berto Bava reconnects with his father’s cinema,
usually older than 6,” as Sacchetti pointed out.
most notably Shock.
“I remember that going to the movies alone was
Here, however, “the re- emerging of Bava’s
almost a male initiation, a sort of rite of passage
staples doesn’t look like a silly citationist oper-
to adult age. After the 0s, especially in Amer-
ation right off the table. Rather, it is an uncon-
ica, cinema became a matter of consumption for
scious resurfacing from memory, a reconnecting
kids who were 6 or younger, and so you’d have
to a poetry … recreated in a low- key, almost do-
to make films that would satisfy the tastes of this
mestic dimension.”2 In Per sempre, the rework-
type of moviegoer.”
ing of the genre tradition is barely conditioned
Another sign of the times is the depiction
by commercial needs—there is not a single pos-
of the male and female protagonists. Italian
itive character, and humor is absent—and the
Gothic was connected since the beginning to
few narrative compromises are far less intrusive
the portrayal of femininity as a perturbing ele-
than usual. As a result, the film is by far the most
ment and has always drawn from fetishistic im-
original and successful of the lot. With regards
ages of strong, distant, unreachable heroines,
to eroticism, it is also a notable exception to the
whether they be the alluring characters played
bland and sexless proceedings of the “Brivido
by Barbara Steele or the naked ingénues of the
giallo” series, thanks to the slovenly and sweaty
following decade. In the 0s the new prototype
sexuality embodied by the stunning- looking
was deeply linked with what commercial televi-
Gioia Scola, who in a scene confesses: “I can’t
sion offered, and not surprisingly “Brivido giallo”
live without love,” a line of dialogue very much
features in the casts such female icons as Patrizia
like the one uttered by Barbara Steele’s character
Pellegrino and Isabel Russinova, familiar faces
in Danza macabra. She’s not a noble and haughty
(and bodies) for the Italian public thanks to their
ghost, though, just a desperate housewife in search
appearances on the small screen.
of the right man.
Likewise, the lack of strong male figures is
“Brivido giallo” was a critical and audience
noticeable and in stark contrast with the 70s,
flop, resulting in Bava’s subsequent series “Alta
where television offered several memorable he-
tensione,” shot between late and Spring
roes, starting with Ugo Pagliai’s character in Il
, being shelved. “Alta tensione” consisted of
segno del comando. Instead, the will to have the
four films, with horror elements but closer to
audience identify with the main characters had
the thriller genre: Il maestro del terrore (a.k.a.
Bava opt for teenage stereotypes, inherited from
The Prince of Terror), L’uomo che non voleva
U.S. teen horror flicks: the juvenile delinquents
morire (a.k.a. The Man Who Didn’t Want to Die,
of Una notte al cimitero and the young actors
based on a short story by Giorgio Scerbanenco),
looking for movie roles of A cena col vampiro
Testimone oculare (a.k.a. Eyewitness) and Il gioko
look no less phony and ridiculous than the un-
(a.k.a. School of Fear). Apart from the self-
likely thugs in Katarsis/Sfida al diavolo (63).
referential Il maestro del terrore—the story of a
And they show a similar inadequacy on the part
scriptwriter’s revenge against a conceited horror
of the makers to read the present in a critical
movie director (and which Dardano Sacchetti
manner. Rather than an attempt to disguise a
claimed to be his own retaliation on Bava, Jr.)—
product by sticking to the American standard,
which was released to home video in the early
as in the action and war movies made for foreign
0s, they remained unseen for a decade, and
consumption during the decade, this is the
were broadcast on the Mediaset network only
umpteenth sign of a cultural capitulation which
in (except for the ultraviolent L’uomo che
will have devastating effects, far beyond the cin-
non voleva morire, broadcast in 2007 on the
ematic field.
satellite channel Fantasy TV).
