Italian Gothic Horror Films (1980-1989)

by Roberto Curti

shock value. The gore bits are crude in an H.G.

  Magliano Romano, Bloody Psycho features a cast

  Lewis way, and special effects are as cheap as

  led by German actor Peter Hintz and including

  they come, with plenty of animal entrails and

  other recurring faces in low- budget horror

  quarters of beef taken from the nearest abattoir

  movies of the period, namely Brigitte Chris-

  making up for body organs and human torsos.

  tensen, Sacha Darwin (also in Non avere paura

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  della zia Marta and Quando Alice ruppe lo spec-

  even features a use of yogurt as an erotic stim-

  chio), Marco Di Stefano (Quando Alice ruppe lo

  ulant in a blatant rip- off of the notorious “food

  specchio, Blood Delirium), plus guest stars Vassili

  scene” in 9½ Weeks. Overall the plot doesn’t re-

  Karis and Paul Muller.

  ally add up, as even the characters admit. “This

  “I’m some kind of medium,” says Dr.

  is really an incredible story,” a female reporter

  Vogler (Hintz) to a drunkard (Karis) in the film’s

  named Sacha (Darwin) notes. “So incredible

  opening scene, a line of dialogue which recalls

  that, if I write it down in the newspaper, they

  a notorious one in Bava’s Operazione paura—

  will think I’m mad.” To which Micaela replies,

  which Bava himself had mentioned as an exam-

  “But it would make for a beautiful film … a per-

  ple of embarrassment when discussing his

  fect thriller!”

  mixed feelings toward his own work. There are

  Besides the nudity, crude splatter scenes and

  many such lines in Lucchetti’s film, which draws

  demented dialogue, Lucchetti (who even turns up

  openly from classical Gothic not only in the set-

  in a brief cameo role) conveys a passable Gothic

  ting (a medieval village, a creepy castle and a

  mood by way of wide, low- angle camera set- ups

  moldy cemetery) but also in its plot about ghosts

  and eerie lighting. He is helped in the process by

  and Doppelgängers. As in La maschera del de-

  Silvano Tessicini’s photography, replete with color

  monio, here as well a female ancestor is trying

  filters, silhouettes and dry ice, and definitely better

  to take the place of her young descendant who

  than the d.o.p.’s work in the other films in the se-

  looks just like her (both are played by the same

  ries. “Tessicini understood perfectly the mood

  actress); and, like so many Gothic heroes before

  and lighted the scenes masterfully, making the

  him, Vogler goes to bed with a reincarnated

  best of the sets I had chosen,” the director noted.

  ghost, who then bares her putrefied breast and

  “I’m not a big fan of Bava, and even less of Ar-

  asks, “Do I disgust you? And yet I know you like

  gento. Actually, I admired Hammer’s Dracula

  my body…,” in yet another mixture of fear and

  films.”

  desire, attraction and repulsion. But Vogler the

  Lucchetti even attempts some personal

  psychic is also a male version of Jennifer

  touches. In a scene, Vogler and Sacha walk along

  O’Neill’s character in Sette note in nero, as he is

  a path outside a cemetery which is gradually

  shocked and disturbed by visions whose mean-

  filled with scattered debris of contemporary so-

  ing he cannot grasp until the very end. Other

  ciety, from plastic bottles to ceramic toilet seats,

  scenes solicit weird cinephile references: the one

  from dolls to broken TV sets, and which leads

  in which a wheelchair- bound zombie falls down

  them to a tomb in a desecrated ground. It’s a sur-

  a flight of stairs looks like a horror remake of a

  real moment that looks as if it belongs in a Fer-

  celebrated moment in Kiss of Death (47, Henry

  reri film, and it sounds strangely out of place,

  Hathaway), while the same zombie killing a vic-

  almost like an attempt at claiming ambitions

  tim (Paul Muller) by trampling over him on the

  which cannot be fulfilled in such a cheap and

  wheelchair comes closer to the sheer delirious

  clumsy little movie. “It was an inspiration of the

  insanity of Polselli’s Mania (74).

  moment, as many others in the film, linked to

  Lucchetti added some dollops of eroticism

  extemporaneous things I discovered on set,”

  to the mix as well, as in the glory days of 70s

  Lucchetti recalls.

