After making his inordinately stylish and often hilarious slasher film Stagefright, Dario Argento protégé Michele Soavi teamed up with the maestro for 1987’s The Church, a hallucinatory gothic concoction that was originally intended as the third entry in the Demons series before Lamberto Bava passed the directorial torch to Soavi. Although vastly different in tone and atmosphere than the Bava films, The Church still bears distinct traces of their core idea: Ravening demons are inadvertently let loose to run gruesomely amok within a confined space, in this instance a gothic cathedral located somewhere in Germany.
Where the Demons films take visual media as their primary mode of representation, Soavi and co-writers Argento and Franco Ferrini imbue The Church with a literary bent, which is apt for a story that centers around the interpretation of medieval texts. What’s more, the film overtly references works as disparate as M.R. James’s...
Where the Demons films take visual media as their primary mode of representation, Soavi and co-writers Argento and Franco Ferrini imbue The Church with a literary bent, which is apt for a story that centers around the interpretation of medieval texts. What’s more, the film overtly references works as disparate as M.R. James’s...
- 5/16/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
Mumbai, April 8 (Ians) From Jr Ntr to Varun Tej and Gopichandh Malineni, several personalities have wished star Allu Arjun on his 42nd birthday on Monday.
As he turned 42, Allu Arjun, who is fondly called “Bunny” by his fans and loved ones, treated everyone with the teaser of his much-awaited film “Pushpa: The Rule”, which gave an insight that it would be grander than “Pushpa: The Rise”.
One of the highest-paid actors, Ally Arjun has been honoured with a National Film Award and three Nandi Awards. He is considered to be one of the finest dancers in Indian cinema. The actor made his debut with “Gangotri” in 2003.
It was in 2024 when he gained stardom with Sukumar’s cult classic “Arya”. He was then seen in films such as “Bunny”, “Desamuduru”, “Parugu”, “Vedam”, “Julayi”, “Race Gurram”, “S/O Satyamurthy”, “Rudhramadevi”, “Sarrainodu”, “DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham” and “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo” among many others.
Wishing him a year full of happiness,...
As he turned 42, Allu Arjun, who is fondly called “Bunny” by his fans and loved ones, treated everyone with the teaser of his much-awaited film “Pushpa: The Rule”, which gave an insight that it would be grander than “Pushpa: The Rise”.
One of the highest-paid actors, Ally Arjun has been honoured with a National Film Award and three Nandi Awards. He is considered to be one of the finest dancers in Indian cinema. The actor made his debut with “Gangotri” in 2003.
It was in 2024 when he gained stardom with Sukumar’s cult classic “Arya”. He was then seen in films such as “Bunny”, “Desamuduru”, “Parugu”, “Vedam”, “Julayi”, “Race Gurram”, “S/O Satyamurthy”, “Rudhramadevi”, “Sarrainodu”, “DJ: Duvvada Jagannadham” and “Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo” among many others.
Wishing him a year full of happiness,...
- 4/8/2024
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body is a Technicolor fever dream of violent, unquenchable desire that extends beyond the grave. It’s also a gothic tale steeped in murder and revenge, with added elements of sadomasochistic eroticism and just a whiff of necrophilia. Wedged between Black Sabbath and Blood and Black Lace in Bava’s canon, The Whip and the Body shares those films’ consummate use of color cinematography to refine mood and convey disturbing shades of atmosphere. Acting as his own cinematographer, with credited Dp Ubaldo Terzano working as de facto camera operator, Bava revels in a riotous palette of sickly greens, otherworldly purples, and sanguine reds.
The opening of The Whip and the Body brings to mind Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, an equally disturbing tale of mad love that was celebrated by the surrealists. Heathcliffe stand-in Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) returns to his seaside castle...
The opening of The Whip and the Body brings to mind Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, an equally disturbing tale of mad love that was celebrated by the surrealists. Heathcliffe stand-in Kurt Menliff (Christopher Lee) returns to his seaside castle...
- 4/2/2024
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
It’s no secret that horror too often elicits kneejerk reactions from narrow-minded critics who, for some reason or another, aren’t willing to give its particular brand of storytelling a fair shake. There are countless examples of films that have received lukewarm to scathing critiques from reviewers upon their release only to be embraced as classics years later, sometimes even by the same writers that originally did them dirty. Last House on the Left (1972), The Shining (1980) and, perhaps most famously, The Thing (1982) were all savaged for various reasons during their initial runs but are now not only thought of as staples of their genre but of cinema as a whole.
