Italian horror master Dario Argento teamed up with Lamberto Bava, the son of the Italian horror master Mario Bava, to craft what Bravo named one of the 100 scariest films of all time. With one single scary moment, this gore fest simply puts a new tag on zombies as an excuse to fill the screen with blood and neon green puss. From the first example of his work, Lamberto is not his father, who is credited as the creator of the modern slasher film.
Director Bava, producer Argento and co-writer Franco Ferrini based the film on a story by Dardano Sacchetti. As is the case with so many films, the premise had potential, but its execution ends up simply being an excuse to exploit oozing viscera. Cheryl (Natasha Hovey) is a conservative young woman who receives a ticket for a movie premiere from a guy who looks like an extra from MAD MAX. She urges her friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo, DEMONIA) to ditch class and attend the show. At the theater, they meet the cute guys George (Urbano Barberini, CASINO ROYALE) and Ken (Karl Zinny). The film they see is a gruesome tale involving a prediction from Nostradamus regarding demons taking over the world. The root of the curse lies in a mask that makes the wearer bleed and soon transform those unfortunate souls into puss-spewing demons. When the movie patrons try to flee they discover that the doors have been bricked over since they entered.
The only scary moment in the entire film is the anticipation leading up to the reveal of the first possessed victim Rosemary (Geretta Geretta, RATS). The demonic look of the possessed is frightening, but it only has a chilling effect the first time around. After dozens of moments of people turning their heads to toward the camera to reveal their twisted face, red eyes and neon green goo pouring out of their mouths, one becomes bored. The film's rudimental establishment of a host of other characters is simply to increase the body count. Midway through the film, four drugged out punks are added for no other reason than to have the cokeheads killed in similarly gruesome ways to a dozen other victims. The film has slashed necks, ripped scalps and gouged eyes galore, but none of it elicits anything more than nausea.
The idea of a possessed film tormenting trapped moviegoers has so much potential to be frightening, especially if one saw the film in a theater. But here the premise is simply an excuse to trap people in a confined area with monsters. Even the execution of how they're trapped in the theater is lame. Some mysterious villain had time to cement in cinderblocks in front of the doors after about a half hour into a movie? This giant leap in suspension of disbelief is just one of many loose ends the film has no interest in addressing. As I said before, a cohesive story would get in the way of another gruesome make-up effect.
From the '80s soundtrack that mixes metal, punk and rap to the string of kills, this Italian import represents all the exploitative junk that was the worst of the Me generation of horror. After watching this movie, you'll certainly demand your money back even if you saw it for free.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
