BABA YAGA aka Kiss Me, Kill Me

(Corrado Farina, 1974)

One night, photographer Valentina (Isabelle De Funes) meets a strange woman on a deserted street. The woman, Baba Yaga (Carroll Baker), offers Valentina a ride home. In exchange, she takes one of Valentina's stocking clips, explaining that she needs a personal item from Valentina, though she doesn't say why.

Baba Yaga, a witch much older than she appears, is smitten with Valentina and intends to have her at any cost. As Baba Yaga works her magic, Valentina finds herself less and less able to resist the witch's advances. Valentina's boyfriend Arno (George Eastman) is soon Valentina's only hope of escaping Baba Yaga's sadistic clutches.

Never a chore to sit through, Baba Yaga is IMO one of the best films the genre has to offer. Calling it a sensuous pop art thriller pretty much sums it up. Everything about the film is right-on; the groovy soundtrack by Piero Umiliani, the gorgeous lighting and camerawork, clever editing, and fine performances by Baker, Eastman, and De Funes. I really liked how certain scenes were intercut with black and white still photographs, giving the film that pop art quality.

The story itself would have been considered highly subversive at the time of its release. Lesbianism, fetishism, witchcraft, s&m, racism, and Nazi death squads all make an appearance herein, and never detract from the soft, sensuous feel of the film. Highly recommended. Buy it here.

STAGEFRIGHT aka Aquarius aka Deliria

(Michele Soavi, 1987)



Here we have a true horror classic, Italian or otherwise. Produced by Joe D'Amato, partly written by George Eastman, directed by Michele Soavi, and starring Barbara Cupisti, David Brandon, and Giovanni Lombardo Radice...can't go wrong!



The story goes something like this: A group of youngish actor/dancers are rehearsing for an amateur production (and by amateur I mean...just watch the opening dance number!) The leading lady (Cupisti) sprains her ankle and sneaks out with the wardrobe mistress to get it looked at...which takes them to a psych ward, the nearest medical facility. A particularly deranged inmate escapes, hitches a ride back to the theater with them, and kills the wardrobe girl. Her body is discovered, and after the police have left the troupe are coerced into continuing with the play in an effort to cash in on the murder. The coked-out director (Brandon) gets a notion that no one should leave the theater until the morning, and has one actress lock the doors and hide the key. Guess which actress is the next to be murdered?



The film doesn't get going until well into the second third, but when it does, it doesn't let up. The poor crew get stabbed, chainsawed, drilled, cut in two, and beheaded by our owl-masked friend! One unfortunate soul gets a pick-axe through the mouth! So what makes this a more effective film than say, Friday the 13th (any of them)? For one, the characters aren't just two-dimensional fodder. Care was taken to create realistic, sympathetic individuals. That's not to say that they are all likeable, though! They actually think too, and take care to arm themselves and stick together. It's a pity it doesn't work out for them.



The other thing I really appreciate about Stagefright, or any of Soavi's films, is the photography and editing. His films are slick and frightening at the same time, and there are genuinely tense scenes that will leave you holding your breath. He, like his mentor Dario Argento, has the ability to make death a thing of beauty. There are a few rather tongue-in-cheek scenes, my favorite being when one character is being drilled through a door. A bottle of bright red stage blood shatters on the floor, creating a pool of artificial gore onto which drips the much darker real thing. Also humorous is the ending, but I won't give that much away. I highly recommend this as one of the first films you should watch if debating whether Italian horror is for you.



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DELERIUM aka Le Foto Di Gioia

(Lamberto Bava, 1987)

Here's another late 80s Giallo offering by Lamberto Bava. It tells the tale of Gloria (Serena Grandi), a former "model" who now successfully runs Playboy-esque Pussycat Magazine. Someone is killing off her friends and employees, then sending her photographs of the corpses posed around blown up pictures of her. Among the suspects are Daria Nicolodi (Deep Red, Shock), George Eastman (Anthropophagus, Absurd), David Brandon (Stagefright), and Karl Zinny (Demons)!

I have to say that although most might consider Bava's films nonsensical and hackneyed (and a few are), they DO have a certain something going for them. For starters, he has his own visual style, with a smattering of Mario Bava and Dario Argento's use of color and lighting. In Delerium, he makes use of heavy red and magenta lighting whenever the murderer is about to strike. And as with most of his movies, emphasis is placed on the death scenes.

What sets this title apart from the rest are the zany POV shots that reveal how deformed the killer perceives his victims to be. The first girl is seen as having but an eye for a face. Another is seen with the head of a bee. The deaths themselves are fairly well executed, though I must say the Death-By-Bee-Attack scene is a little far fetched (and quite hilarious!). Lamberto also makes good use of Serena Grandi's "talents" here, adding a healthy dose of sleaze to an otherwise mediocre Giallo. Recommended for intermediate Giallo viewers and Bava fans.

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ABSURD aka HORRIBLE aka Rosso Sangue

(Joe D'Amato, 1981)



"Horrible"...finally, a movie that lives up to its name! This "sequel" to Anthropophagus has only one thing in common with its predecessor: George Eastman running amok. In Absurd, he isn't a crusty-faced cannibal; he's a scientific experiment gone wrong. He has the somewhat improbable ability to regenerate damaged tissue quickly, making him almost invincible. Sounds like a good premise, right? In more capable hands, it could have been a horror classic. In Joe's it's a rich, gooey cheese fondue.



The story was obviously lifted from the first two Halloween movies. It opens with Eastman impaling himself on an iron fence, then being rushed to a hospital. There he recovers astonishingly fast, then proceeds to dispatch a nurse. He makes his way back to the house with the tricky fence, killing anyone he meets along the way. Then he stalks a bedridden girl, her little brother, and the babysitters.



True, the film does have some rather gory and mean-spirited violence, but D'Amato fails to create any real tension or suspense. Instead of surprise scares, we are treated to a nurse getting a drill pushed into her temple for what seems like ten minutes. Most of the killings seem to take as long. The film's shortcomings, however, are what make it so enjoyable. The dialogue and dubbing are hilarious, and the scene with all the parents sitting around and eating spaghetti almost had me in tears! And I will admit, Absurd does have a wonderfully absurd ending. Slow, but entertaining. MYA Communications DVD released this not long ago, so it's easy to obtain. Recommended.



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