This was also the case for Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace (1964). Barely making a splash with audiences and critics alike when it was released in Italy 60 years ago this month, the picture’s impact would soon be gargantuan.
This was also the case for Mario Bava’s Blood and Black Lace (1964). Barely making a splash with audiences and critics alike when it was released in Italy 60 years ago this month, the picture’s impact would soon be gargantuan.
- 3/19/2024
- by Patrick Brennan
- bloody-disgusting.com
When Italian horror comes to mind, it’s the unholy trifecta of Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, and Mario and Lamberto Bava that dominate the discussion. However, Michele Soavi is another essential – albeit underrated – Italian horror savant from the ‘80s and ‘90s who cut his teeth as Argento and Fulci’s apprentice, before ascending to become their peer through formative films like StageFright and Dellamorte Dellamore (aka Cemetery Man). Soavi has a flair and appreciation for immersive and complex camera visuals, intimidating antagonists, and gruesome gore, all of which are on display in the director’s most polarizing film, The Church, which now celebrates its 35th anniversary.
This cinematic achievement began as Demons 3, the third film in Argento and Lamberto Bava’s popular supernatural horror series. However, the horror sequel soon pivoted into an original project early on in its production after Bava walked and Soavi took over and completely rewrote the script.
This cinematic achievement began as Demons 3, the third film in Argento and Lamberto Bava’s popular supernatural horror series. However, the horror sequel soon pivoted into an original project early on in its production after Bava walked and Soavi took over and completely rewrote the script.
- 3/8/2024
- by Daniel Kurland
- bloody-disgusting.com
Though there had been earlier efforts, like Ealing Studios’s Dead of Night from 1945, the horror anthology film came into its own in the 1960s with titles like Kobayashi Masaki’s Kwaidan and the Poe-centric Spirits of the Dead from directors Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Federico Fellini. Hammer Films’s rival Amicus churned out no fewer than seven of them in a 10-year period starting with Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors. But the one that really got the omnibus rolling was Mario Bava’s Black Sabbath from 1963, an Italian-American co-production that resulted in two different versions of the film.
After the success of 1960’s Black Sunday, American International Pictures took a more active hand in producing several of Bava’s later films, altering them in the process to suit American audiences that tended to skew younger. The Aip cut of Black Sabbath rearranges its three segments, tones down some...
After the success of 1960’s Black Sunday, American International Pictures took a more active hand in producing several of Bava’s later films, altering them in the process to suit American audiences that tended to skew younger. The Aip cut of Black Sabbath rearranges its three segments, tones down some...
- 10/16/2023
- by Budd Wilkins
- Slant Magazine
“Tonight we have special news for you: we closed all the exits. You can’t escape,” Claudio Simonetti deadpanned in his Italian accent to the enthusiastic crowd at the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, Massachusetts on October 3. Clad in something like a ringmaster jacket over a Deadpool T-shirt, a smile beamed across the maestro’s face.
The audience erupted into laughter chased by cheers, as they knew they were about to experience something special: the 1985 cult classic Demons on the big screen with a live score performed by Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, a modern tribute to the prolific Italian prog-rock composers Goblin fronted by the founding keyboardist.
Produced by Italian master of horror Dario Argento — for whom Goblin had previously composed several scores — Demons is directed by Lamberto Bava from a script written by Bava, Argento, Dardano Sacchetti (The Beyond), and Franco Ferrini (Phenomena). The plot finds attendees at a mysterious...
The audience erupted into laughter chased by cheers, as they knew they were about to experience something special: the 1985 cult classic Demons on the big screen with a live score performed by Claudio Simonetti’s Goblin, a modern tribute to the prolific Italian prog-rock composers Goblin fronted by the founding keyboardist.
Produced by Italian master of horror Dario Argento — for whom Goblin had previously composed several scores — Demons is directed by Lamberto Bava from a script written by Bava, Argento, Dardano Sacchetti (The Beyond), and Franco Ferrini (Phenomena). The plot finds attendees at a mysterious...