  Gothic. It is soon clear that the relationship

  Overall, although modest, Bloody Psycho

  between the wheelchair- bound Mrs. Rezzori

  fares better than the others in the series. It was

  (Christensen) and her sexy housemaid (Nubia

  definitely the one Alfieri was happy with the

  Martini) is a barely disguised sado- masochistic

  most, so much so that he even considered sub-

  liaison, as the lady of the house throws a cup of

  mitting it to the board of censors to obtain a visa

  tea on the floor and then forces the servant to

  for theatrical release. It was eventually released

  kneel down “like a whore” to clean it. Soon

  to home video just like the other titles, and the

  after, the maid shows up in Vogler’s room to

  English language version features a superim-

  provide vital bits of information as well as

  posed credit of Lucio Fulci as supervisor, even

  sexual advances. “Hey, but I’m even better than

  though Fulci never showed up on the set nor did

  you with hands! I feel I can make things grow”

  he discuss anything about the film with Luc-

  she says while caressing his crotch, yet another

  chetti. After Bloody Psycho, Alfieri offered the

  line of dialogue which would have made Bava

  director to make another cheap horror movie

  blush. A sex scene between Hintz and Micaela

  for the series, which he refused. “One was

  (Louise Kamsteeg, credited as Loes Kamma)

  enough. The story level was what it was and

  4 Appendix 1

  shooting in three weeks was quite a stress. The

  who claims to be Larry. The direction and acting

  game was not worth the candle for me, but it

  are worthy of a South American soap opera, and

  was for Nannerini and Lucidi, who sold this no-

  the story is overly talky and hopelessly boring.

  torious series all over the world!” Lucchetti went

  Milioni and scriptwriter Giovanni Simonelli try

  on to direct some more low- budget films in the

  to revive the proceedings with some sex and

  following years, including the W.I.P. Caged—Le

  gore extravaganza, with bullets to the face, a de-

  prede umane () and La ragnatela del silen-

  capitation by scythe (the victim is played by

  zio–A.I.D.S. (a.k.a. Web of Silence, 4). In 206

  Annie Belle), and a notorious scene where a

  he debuted as a no
velist with Amorosi sensi, set

  young mute woman (Jessica Moore) is shot in

  during the Resistance, followed by a mammoth

  the head while performing fellatio on her inces-

  three- tome work, Bora scura.

  tuous father, and the killer’s second bullet strikes

  Some entries in the series feature only

  the man’s erect member (the scene was shot in

  sparse Gothic elements. That is the case with

  two versions, a more explicit one for the foreign

  Andrea Bianchi’s Massacre, set during the shoot-

  markets). It’s a moment worthy of Milioni’s

  ing of a horror movie: the director (Maurice

  trashy giallo, La sorella di Ursula (7).

  Poli) attempts to inject some frisson into the film

  The fifth in the series, Mario Bianchi’s Non

  by hiring a psychic (Maria Letizia Placido) to

  avere paura della zia Marta (known abroad as

  perform a séance on the set, resulting in the

  The Murder Secret) works for much of its run-

  spirit of Jack the Ripper possessing one of the

  ning time as a gory thriller about a family’s visit

  participants, who starts killing the others one

  to a country house where the titular aunt

  by one. Besides the opening sequence of the

  Martha is about to return, released after 30

  film- within-a-film (titled Dirty Blood) in which

  years in a psychiatric hospital. The woman, like

  a woman is terrorized in a cemetery by some

  Beckett’s Godot, doesn’t show up though, and

  monstrous figures, and the séance scene, com-

  while everyone is waiting for her the main char-

  plete with a prowling camera, Sam Raimi–style,

  acters end up killed one by one in gory ways: a

  the rest of the film works as a gory body count

  shower murder quotes Psycho, and the most

  whodunit, long on gore but short on cinematic

  gruesome bit has an admittedly obnoxious kid

  value. Despite the dialogue name- dropping

  being decapitated with a chainsaw à la Murder

  Anaximenes and Jung’s collective unconscious,

  Obsession. However, the final ten minutes push

  the attempts at self- reflexiveness are ill- fated,

  Bianchi’s film right into Gothic territory, with

  with Poli’s character delivering a pompous

  the introduction of a supernatural twist that

  monologue on the nature of horror cinema:

  rips off the evergreen An Occurrence at Owl

  “Films of this type can no longer be dealt with

  Creek Bridge, redone in a similar way as Herk

  in the spirit of the 30s, and this because our

  Harvey’s Carnival of Souls (62) and Kevin

  generation knows what horror means. In fact,

  Bi llington’s Voices (73), and in turn reprised

  besides the atrocities of war and its horrors, cin-

  in Fulci’s Le porte del silenzio () as well as

  ema introduced us to zombies and other mon-

  in Jean- Baptiste Andrea and Fabrice Canepa’s

  strous creatures, so that today even an illiterate

  Dead End (2003).

  knows everything about terror and horror. So,

  Bianchi was rather pleased with Non avere

  if we still want to frighten the audience, I think

  paura della zia Marta (“There was quite some

  we must stick to reality. It’s useless to rely on

  atmosphere, and even some twists”) but found

  imagination because fantasy will never be real-

  the experience of working with Nannerini and

  ity.” He claims he wants to “draw from the faith-

  Lucidi to be a letdown: “It seemed we’d go on

  ful reproduction of man’s primordial fear,”

  [with this series] for our whole life, with the

  before concluding: “And even in this type of film

  producer telling me, ‘Look, if it goes well we’ll

  I want to apply Neorealism.”

