Revenge of the Dead (1983)

Stefano, a young journalist, buys a used typewriter and accidentally sees that some text is still readable on the ribbon. He manages to reconstruct the story of a scientist, Paolo Zeder, ... See full summary »

Director:

Pupi Avati

Writers:

Pupi Avati (story), Pupi Avati (screenplay)

Stars:

Gabriele Lavia, Anne Canovas, Paola Tanziani

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Gabriele Lavia	...	Stefano
Anne Canovas	...	Alessandra
Paola Tanziani	...	Gabriella Goodman
Cesare Barbetti	...	Dr. Meyer
Bob Tonelli	...	Mr. Big
Ferdinando Orlandi	...	Giovine - faux Don Luigi
Enea Ferrario	...	Mirko
John Stacy	...	Professor Chesi
Alex Partexano	...	Police Lt. Guido Silvestri (as Alessandro Partexano)
Marcello Tusco	...	Doctor Melis
Aldo Sassi	...	Don Mario
Veronica Moriconi	...	Young Gabriella
Enrico Ardizzone	...	Benni
Maria Teresa Tofano	...	Anna
Andrea Montuschi	...	Inspector Bouffet

Storyline

Stefano, a young journalist, buys a used typewriter and accidentally sees that some text is still readable on the ribbon. He manages to reconstruct the story of a scientist, Paolo Zeder, who in the 1950's discovered that some types of terrain have the power to revive the dead that are buried in them. Stefano's investigations bring him in contact with a group of renegade scientists that are still making experiments to prove Zeder's theories.

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Plot Keywords:

lovecraftian | typewriter | writer | secret | reanimation | 

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Taglines:

One man's search for an ancient secret...and the dead will rise from their graves!

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The abandoned building in the later scenes is the Colonia Varese hotel complex in Milano Marittima, Italy. Opened as a fascist-era holiday complex in 1938, it closed two years later after the outbreak of World War II. After being used as a prison and hospital for Germany troops, lay abandoned since the 1950s, and at the time of writing (2019) is still standing.

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Goofs

When first victim is on the autopsy table, she can be seen breathing very clearly.

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Connections

Featured in Voices of Darkness (2017)

User Reviews

A great atmospheric ghost story that is NOT a zombie movie!

To my knowledge this was not supposed to be a zombie film nor was it marketed as a gory zombie, living-dead-type picture as some people may think. It IS a scary, atmospheric ghost story that builds slowly but very effectively. There are creepy sequences throughout the film and the only liability is the guy's voice who dubbed lead actor, Lavia. Otherwise it's one of the few movies from the 1980s from Europe or elsewhere that really stands up as far as creating an atmosphere of supernatural dread. Has a similar feel to some of the latest Japanese horror films such as Hideo Nakata's RING and Kiyoshi Kurosawa's CURE, SEANCE and PULSE. Well worth seeing, especially if you love horror films. Also check out director, Pupi Avati's latest ARCANE ENCHANTER, a great period ghost story. Unfortunately, Avati's scariest film, THE HOUSE WITH WINDOWS THAT LAUGHED is extremely hard-to-find in the U.S. in any form.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Italy]

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

January 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Revenge of the Dead

Filming Locations:

Ferrara, Ferrara, Emilia-Romagna, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL500,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A.M.A. Film, RAI Radiotelevisione Italiana

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1