- 10/9/2023
- by Alex DiVincenzo
- bloody-disgusting.com
Like laughter, fear is a universal language. That’s especially true in horror and the slasher subgenre as well. Case in point? Today brings Lithuania’s first slasher movie, We Might Hurt Each Other, to Bloody Disgusting’s Screambox, now streaming exclusively!
Lithuania’s first slasher pays tribute to the golden age of the subgenre while infusing an influence from Eastern European folklore. In Screambox Original We Might Hurt Each Other, “After classmates destroy life-size wooden folk art statues during a wild high school graduation party at a remote cottage, a mysterious killer starts picking them off one by one.”
This week’s streaming picks adhere to an international slasher theme, delivering brutal kills from around the globe. As always, here’s where you can stream them this week…
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
A Bay of Blood – freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Shout TV
Also known as Twitch of the Death Nerve,...
Lithuania’s first slasher pays tribute to the golden age of the subgenre while infusing an influence from Eastern European folklore. In Screambox Original We Might Hurt Each Other, “After classmates destroy life-size wooden folk art statues during a wild high school graduation party at a remote cottage, a mysterious killer starts picking them off one by one.”
This week’s streaming picks adhere to an international slasher theme, delivering brutal kills from around the globe. As always, here’s where you can stream them this week…
For more Stay Home, Watch Horror picks, click here.
A Bay of Blood – freevee, Kanopy, Plex, Shout TV
Also known as Twitch of the Death Nerve,...
- 7/11/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
We are back for a brand new Let’s Scare Bryan to Death, where we’re going to Massachusetts by way of Italy with Fabrizio Laurenti’s 1988 Witchery. Our selection this month comes from director/screenwriter Michael Varrati, whose work includes some amazing short films, a segment in the horror holiday anthology Deathcember, and multiple episodes of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula. Varrati brings a sharp, darkly comical perspective to his work and his love of horror shines through in his work.
Varrati’s pick this month was actually released in In Italy as La Casa 4 and is part of a disjointed series that actually starts with the first two The Evil Dead movies, renamed La Casa and La Casa 2 for Italian audiences. Witchery forgoes the Evil Dead cabin for a big, old house on an island that can only be accessed by boat and is said to be haunted by a witch.
Varrati’s pick this month was actually released in In Italy as La Casa 4 and is part of a disjointed series that actually starts with the first two The Evil Dead movies, renamed La Casa and La Casa 2 for Italian audiences. Witchery forgoes the Evil Dead cabin for a big, old house on an island that can only be accessed by boat and is said to be haunted by a witch.
- 4/26/2023
- by Bryan Christopher
- DailyDead
The Deadites are set to return to theaters this weekend with director Lee Cronin's gloriously unhinged "Evil Dead Rise." Visionary director Sam Raimi's twisted version of the undead bowled over unsuspecting audiences when the original "The Evil Dead" hit in 1981, ushering in a new wave of blood-soaked mayhem and low-budget terror. When Raimi first cracked open the pages of The Necronomicon (a.k.a. the Book of the Dead) in that first film, the overall tone and texture of his breakthrough debut was decidedly darker and grittier than the films that followed. When five innocent college kids accidentally unleash Hell itself at a remote cabin in the woods, the dark spirits found in "The Evil Dead" are only concerned with wreaking as much havoc as possible. If you're Ash (Bruce Campbell), the reality of watching your girlfriend Linda (Betsy Baker) and your buddies transform into possessed soul eaters...
- 4/21/2023
- by Drew Tinnin
- Slash Film
Hatchet for the Honeymoon doesn’t behave like other gialli. This Italian-Spanish movie does something unconventional at the beginning; the identity of the killer is revealed to the audience. It goes against tradition to spoil the mystery so early, but after feeling restrained while working under producer Dino De Laurentiis only a year earlier, director Mario Bava sought a fresh start in 1968. This almost forgotten movie was that creative reset, though it wouldn’t be until years later that everyone better appreciated this late entry in Bava’s unique oeuvre.
After taking a meat cleaver to a young bride and groom on a moving train, Stephen Forsyth’s character introduces himself. Not only is he a “madman, a dangerous murderer,” 30-year-old John Harrington is the movie’s protagonist. “I am a paranoiac,” he narrates during his morning rituals. From there John confesses to killing five brides and hiding their bodies,...