  never stop!’ … and then I found out it was all a

  Enzo Milioni’s Luna di sangue (also known

  scam set up to divide the cake… . ” Alfieri was

  as Fuga dalla morte) is some sort of a mystery

  less enamored of the result: “Even though the

  with supernatural undertones. Told in flashback

  original ideas were good, on many occasions

  by a dying man, in would- be film noir style, the

  there were disappointments. For instance, with

  incoherent plot deals with a woman (Barbara

  Bianchi. Since he could make films at a very low

  Blasco) who discovers her husband Larry’s dead

  cost, on a shoestring, once he had the opportu-

  body, but the corpse disappears, and no one be-

  nity to put more care and attention on the proj-

  lieves her; one year later she is visited by a man

  ect, on paper he could achieve interesting re-

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  sults. Whereas he filmed a three- week movie in

  for another film to direct on his own, namely

  just two, perhaps he was put under pressure… .

  Quando Alice ruppe lo specchio. But when one

  Fact is, he worked in haste just like with the

  of the directors backed out, he offered to replace

  films he usually made, so he ended up making

  him, and that’s how Sodoma’s Ghost—a script

  a pretty bad movie.”0

  Fulci had co- written with Roberto Gianviti and

  Non avere paura della zia Marta is hardly

  dated back at least four years—took form. It was

  distinguishable from the others in the series, with

  the first to go into production, with the working

  crude gore effects, a suitably creepy synth- driven

  title Ghost Light. Filming lasted four weeks,

  score by ex prog- musician Gianni Sposito, and

  starting May 30, , and took place at the Cas-

  some nudity courtesy of Adriana Russo and the

  tel di Decima castle, just outside Rome (the ex-

  stunning Jessica Moore (real name Luciana Ot-

  terior shots portrayed a different villa, though).

  taviani). The 2-year-old actress had debuted in

  The film was plagued by production troubles,

  Aristide Massaccesi’s La monaca nel peccato

  and it was also the only one of the series to go

  (6) and starred in a couple more of Massac-

  over budget.

  cesi’s classy soft porn flicks, the 9½ Weeks rip-

  Sodoma’s Ghost is basically a ghost story set

  off Eleven Days, Eleven Nights: 11 giorni, 11 notti

  in a haunted house—a villa in France where in

  (7) and Top Model (), but her career was

  43 a group of Nazi officers were killed by a

  short- lived. Non avere paura della zia Marta was

  bomb while having a wild party, and one of

  one of Gabriele Tinti’s last films. The actor, a for-

  them was filming the orgy. Forty- four years later,

  mer beau of Italian cinema in the 50s and later

  a group of teens end up lost, stumble upon the

  a regular of Joe D’Amato films, being Laura

  abandoned villa and spend the night there. But

  Gemser’s partner, was alre
ady very ill (he would

  the Nazi ghosts appear and seduce their victims,

  die of cancer in ), although he still looks

  materializing their passions and desires. Fulci

  younger than his age (he was 56 at the time of

  called it his worst film2 and on one occasion he

  the shooting). Speaking of which, a blatant in-

  even claimed he had left the set.3 According to

  consistency turns up in the narrative: in the

  some sources, Mario Bianchi shot the remaining

  flashbacks, when Aunt Martha is hospitalized,

  scenes after his departure, but Bianchi himself

  Richard is a 0-year-old boy, so at the time of

  explained: “Fulci didn’t leave the set, absolutely.

  the events in the film, with Marta being released

  He finished the film.”4 In fact, Bianchi—who

  from the asylum “after 30 years,” he should be

  had just finished filming Non avere paura della

  40, whereas according on the gravestone in the

  zia Marta5—was recruited at some point during

  cemetery scene he is 55.

  the shooting by production manager Silvano

  It was d.o.p. Silvano Tessicini who involved

  Zignani, upon Fulci’s request, to film some

  Lucio Fulci in “I maestri del thriller.” Near the

  scenes as second unit.

  end of the 0s, the director was in rather dire

  Fulci told me, “Look, do me a courtesy, shoot some

  straits. He had moved from Rome to Casteln-

  connecting scenes for me… .” He asked me because

  uovo di Porto, had experienced serious health

  he was probably a bit behind schedule. It was he who

  issues and was back from the unfortunate expe-

  told me what to shoot: the boys’ arrival at the house

  rience of Zombi 3, which the producer completed

  on a jeep, the various bits. Moral of the story: by say-

  with additional scenes shot by Bruno Mattei

  ing “Shoot this, shoot that,” from three short bits I

  and Claudio Fragasso (but approved by Fulci),

  ended up shooting much more footage, several

  with an extra ten days’ shoot in the Philippines,

  scenes. Meanwhile he completed the movie, shooting

  without the main actors and with only a

  other scenes. If I happened to have the four or five

  minimal crew. Tessicini lived in Morlupo, near

  leads, he would film other scenes, but most times I

  Castelnuovo di Porto, and started calling on the

  had to wait until he finished working with them and

  then I could shoot.6

  director, helping him in some practical matters.