FOOTPRINTS aka Le Orme

(Luigi Bazzoni, 1975)


Here we have another of the Top Ten Gialli To See!
Florinda Bolkan plays Alice Cespi, a woman who has strange nightmares about a man being left on the moon as part of an experiment. When she awakens, she is startled to learn that she has been missing for 3 days, and cannot recall anything that might have happened then. Some clues surface in the form of a town named Garma, and a mysterious yellow dress.

She travels to Garma, and while on the beach meets a young girl (Nicoletta Elmi) who tells her she's met her before, but with a different name. I won't give away much more of the story, as you can see where this is going. Like Barilli's Perfume of the Lady in Black, Footprints is masterpiece of paranoia and dread, as we are never sure exactly what the threat is, or it's source. The film moves at a languid pace, but the intrigue and fantastic photography keep one alert.

What a look to this movie! If you look at the opening title card, THAT is the color scheme. It predates the 80's Giallo in its use of mostly neutrals tones, which really sets off key items (the yellow dress), or intense scenes (Alice's confrontation at the end). Great use is made of black and white scenes as well. The music is also one of the film's strengths, switching from creepy organ to sensitive classical without being distracting.

The cast is quite impressive, boasting the likes of Florinda Bolkan, Evelyn Stewart, and Nicoletta Elmi (the creepy ginger girl from so many Italian horror movies!). The acting is much better than in your average giallo, as are the script and story. Fans of the genre may lament the lack of blood and nudity, but true fans will stick it out to see what's really going on. Highly recommended.

THE RED QUEEN KILLS 7 TIMES

(Emilio Miraglia, 1972)



Ah, one of my favorite Gothic gialli. This one's about a family cursed by the Red Queen, a murderous ancestral spirit who returns every 100 years to claim 7 victims. As children, Kitty and her sister Evelyn were fascinated by the legend, Evelyn so much that in the opening to the film she decapitates Kitty's doll with a pair of shears. Fast forward to present day (1972 being present day). Kitty is all grown up and has a garish new wardrobe, but is plagued by the guilt of having accidentally killed Evelyn. She is also being blackmailed by a greasy little fellow in leather who was hot for her sister. When someone starts killing her friends and loved ones, rumors go about that the Red Queen has returned.



I'm a fan of pretty much any Gothic giallo (7 Deaths in the Cat's Eye, Murder Mansion, Something Creeping in the Dark, Murder Obsession, etc), but this one stands out a little bit. The film itself is quite dark, and makes good use of shadow and contrast. The Red Queen herself is quite the antagonist, striking out randomly with her dagger before running off cackling insanely. There is a decent amount of gore to be seen here, the highlight being one unfortunate character falling on an iron fence and catching herself with her jaw!



The standard Giallo elements are all present: black gloves, a straight razor, blackmail, and a trillion red herrings. The lovely Barbara Bouchet and Marina Malfatti star, and there are a couple other familiar faces among the cast. The wardrobes are especially disturbing in this, and anyone with an aversion to plaid should steer clear. The score by Bruno Nicolai is catchy and appropriate, and the sets are bright and ultramod (though one was obviously bought off Sergio Martino when he was done with it!) Recommended for intermediate viewers.

BURIAL GROUND The Nights Of Terror

(Andrea Bianchi, 1981)



If you are reading this and you haven't yet seen Burial Ground, do place your order right now. If I can't convince you, maybe THIS stellar cast will!



Still not convinced? How about the groundbreaking special effects?



When the zombies are smarter and more physically attractive than the actors, you KNOW it's gotta be good! Mystery Science Theater EAT YOUR HEART OUT good! Where to begin? How about the incest? OK fine, how about the lousy dubbing? Or the even lousier dialogue? Favorite quotes include "Mama, this cloth smells of death!" and "You look just like a little whore...I like that! The makeup and other effects are incredibly thrifty, to put it kindly. And the zombies are pretty organized in this movie! They all have matching green robes and use a variety of farming implements to break into the house. I learned that zombies are also expert knife throwers, can scale walls, and have pinatas for heads!



Ahhhh, the cast. Other than Maria Angela Giordan aka Mariangela Giordano aka the woman who gets a firepoker in her hoo-hoo in Patrick Still Lives, where did they find these people? Whose barrel did they scrape? Judging from the fact that they shot most of this during the day, presumably to save on lighting, there probably wasn't much in the budget for the cast. I'm almost positive the actors drew matches nightly to see who didn't get to eat! Oh, and I should probably mention Peter Bark, the adult in a floppy wig who is supposed to be a kid in this. There, I just did. See to Believe.



Oh ya, and the story...three semi-retarded couples and a mature-looking kid go to stay at their archaeologist friend's villa, which happens to be situated close to some Etruscan tombs that are filled with zombies. Much stupidity ensues. HIGHly recommended for the non-stop laughs and schizophrenic soundtrack!

Buy It Now!

THE HOUSE OF WITCHCRAFT

(Umberto Lenzi, 1989)



Alright, I'll take a break on the Lenzi reviews after this one! This soggy little snooze-fest is Lenzi's other contribution to the House of Doom TV series. House of Witchcraft's story is about a guy who has nightmares of entering a "house" and encountering a "witch" who throws his severed head into a large cauldron. He and his wife decide to take some time off in the country and rent an old villa. Little surprise it is the same house from his dreams. They decide to stay anyway, despite the confused-looking old hag who bumps people off in the backyard at night!



As in House of Lost Souls, many of the scenes are recycled from Ghosthouse,whose scenes themselves were lifted from several American horror movies. It's good to see they got their money's worth out of the maggoty Death costume, and apparently you can never have enough "windstorm in the bedroom" scenes! The film looks and IS rather dull, but is improved by the Simonetti soundtrack and one decent ghoulish twist in the plot. Recommended.