After taking a meat cleaver to a young bride and groom on a moving train, Stephen Forsyth’s character introduces himself. Not only is he a “madman, a dangerous murderer,” 30-year-old John Harrington is the movie’s protagonist. “I am a paranoiac,” he narrates during his morning rituals. From there John confesses to killing five brides and hiding their bodies,...
- 1/20/2023
- by Paul Lê
- bloody-disgusting.com
A career high– and low– point for director Mario Bava, who was finally allowed to create a film entirely to his own taste with no interference from above, only to see it discarded when his original version proved too offbeat to attract a distributor. He never lived to see his cut rescued from the ash heap, believing it would be forever replaced by House of Exorcism, heavily revamped and recut with an added framing story ripped off from the much-imitated Friedkin film. But thanks to home video Bava’s original is now in circulation, though usually offered in tandem with its crass counterpart.
The post Lisa and the Devil appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
The post Lisa and the Devil appeared first on Trailers From Hell.
- 12/14/2022
- by TFH Team
- Trailers from Hell
Pairing wine with movies! See the trailers and hear the fascinating commentary for these movies and many more at Trailers From Hell. This week’s trio of films are a hell of a good time to watch. There are appropriate wine pairings for each, of course.
Demons is a 1985 Italian horror film, which we know because nearly everyone involved with the production has a name ending in a vowel. The story concerns a movie theater full of people who were invited to a free screening. Inside the cinema they are attacked by horrible creatures – let’s just call them demons. It’s a case of life imitating art, as the real demons seem to spring forth in the same way as those in the movie.
Demon zero is a girl who was scratched by a dangerous relic on display in the lobby. Let’s all go to the snack bar,...
Demons is a 1985 Italian horror film, which we know because nearly everyone involved with the production has a name ending in a vowel. The story concerns a movie theater full of people who were invited to a free screening. Inside the cinema they are attacked by horrible creatures – let’s just call them demons. It’s a case of life imitating art, as the real demons seem to spring forth in the same way as those in the movie.
Demon zero is a girl who was scratched by a dangerous relic on display in the lobby. Let’s all go to the snack bar,...
- 12/11/2022
- by Randy Fuller
- Trailers from Hell
Whilst many older horror fans will swoon at the notion of Christopher Lee starring in a film directed by Mario Bava, this high Gothic drama, which was pulled from cinemas by Italian censors following its original release in 1963, remains surprisingly little known. It has been a pleasure to see it retrieved from the vaults for Abertoir 2022 by a team whose dedication to resurrecting older horror classics is consistently impressive. Here you will find that combination of style, charisma and viciousness which made Lee unforgettable as Hammer’s Dracula, but several shades darker, whilst Bava contributes his trademark lush visuals and love of noir, but probes a part of the human psyche usually far off limits.
The film is set in an imposing, isolated castle – where else? – ruled over by an ageing count (Gustavo de Nardo). The count has two sons: the imposing, cruel Kurt (Lee) and the...
The film is set in an imposing, isolated castle – where else? – ruled over by an ageing count (Gustavo de Nardo). The count has two sons: the imposing, cruel Kurt (Lee) and the...
- 11/25/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The wait horror fans had been enduring for a proper glimpse at the latest entry in the Evil Dead franchise, Evil Dead Rise, had been torturous, but a first-look image was finally unleashed this week. We also have an official synopsis, and it sounds like a good time. Essentially, the Necronomicon unleashes the Deadites for some mayhem in an apartment complex.
Now, without even so much as a teaser for the film by the writing of this article, we don’t know what the “Evil Dead in an apartment building” idea will look like. Going by the synopsis alone, I can’t help but feel that the upcoming Lee Cronin film may have taken some inspiration from an Italian cult classic – Lamberto Bava’s Demons 2 – in which demons invade a high rise apartment building and quickly start turning everyone they come across into one of their horde. What for? Well,...
Now, without even so much as a teaser for the film by the writing of this article, we don’t know what the “Evil Dead in an apartment building” idea will look like. Going by the synopsis alone, I can’t help but feel that the upcoming Lee Cronin film may have taken some inspiration from an Italian cult classic – Lamberto Bava’s Demons 2 – in which demons invade a high rise apartment building and quickly start turning everyone they come across into one of their horde. What for? Well,...
