The Dead Are Alive (1972) L'etrusco uccide ancora (original title)

Director:

Armando Crispino

Writers:

Armando Crispino
Lucio Battistrada
(more)

Release Date:

31 December 1972 (West Germany)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

There's No Place To Hide When ... THE DEAD ARE ALIVE!

Plot:

A photographer on an archaeological expedition digging up Etruscan ruins in Italy begins to suspect that not all the Etruscans buried there are actually dead. |

Plot Keywords:

Etruscan | Italy | Giallo | Tomb | Supernatural

Cast

Alex Cord	...	Jason Porter
Samantha Eggar	...	Myra Shelton
John Marley	...	Nikos Samarakis
Nadja Tiller	...	Leni Samarakis
Enzo Tarascio	...	Inspector Giuranna
Horst Frank	...	Stephen
Enzo Cerusico	...	Alberto
Carlo De Mejo	...	Igor Samarakis
Daniela Surina	...	Irene
Vladan Holec	...	Otello (as Vladan Milasinovic)
Christina von Blanc	...	Velia (as Christiane Von Blank)
Mario Maranzana	...	Sgt. Vitanza
Wendy D'Olive	...	Giselle
Pier Luigi D'Orazio	...	Minelli
Ivan Pavicevac	...	Policeman
Cinzia Bruno	...	Motorcyclist's girlfriend
Rodolfo Bigotti	...	Motorcyclist
Carla Mancini
Rosita Torosh		(as Rosa Toros)
Alessandro Angeloni
Pietro Fumelli
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bruno Bertocci	...	Servant (uncredited)
Carla Brait	...	Danzatrice (uncredited)
Aristide Caporale	...	Muratore (uncredited)

Directed by
Armando Crispino

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lucio Battistrada
Armando Crispino
Lutz Eisholz
Bryan Edgar Wallace		short story

Produced by
Artur Brauner	....	producer

Original Music by
Riz Ortolani

Cinematography by
Erico Menczer

Film Editing by
Alberto Gallitti

Art Direction by
Giantito Burchiellaro

Set Decoration by
Giovanni Natalucci

Costume Design by
Luca Sabatelli

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Victor Tourjansky	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Bruno Zanoli	....	sound mixer

Editorial Department
Edoardo Romani	....	assistant editor

Production Companies

• Inex Film
• Mondial Televisione Film (co-production)
• Central Cinema Company Film (CCC) (co-production)

Distributors

• National General Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Cinerama Filmgesellschaft MBH (1972) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Code Red DVD (2010) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"L'etrusco uccide ancora" - Italy (original title)
"Overtime" - Europe (English title)
"The Etruscan Kills Again" - International (English title)

Runtime:

105 min | Germany:99 min

Country:

Italy | West Germany | Yugoslavia

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:18 (nf) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Centralni Filmski Studio Kosutnjak, Belgrade, Serbia

Company:

Inex Film

Trivia:

70mm blow-up version released in Spain.

Elegant And Eerie Etruscan Giallo

Amando Crispino's L'ETRUSCO UCCIDE ANCORA aka. THE ETRUSCAN KILLS AGAIN is an interesting and somewhat unusual Giallo from the greatest Giallo-year 1972. 1972 was the year of several of the greatest genre masterpieces including Sergio Martino's YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY, Fulci's DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING, Massimo Dallamano's WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE and Emilio Miraglia's THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES. While L'ETRUSCO UCCIDE ANCORA is not as essential as these aforementioned titles it is highly interesting and creepy as the sight of this Giallo's mandatory murder series is an ancient Etruscan burial ground, which gives this particular Giallo a supernatural atmosphere.

The American archaeologist Jason Porter (Alex Cord) is head of a team that has discovered an ancient Etruscan burial ground including fascinating and mysterious pieces of mural art. Shortly after the discovery, a young couple is murdered in the same manner as depicted in the Etruscan tomb, which had not been opened for 2,500 years. It seems as if someone is trying to point out Jason, a womanizer with a drinking problem, as the murderer. Is the culprit one of the eccentric people in Jason's surrounding, or has an Etruscan fiend risen from tomb to perform his bloody deeds? As in most good Gialli, almost every character in the movie is a suspect.

L'ETRUSCO UCCIDE ANCORA is elegantly filmed in nice Northern Italian locations and accompanied by a very good and intense score from the great Riz Ortolani. The murders are quite bloody and well-made, most of them being Giallo-typically filmed from the murderer's perspective. The female cast members are all lovely to look at, especially Samantha Eggar and Christina Von Blanc, who is known for her mostly exhibitionist roles in some of the Spanish Exploitation-icon Jess Franco's movies. Besides Alex Cord, the cast includes several other well-known actors including John Marley (THE GODFATHER) as a sadistic elderly orchestra conductor and the always-sinister Horst Frank who plays a flamboyantly homosexual designer here.

Overall, L'ETRUSCO UCCIDE ANCORA may not be an outstanding Giallo-masterpiece, but it is definitely an elegant and creepy specimen of the genre that should not be missed by my fellow Giallo- and Eurohorror fans. My rating: 7.5/10