 | Night Watch 1973 "Night Watch" is a film that skillfully plays with the sense of paranoia and suspense, immersing the viewer in a gothic and claustrophobic atmosphere. Elizabeth Taylor offers an intense performance, making the protagonist's growing state of anxiety and confusion believable. The director makes the most of the psychological tension, maintaining the ambiguity between hallucination and reality until the final twist.
The aesthetic of the film recalls classic gothic thrillers with dark houses, torrential rains and a constant sense of impending menace. Although it can be slow at times, the narrative crescendo and the shocking ending... Read More |
 | Burnt Offerings 1976 Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Marasco. A slowly building gothic nightmare, the film is distinguished by an oppressive atmosphere that develops with a slow but inexorable pace. The terror does not come in the form of sudden jump scares, but through a growing tension and a sense of inevitable doom. The house seems to absorb the vitality of its inhabitants, and the mystery that surrounds it becomes increasingly disturbing.
A stellar cast and memorable performances, Karen Black is perfect in the role of the mother, who goes from loving and caring to completely subjugated by the influence of the house. Oliver Reed, as... Read More |
 | The House That Jack Built 2018 Yet another controversial and highly disturbing film, which confirms Lars Von Trier as a provocative and unconventional director. The House That Jack Built is an extremely raw authorial horror, designed for an audience with a strong stomach. The film follows a circular structure in which the color red is a recurring element.
Von Trier mixes images of works of art, clips from documentaries on concentration camps, cartoons and fragments of his previous films, creating a complex interweaving of symbols and references. Through a powerful visual force, he tries to strike even those who might get lost among the many intellectual... Read More |
 | 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 |
 | Strait-Jacket 1964 The film we are talking about is based on a story by the writer Robert Bloch, author of the famous horror masterpiece Psycho, a name that immediately evokes shivers and uneasiness. This film, however, is not supported by a particularly complex plot or by special effects that lift the skin, but rather by the extraordinary talent of the leading actress, Joan Crawford. In one of her last performances, Crawford stands as a central and dominant figure, a colossus of emotions that manages to convey to the viewer every single thrill, every anguish, every delirium that pervades her tormented spirit. She is, in fact, the true protagonist... Read More |
 | Gretel e Hansel 2020 A reinterpretation at times unpublished of the famous Grimm fairy tale, by the director son of art Oz Perkins who wanted to distort the original story by making major changes.
Gretel is the real protagonist of the film, here becoming the older sister, the witch instead seems more like a modern Wicca with a very hostile attitude towards the male gender who lives in a house that is not at all colorful and inviting but rather dark and disturbing. Furthermore, the story is marked by a strong feminist imprint.
There is little horror in this film but a lot of dark folkloristic atmosphere of a black fairy tale, every single shot is... Read More |