- 11/3/2022
- by Tyler Eschberger
- bloody-disgusting.com
Gothic Fantastico-Four Italian Tales of Terror
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
Starring Barbara Nelli, Helga Liné, Franco Nero, Erica Blanc
Written by Giovanni Grimaldi, Bruno Corbucci
Directed by Massimo Pupillo, Alberto De Martino, Mino Guerrini, Damiano Damiani
The success of 1957’s I Vampiri, a grimly beautiful fantasy directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, provoked an unexpected trend in the country known for neo-realism; Italian horror films began to embrace the classical romanticism of Rebecca over the modernistic shocks of Psycho. Elegant nightmares like Bava’s Black Sunday cast their spell and soon this new breed of gothics—united by sumptuous black and white photography—dominated movie theaters with tbeir come-hither promise of seductive spirits and strategically lit negligees.
A few of these thrillers were more brazen in their approach—flaunting their teasing nudity and blood-soaked denouements, exploitation fare like Atom Age Vampire and The Playgirls and the Vampire took aim at...
Blu-ray
Arrow Video
Starring Barbara Nelli, Helga Liné, Franco Nero, Erica Blanc
Written by Giovanni Grimaldi, Bruno Corbucci
Directed by Massimo Pupillo, Alberto De Martino, Mino Guerrini, Damiano Damiani
The success of 1957’s I Vampiri, a grimly beautiful fantasy directed by Riccardo Freda and Mario Bava, provoked an unexpected trend in the country known for neo-realism; Italian horror films began to embrace the classical romanticism of Rebecca over the modernistic shocks of Psycho. Elegant nightmares like Bava’s Black Sunday cast their spell and soon this new breed of gothics—united by sumptuous black and white photography—dominated movie theaters with tbeir come-hither promise of seductive spirits and strategically lit negligees.
A few of these thrillers were more brazen in their approach—flaunting their teasing nudity and blood-soaked denouements, exploitation fare like Atom Age Vampire and The Playgirls and the Vampire took aim at...
- 10/25/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
(Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.)
The Movie: "Night of the Creeps"
Where You Can Stream It: PlutoTV
The Pitch: Back in 1959, a seemingly possessed alien launches a canister into space, but it crash lands on Earth. As the canister falls, a rookie cop named Ray Cameron warns a pair of lovers that a maniacal ax murderer is on the loose and to stay safe before driving away, but the boyfriend of the duo foolishly decides to investigate what he believes to be a falling star. The young woman is killed by the murderer, and the boy opens the alien canister only for a slug-like creature to slither into his mouth.
Fast forward to 1986, and nerdy college students Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and his roommate J.
The Movie: "Night of the Creeps"
Where You Can Stream It: PlutoTV
The Pitch: Back in 1959, a seemingly possessed alien launches a canister into space, but it crash lands on Earth. As the canister falls, a rookie cop named Ray Cameron warns a pair of lovers that a maniacal ax murderer is on the loose and to stay safe before driving away, but the boyfriend of the duo foolishly decides to investigate what he believes to be a falling star. The young woman is killed by the murderer, and the boy opens the alien canister only for a slug-like creature to slither into his mouth.
Fast forward to 1986, and nerdy college students Chris Romero (Jason Lively) and his roommate J.
- 10/18/2022
- by BJ Colangelo
- Slash Film
There’s no getting around it — Mario Bava’s one space opera is now confirmed as a classic. Barry Sullivan and Norma Bengell must oppose invisible aliens that possess the corpses of their fellow space men. Bava’s ‘gothic’ Haunted Planet recipe just adds more weird colored lights and swirling fog to his supernatural Gothic formula. The designs are excellent and the results unique, from the odd spacecraft to the kinky costumes. The show is also genuinely influential, as should be well known to every fan of more modern sci-fi / horror films. The new HD remaster is an improvement, too!
Planet of the Vampires
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 88 min. / Terrore nello spazio, Planet of Blood, The Demon Planet / Street Date July 26, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli, Franco Andrei, Fernando Villena, Mario Morales, Ivan Rassimov.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi,...
Planet of the Vampires
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1965 / Color / 1:85 widescreen / 88 min. / Terrore nello spazio, Planet of Blood, The Demon Planet / Street Date July 26, 2022 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli, Franco Andrei, Fernando Villena, Mario Morales, Ivan Rassimov.
Cinematography: Antonio Rinaldi,...
- 8/2/2022
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
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