Dr. G is off administering, ahem, gynecological treatment to nude photographer Jane (Elsa Martinelli, Hatari!), he receives news of Susan’s death. Although … Continue reading Perversion Story (1969)→
True to its title, Cat in the Brain opens with close-up footage of a cat (puppet) wolfing down on (obviously fake) bloody brain matter. And we would expect nothing less from Italian gore king Lucio Fulci. When someone who hates horror movies asks, “What kind of sick mind would make such a thing?,” now you … Continue reading Cat in the Brain (1990)→
Don’t be dissuaded that The House of Clocks is a film Lucio Fulci directed for cable television. After all, HBO’s infinite Real Sex series is directed for cable television. In other words, none of the Italian-baked horror master’s sensibilities is toned down. To assure you, an early scene depicts a woman being stabbed in the … Continue reading The House of Clocks (1989)→
Building a hotel over one of the seven gateways to Hell will come back to bite you in the ass. So will bringing home a woman with milky eyes and a German shepherd, especially if you meet them standing motionless in the middle of the road. These and other lessons, director Lucio Fulci imparts with … Continue reading The Beyond (1981)→