There is an exception, though. In Per sem-
Lamberto Bava’s next project would be a
pre, Bava and Sacchetti managed to find room
made- for-TV remake of La maschera del demo-
for a more personal product. The provincial set-
nio (on which he initially wanted Barbara Steele
ting, an inn on the Lake Bolsena, is a far cry
to play a minor role3), as part of a European
from the Gothic castles and mansions, and is
television series (Sabbath) on the theme of
closer to the Italian sensibility, recalling the likes
witchery produced between and 0—co-
of Malombra (42) and Un angelo per Satana
financed by the Spanish TVE, the Portuguese
(66, Camillo Mastrocinque), as well as Bava’s
RTP, France 3, Silvio Berlusconi’s Reteitalia,
204 Appendix 2
and the companies SFP and Betafilm. The new
5. Palmerini and Mistretta, Spaghetti Nightmares, 7.
version of La maschera del demonio had a
6. Dardano Sacchetti interviewed, in www. davinotti.
com (http://www.davinotti.com/index.php?option=com_
disastrous premiere in June 0, at Rome’s
content&task=view&id=5).
Fantafestival. Bava eventually found his dimen-
7. Dardano Sacchetti interviewed, in www. davinotti.
sion on the small screen with the fairy tale mini-
com (http://www.davinotti.com/index.php?option=com_
series Fantaghirò () and its many sequels.
content&task=view§ionid=3&id=5).
The four “Brivido giallo” films had a differ-
8. Gomarasca, “Intervista a Lamberto Bava,” 43.
9. Ibid., 44.
ent destiny outside Italy and surfaced on home
10. Drive In was one of the cornerstones of Silvio
video. A couple of them, Una notte al cimitero
Berlusconi’s TV empire and imagery as well: its mixture
and Per sempre, were accordingly released on
of gross comedy and scantily- dressed babes—a provincial
tape in Germany more than a year before their
rendition of an imaginary American drive- in populated
with stand- up comedians and cheerleading types—proved
airing on Italian television. Per sempre was re-
immensely successful. It ran for five years, from 3 to
leased on video as a sequel to The Changeling
, and launched many of the most popular
Italian co-
(0, Peter Medak), while La casa dell’orco was
medians of the decade, such as Ezio Greggio and Giorgio
released abroad as Demons III: The Ogre and ad-
Faletti (who went on to become a singer- songwriter and
vertised as the third chapter in the Dèmoni saga.
best- selling mystery novelist). Significantly, in and
0, during summer months, “Italia ” broadcast the pop-
A German DVD release, bearing the title Ghost
ular “Zio Tibia Picture Show,” a weekly program where a
House II, confused matters even further, relating
puppet modeled upon the character of Uncle Creepy pre-
Bava’s film to Umberto Lenzi’s La casa 3—Ghost-
sented a series of horror films, engaging in macabre jokes.
house.
The show was broadcast on Friday nights, at prime time:
after the Mammì law, it would be out of the question to
N
show a horror movie at prime time, if not previously cut
OTES
to obtain a new “all audiences” certificate.
1. Gomarasca, “Intervista a Lamberto Bava,” 42.
11. Paolo Fazzini, Gli artigiani dell’orrore. Mezzo secolo
2. “Berlusconi a capofitto nel cinema,” La Stampa, July
di brividi dagli anni ’50 ad oggi (Rome: Un mondo a parte,
7, 6.
2004), 32.
3. Gomarasca, “Intervista a Lamberto Bava,” 42.
12. Alberto Pezzotta, “Per sempre,” in Genealogia del
4. Félix Flores, “Un filme húngaro contempla Sitges a
delitto. Guida al cinema di Mario e Lamberto Bava, 5.
vista de pájaro,” La Vanguardia, October , 7.
13. Grassi, “Vi preparo quattro serate horror.”
“Le case maledette”
Spina for Dania Film (Rome), Reteitalia; PM:
(Houses of Doom)
Renato Fiè; PS: Alessandro Loy; PAcc: Massimo
PROD: Massimo Manasse, Marco Grillo
Massimi.
