 | Schock 1977 The latest cinematic chapter of the Italian master Mario Bava, Shock, presents itself as a farewell to his directorial career, emerging from a decade marked by a rebirth of Italian cinema imbued with anger, ambiguity and a fascination for the macabre. The film, a cross between giallo, thriller and horror, is a testimony to that essential contribution of Bava, which had already inspired entire generations of directors.
In this work, however, one senses the loss of that personal imprint: the meticulousness in the photography, a distinctive sign that had made the director famous, as well as that bitter irony capable of mocking... Read More |
 | Cube 1997 I couldn't wait to talk about this extraordinary Canadian film, which I consider without hesitation one of the best horror films of all time, so much so that it is in my personal top 5 of the genre. The director, Vincenzo Natali, is often unfairly underrated, but with Cube he has demonstrated a visionary talent that deserves full recognition.
This is his first feature film, the film that made him a household name, and despite an extremely low budget (around $350,000), it manages to give the impression of a much more ambitious and refined work than one might expect. Its strength lies in a simple but incredibly effective basic... Read More |
 | The Last Man on Earth 1964 The film, based on the famous novel by Richard Matheson I Am Legend, manages to recreate the atmosphere of the book well, despite the limited budget. The Italian director Ubaldo Ragona does a better job than the more famous Boris Sagal, who made The Omega Man a few years later. This is probably due to the fact that Vincent Price, very comfortable in an Italian co-production, surpasses the talented Charlton Heston. With his usual theatricality, Price offers a performance reminiscent of silent films, particularly effective in the part where he is alone, for half the film. The first part is very suggestive, thanks to the beautiful... Read More |
 | Repulsion 1965 The film is a thriller full of tension, especially in the scenes where the protagonist experiences hallucinations. The horror atmosphere, with a touch of surrealism, is really intense. Although it may seem crude, this is intended by the director, who wants to show the harsh reality of the protagonist's life. The story tells of a woman in crisis, who no longer feels comfortable with the old values of society. This leads her to confront a harsh and chauvinistic reality, where she feels the weight of being a woman. The protagonist is alienated and desperate, aware that the world is changing, but remains tied to traditional values. Her... Read More |
 | Don't Look Now 1973 A suggestive and deeply layered reinterpretation of a universal fairy tale like Little Red Riding Hood, which finds in its protagonists, Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, two extraordinary interpreters. However, the director eludes any predefined scheme, escapes conventions and leads the viewer on a labyrinthine, almost subliminal path. What on the surface seems like a parapsychological horror, complete with a hunt for a serial killer, actually turns out to be a work of extraordinary complexity: an investigation into the reworking of grief within a couple, into the tension between faith and rationality, into the unfathomable... Read More |
 | Ghostland 2018 10 years after the traumatic and now cult work "Martyrs", French director Pascar Laugier returns with a rural horror film -home invasion- that takes place within the walls of an old house populated by dolls and lace.
Given the director, I expected to find myself in front of another film at the limits of endurance, instead the film is violent and dark but without useless, in my opinion, splatter sequences. The fear runs on a thin thread, touching very well the keys of morbidity, madness and dream.
The director has fun disorienting the viewer by making him believe that evil lives inside disturbing ceramic dolls, which instead turn... Read More |
