Generally speaking, I am a huge admirer of the late Joe D'Amato. His greatest films, "Buio Omega" (1979) and "Antropophagus" (1980) are absolute highlights of disturbing Italian Horror exploitation, and many of the other films that earned this highly prolific filmmaker his reputation as the King of Sleaze, are also essential for any fan of Italian Exploitation cinema. That being said, he is also responsible for a number of stinkers, and his latter day Horror film "Ritorno Dalla Morte" aka. "Frankenstein 2000" of 1991 is definitely one of the very crappy films in D'Amato's impressive repertoire of almost 200 films. D'Amato had his heyday in the 70s and early 80s, when the Exploitation cinema was booming. In the early 90s, when the great days of Horror and Exploitation were generally over, D'Amato's work had also become less valuable, and by the mid 90s he switched to directing porn only.
"Ritorno Dalla Morte" obviously had an extremely low budget, even for the standards of D'Amato, who usually knew how to make the best out of a low budget. Even so, D'Amato, a true master of exploitation, still manages to put in some gore (although it's very tame for his standards). The movie was probably shot within a few days and doesn't even bother to come up with logic in its plot. Nevertheless, the film is quite entertaining. It was a great treat to see Donald O'Brien, the great star of many Italian Westerns, Horror films and Exploitation flicks star in one of his last roles here. The cast furthermore includes another regular of Italian cult cinema, Maurice Poli, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabiati".
Another funny point for me was that the movie is set in my home country, Austria, somewhere in the countryside. The many absolutely ridiculous aspects of this film make it therefore especially funny for an Austrian. An entire little town is run by a rich guy and his private security firm, for example, and there is a bizarre disco named 'Heil', decorated with swastikas, in the middle of town (the display of Nazi-symbols has been banned in Austria since 1945). Horror fans will also recognize some plot similarities to a true Gothic Horror great, the Hammer Studios' "Frankenstein Created Woman" of 1967.
D'Amato has directed masterpieces like "Buio Omega", but also many stinkers, and "Frankenstein 2000" definitely belongs to the latter category. Nevertheless, it is fun to watch for Italian Horror buffs even if only for its fun value and for its star, the great Donal O'Brien in the lead. 3/10
"Ritorno Dalla Morte" obviously had an extremely low budget, even for the standards of D'Amato, who usually knew how to make the best out of a low budget. Even so, D'Amato, a true master of exploitation, still manages to put in some gore (although it's very tame for his standards). The movie was probably shot within a few days and doesn't even bother to come up with logic in its plot. Nevertheless, the film is quite entertaining. It was a great treat to see Donald O'Brien, the great star of many Italian Westerns, Horror films and Exploitation flicks star in one of his last roles here. The cast furthermore includes another regular of Italian cult cinema, Maurice Poli, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's "Cani Arrabiati".
Another funny point for me was that the movie is set in my home country, Austria, somewhere in the countryside. The many absolutely ridiculous aspects of this film make it therefore especially funny for an Austrian. An entire little town is run by a rich guy and his private security firm, for example, and there is a bizarre disco named 'Heil', decorated with swastikas, in the middle of town (the display of Nazi-symbols has been banned in Austria since 1945). Horror fans will also recognize some plot similarities to a true Gothic Horror great, the Hammer Studios' "Frankenstein Created Woman" of 1967.
D'Amato has directed masterpieces like "Buio Omega", but also many stinkers, and "Frankenstein 2000" definitely belongs to the latter category. Nevertheless, it is fun to watch for Italian Horror buffs even if only for its fun value and for its star, the great Donal O'Brien in the lead. 3/10