Films from “Le case maledette” are arranged in chronological order
according to their shooting date
La casa del sortilegio (The House of Witchcraft)
Frasca (Steven), Maria Clementina Cumani
D: Umberto Lenzi. S: Gianfranco Clerici,
Quasimodo (Witch); uncredited: Tom Felleghy
Daniele Stroppa; SC: Umberto Lenzi; DOP: Gi-
(Police Inspector).
ancarlo Ferrando; M: Claude King [Claudio Si-
Running time: 6 minutes. Also known as:
monetti]; E: Alberto Moriani; CO: Valentina Di
La casa dei sortilegi (Alternate Italian title);
Palma; Hair: Maria Teresa Carrera; SE, SPFX:
Ghosthouse 4: Haus der Hexen; Totentanz der
Giuseppe Ferranti; AD: Alessandra Lenzi; SD:
Hexen II (Germany).
Sandro Velchi; PrM: Roberto Granieri; SO: Giu-
liano Piermarioli; Foley artist: Enzo Diliberto;
La casa delle anime erranti (The House of Lost
C: Bruno Cascio; AC: Alessandro Capuccio; KG:
Souls)
Matteo Giordano; GA: Armando Moreschini;
D: Umberto Lenzi. S and SC: Umberto
SP: Maria Rosa Messori; W: Mirella Pedetti; SS:
Lenzi; DOP: Giancarlo Ferrando; M: Claude
Olga Pehar. Cast: Andy J. Forest (Luca Balmas),
King [Claudio Simonetti]; E: Alberto Moriani;
Sonia Petrovna (Marta Balmas), Susanna Mar-
CO: Valentina Di Palma; Hair: Maria Teresa
tinková (Elsa Balmas), Marina Giulia Cavalli
Carrera; SPFX: Giuseppe Ferranti; AD: Alessan-
(Sharon Mason), Maria Stella Musy (Debora
dra Lenzi; SD: Francesco Cuppini; ASD: Marco
Balmas), Paul Muller (Andrew Mason), Alberto
Marcucci; PrM: Roberto Granieri; SO: Giuliano
Made-for-TV Films
205
Piermarioli; SOE: Tullio Arcangeli, Gjka Sodir,
Damiani, Luigi Conversi; SP: Romolo Eucalitto;
Roberto Sterbini; C: Bruno Cascio; AC: Luigi
KG: Tarcisio Diamanti; GA: Armando Mores-
Conversi; KG: Matteo Giordano; GA: Armando
chini; W: Milena Pintus; AE: Rosaria Bellu; SS:
Moreschini; SP: Maria Rosa Messori; W: Mirella
Egle Guarino; Set technician: Elio Terribili. Cast:
Pedetti; 1stAE: Ernesto Triunvieri; 2ndAE: Nico-
Jean- Christophe Brétignière (Carlo), Cinzia
letta Leone; SS: Olga Pehar. Cast: Joseph Alan
Monreale (Marcia), Lubka Cibulova (Mary
Johnson (Kevin), Stefania Orsola Garello
Valdi), Lino Salemme (Guido), Franco Diogene
(Carla), Matteo Gazzolo (Massimo), Laurentina
(Mr. Oppidi), Alexander Vernon Dobtcheff
Guidotti (Mary), Gianluigi Fogacci (Guido), Ya-
(The Exorcist), Giuliano Gensini (Marco), Ilary
manouchi Haruhiko (Buddhist Monk), Licia
Blasi (Sarah), Dante Fioretti (Priest), Pascal Per-
Colò (Daria), Costantino Meloni (Gianluca),
siano (Roberto Valdi).
Charles Borromel (Hotel Owner), Dino Iaksic
Running time: 4 minutes. Also known as:
(Ghost Child), Marina Reiner (Ghost), Benny
Das Haus des Bösen (Germany), A Doce Casa
Cardoso (Ghost), Fortunato Arena (Ghost),
dos Horrores (Portugal).
Massimo Sarchielli (Cemetery Caretaker), Fabio
Branchini, Giulio Massimini (Librarian), Vin-
Soon after finishing “Brivido giallo,” pro-
cenzo Menniti.
ducer Luciano Martino set up another horror se-
Running time: minutes.
