Mini Bio : Daria Nicolodi

Born June 19, 1950, in Florence, Italy, actress Daria Nicolodi started performing at an early age. She dabbled in theatre and underground film before making her bigscreen debut in 1970's "Men Against". Her first daughter, Anna was born in 1973. She continued with theatre and TV appearances until her big break in 1975, when avant-garde thriller director Dario Argento cast her in his hugely successful Deep Red. A romance blossomed between the two, and that same year their daughter, actress Asia Argento, was born. Their union, which would last until 1985, started to unravel in 1977, when the two cowrote the masterpiece, Suspiria, based on a story Daria's grandmother had told her. Though the lead role was written for Daria, it was instead given to American cult-goddess Jessica Harper when the distributors demanded an American play the part. Perhaps the greatest injustice she was dealt was not being given any credit for her part in the film when it was released. It wouldn't be until two decades later that Dario finally gave her writing credits. It wasn't all doom and gloom though, as that same year she starred in Mario Bava's Shock. She continued to act in Argento's films until 1987, though throughout that time period she also acted in horror films for Lamberto Bava,and Luigi Cozzi, and even wrote Cozzi's Paganini Horror and Demons 6/ The Black Cat. Sadly, her daughter Anna died in an accident in 1994. To this day she continues to appear on TV, and not long ago had a part in Argento's Mother of Tears, where she performed alongside Asia.

Selected Filmography

Deep Red (Dario Argento, 1975)
Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977 - writing and cameo appearance)
Shock (Mario Bava, 1977)
La Venere D'Ille (Mario Bava, 1979)
Inferno (Dario Argento, 1980)
Tenebre (Dario Argento, 1982)
Phenomena (Dario Argento, 1985)
Opera (Dario Argento, 1987)
Delirium (Lamberto Bava, 1987)
Giallo Natale (Turno Di Notte, TV Series, 1987)
Demons 6/ The Black Cat (Luigi Cozzi, 1989 - writing)
Il Gioko (Lamberto Bava, TV, 1989)
Paganini Horror (Luigi Cozzi, 1989 - writing and actress)
Scarlet Diva (Asia Argento,2000)
Mother of Tears (Dario Argento, 2007)

Visit Daria's official site HERE.

CONTAMINATION

(Luigi Cozzi, 1980)

An unmanned ship drifts into New York Harbour, and first to arrive on the scene are Lt Tony Aris and a crew of hazmat-suits. In the hold they discover the grisly remains of some of the crew, and a hoard of green, football-shaped eggs. One of the suits, cautious and intelligent no doubt, picks up an egg only to have it explode, spraying his colleagues with a corrosive greenish fluid as well. And then... they explode, with guts and gory bits bursting from their chests! In slow-motion!

Tony, the only survivor, is taken by government forces for decontamination and questioning. He meets the icy and somewhat wall-eyed Col Stella Holmes, who for some dubious reason enlists his aid in the case. While discussing the matter, Sheila suddenly recalls a description of the eggs by an astronaut, Ian Hubbard (Ian McCulloch), upon his return from Mars some time prior. Yes, Mars. Hubbard, we learn, was ridiculed and let go after the incident, leaving him a self-pitying alcoholic recluse.

Sheila convinces Hubbard to travel to South America with her and Tony to investigate the UniverX coffee plantation, which they suspect is the source of of the green pods. Why the US government would send a cowardly Col, a policeman, and an alcoholic ex-astronaut to save the world instead of, say, an army, is completely beyond me, but they do. The trio's arrival is not unnoticed, as the owners of the plantation have been tipped off and have a large, one-eyed surprise waiting for them!

Hackmaster Cozzi does it again! This Alien-"inspired" title offers dear viewer a heaping helping of horrible dialogue, gory chest explosions, and an outstanding soundtrack by the legendary Goblin.Wow, is this ever a gulity pleasure. Cozzi's love of sci-fi really shines through in this epically low-budget treat. Hmmm... checklist time!

Alien Cyclops? *check*
Green Eggs? *check...but "Where's the ham?", one may wonder...*
Helmets and Space Suits of Questionable Usefulness? *check*
Scale Models as Sets? *check!*
Panels With Blinking Lights and Knobs? *double-check*
Drunken Has-Been Astronauts? *just one... oh, THERE'S the ham!*

Contamination is definitely worth a watch or two. As previously stated, the dialogue is absolutley ridiculous, a detriment worsened (or, for some, improved upon) by the atrocious acting and overdubbing. The cheese quotient is further upped by the ridiculous, hole-filled plot with it's many lapses in logic and continuity. Oh, and did I mention the Alien Cyclops? Truly "special" effects there! Contamination's saving graces, few as they may be, are the body count and accompanying gallons of blood, and the awesome music by Goblin. This is by far one of their creepiest and most memorable synth-heavy soundtracks, portions of which were "borrowed" for use in other horror films. Recommended!

DEMONS 6 aka The Black Cat

(Luigi Cozzi, 1989)



If there was any indication that the horror movie was done for in late 80's Italy, this is it. Luigi Cozzi's tribute to Dario Argento is amusing in its ineptitude, and anything but frightening. Caroline Munroe has a small part in this, but is sadly underutilized.



The story's about an actress named Anne, who has just been given the lead role as Levana, a powerful witch (Levana was obviously inspired by the Three Mothers, Mater Suspiriorum in particular). Unknown to the cast is that Levana is real, and has been awakened from her exile/ slumber/ whatever to wreak havoc on the production and all involved.



The movie has a lot of gross-out moments, and there are copious amounts of slime and other bodily fluids on display here. Cozzi has never been shy with the grue, and it's great to see him resurrect the "exploding stomach" gag that made Contamination semi-bearable. The plot, of course, is full of holes, nonsensical bits, and other unexplained phenomena. I would definitely recommend having a few before popping this in! As previously stated, this was influenced by Dario Argento's work, especially Suspiria. The color scheme is in rich blues and sickly greens, which lend a surprising amount of atmosphere to an otherwise mediocre production.



As with many of the titles on here, this is difficult to track down. You can purchase burnt copies through various websites, but there has never been an official DVD release. Recommended for group viewing.

PAGANINI HORROR

(Luigi Cozzi, 1989)

Written by Luigi Cozzi and Daria Nicolodi(!), and with Donald Pleasence in a supporting role... how could they go wrong? Where did they go wrong? Here we have another "young people locked in a creepy old house with a killer on the loose" story with bad 80's EVERYTHING... the clothes, hair, music, overuse of glowing geometric objects, and badly-animated electricity effects. And you know what? I changed my mind. I LOVE Paganini Horror, with its dark, muddled look, and its nonsensical, nightmare-like plot that creates more questions than it answers. It almost has that surreal, Inferno-ish quality about it (albeit on an even smaller budget!)

An all-girl rock band have just purchased some accursed music written by Nicolo Paganini, and are looking for the perfect creepy house to shoot their Thriller-inspired video. Accursed music is played, Paganini rises from the tomb with his switchblade-tipped violin, and it's all gravy from there. Holes open in floors, coffins catch ablaze, and there's even a room full of mannequins that brings Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace to mind! Daria Nicolodi also has a small role in this, and I have to admit the movie wouldn't have been as watchable without her and Pleasence.

Cozzi actually manages to milk some atmosphere out of this, making good use of shadows and bold primary colours (again, a nod to Bava?) We are treated to some creatively cheesy deaths, my favorite being when one of the girls is "squashed" by an invisible force (aka a sheet of glass!) The uninspired 80's music, I must say, has never grown on me. It just hurts. You'll see. Worth a watch or two. Trailer here.