ries destined to Reteitalia. This time it was cen-
tered on the common theme of haunted houses,
La casa nel tempo (The House of Clocks)
and appropriately titled “Le case maledette”
D: Lucio Fulci. S: Lucio Fulci; SC: Daniele
(Houses of Doom). Developed for Dania Film
Stroppa, Gianfranco Clerici; DOP: Nino Celeste;
by Gianfranco Clerici, Daniele Stroppa and Vin-
M: Vince Tempera; E: Alberto Moriani; CO:
cenzo Mannino, the project was inspired by the
Valentina Di Palma, Cinzia Milani; Hair: Maria
success of Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead, which re-
Teresa Carrera; AD: Michele De Angelis,
sulted in many rip- offs sporting the Italian title
Camilla Fulci; PrM: Vincenzo Luzzi; SD: Elio
La casa. Reteitalia participated as co- producer
Micheli; ASD: Paolo Faenzi; SO: Giuliano Pier-
with Dania National Cinematografica and se-
marioli; SPFX: Giuseppe Ferranti; C: Sandro
cured the TV rights to the films.
Grossi; AC: Francesco Damiani, Camillo Saba-
Originally the series was to comprise six ti-
tini; SP: Romolo Eucalitto; KG: Tarcisio Dia-
tles, to be directed by Lucio Fulci, Umberto
manti; GA: Armando Moreschini; W: Milena
Lenzi and Lamberto Bava, but due to other
Pintus; AE: Rosaria Bellu, Nicoletta Leone; SS:
working commitments Bava was replaced by
Egle Guarino; Set technician: Elio Terribili. Cast:
Marcello Avallone. Fulci approached the project
Keith Van Hoven (Tony), Karina Huff (Sandra),
enthusiastically and asked to substitute two of
Paolo Paoloni (Vittorio Corsini), Bettine Milne
his own stories for the ones he had b
een as-
(Sara Corsini), Peter Hintz (Paul), Al Cliver [Pier-
signed, and Lenzi did the same with one of his
luigi Conti] (Peter), Carla Cassola (Maria), Paolo
own invention, La casa delle anime erranti. But
Bernardi (The Nephew), Francesca DeRose (The
a last- minute budget cut on the part of Reteitalia
Niece), Massimo Sarchielli (Storekeeper); uncred-
and Avallone’s commitments had the series re-
ited: Vincenzo Luzzi (Policeman #).
sized to four titles only, namely La casa nel tempo
Running time: 4 minutes. Also known as:
(script by Stroppa and Clerici, from a story by
Die Uhr des Grauens (Germany); A Casa do
Fulci), La dolce casa degli orrori (scripted by
Tempo (Portugal).
Mannino and his wife, Gigliola Battaglini, also
from a story by Fulci), La casa delle anime erranti
La dolce casa degli orrori (The Sweet House of
(written by Lenzi) and La casa del sortilegio
Horrors)
(scripted by Lenzi, from a story by Clerici and
D: Lucio Fulci. S: Lucio Fulci; SC: Vincenzo
Stroppa). The remaining two titles to be directed
Mannino, Gigliola Battaglini; DOP: Nino Ce-
by Avallone, La casa del nano deforme (The
leste; M: Vince Tempera; E: Alberto Moriani;
House of the Deformed Dwarf), then retitled La
CO: Valentina Di Palma; PD: Giacomo Calò
casa dell’amico del cuore (The Best Friend’s
Carducci; Hair: Maria Teresa Carrera; AD:
House), and La casa della bambola con i capelli
Michele De Angelis, Camilla Fulci; SD: An-
che crescono (The House of the Doll with Grow-
tonello Geleng; ASD: Paolo Faenzi; PrM: Vin-
ing Hair), were left in the drawer. “It’s a real
cenzo Luzzi; C: Sandro Grossi; AC: Francesco
shame, because the two films Marcello Avallone
206 Appendix 2
would direct were really good,” Stroppa recalled.
ambiguous Marta—who in one scene is seen
“We had written those scripts with lots of
walking in her sleep in the park like a 60s
passion and interest, trying to blend the Fantastic
Gothic heroine—only to come out with a pre-
and contemporary issues. In fact, La casa dell’am-
dictable twist ending.
ico del cuore, written by me and Clerici … treated
The final revelation and the circular ending
the issue of organ transplants in an original way,”
are in tune with the genre’s staples (the protag-
the scriptwriter explained (thus revealing a pass-
onist is seduced and defeated by an evil creature
Italian Gothic Horror Films (1980-1989) Page 62