Trick 'r' Treat

Sam will be your guide.

Only a few days until Halloween night! and what could be better than watching horror films for pumpkin season? Our previous entry was all about Samhein too but today's entry takes us into another level of film making, a true independent horror masterpiece the likes we haven't seen in ages. Trick 'r' Treat (not to be confused with 1986's Trick or Treat. See? spelling matters!) is perhaps the only horror film worth watching made in the 21st century (along with The Ring & Final Destination) Annabelle? Paranormal Activity? The Conjuring? Seriously?! those aren't horror films! those are horrific to watch films! fuck them all! fuck their poser fans!

Anyway, Trick 'r' Treat is a 2007 film written & directed by Michael Dougherty, produced by Bryan Singer (of X-Men & Superman Returns fame) and starred by Anna Paquin (Rogue in the X-Men franchise).

Hi, I'm Sam.

And I love Halloween.

Ah, Halloween… my favorite time of the year. It isn't so much the festivities taking place that excites me as it's the feeling in the air once October comes. That palpable sensation you get seeing jack-o-lanterns grimly lit faces, kids trick-or-treating in the streets and the aesthetics of fall surrounding you slowly giving way to winter. I think it must hold a special place in everyone, if for nothing else but purely nostalgic reasons. Mike Dougherty is certainly one of those people, as is evidenced by his incredible horror anthology Trick 'r Treat. For a holiday that revels in films of a horrific nature, there sure are a scant few of them that take place on the actual day itself. Dougherty's film is the celluloid embodiment of that je ne sais quoi that has made Halloween such an alluring holiday for generations of kids (and adults) alike.

As I said, Trick 'r Treat is a horror anthology which interweaves tales that all take place on Halloween night, similar to such genre classics as Creepshow and Tales from the Darkside. A costumed couple learns to respect tradition… the hard way, a group of girls head out into the woods for a "howling" good party, the local school principal has a (literal) taste for blood, four kids attempting to pull off a holiday "trick" end up becoming "treats", and a cantankerous old man gets a visit from a holiday visitor looking to settle a decades-old grudge.

Oh C'mon! Lose your virginity already!

Halloween is a great night for my first time.

To say anymore than that would spoil the fun in watching the film, as these stories are best digested when viewed on an empty mind. The twists are less predictable than most horror films manage these days; half the fun is wondering just where the hell these characters are going to end up. The one constant throughout the film is a costumed, pint-sized little guy named Sam, who does his best to remind people why they should take great care in adhering to the traditions set forth hundreds of years ago for All Hallows Eve. The film is richly seeped in tradition, reminding the audience of just why we celebrate the fabled holiday in the first place. It manages to be effectively creepy and blood-soaked, yet it never goes over-the-top with gratuitous gore. There is also a very obvious helping of black comedy strewn throughout the film, which thankfully never gives way to the self-parody so many horror films feel the need to indulge in.

I think the most impressive aspect of this film is the incredible attention that has been paid to detail. Every single shot of the film is beautifully framed and composed, often looking more like a cryptic painting than a frame of film. The austere trappings of Mr. Kreeg's dark house, the ghostly palette of the rock quarry, the incredible shape-shifting sequence around a roaring fire in the woods… everything here is gorgeous. That aesthetic, married with the spot-on performances and realistic dialogue, give the film an organic feel that never relies on cheese or parody to break tension. The cinematography by Glen MacPherson is so lush it manages to make you feel like you're a part of the celebration. For someone who is as big a fan of the Halloween holiday as I am, this was especially important to see done right. Too often when a film actually does take place on the holiday it lacks the depth that is presented here.

Beautiful decoration.

Kid-friendly neighbors.

For such a large ensemble cast, there isn't any one performance that stands out above the rest – everyone here is perfectly cast. I even enjoyed Anna Paquin as the "virgin" of the female group, and she's not always someone I'm crazy about. Perhaps my favorite role is that of Mr. Kreeg, played superbly by veteran character actor Brian Cox. His look was inspired directly from my favorite director, John Carpenter, and there are a couple of well-placed nods to his work that were highly amusing. Also providing great support throughout the film is newcomer Quinn Lord who plays Sam, the little sack-headed minion who "stitches" the film's stories together.

The film was originally slated to be released in October 2007 for a Halloween release. Warner Bros., without explanation or reason, pulled the film from the schedule and no reschedule date was announced. One reason might have been that Saw IV (2007) was slated for release around the same time and Warner Bros. did not want to compete against it in fears of a big opening against them. Another possible reason the film was buried by the studio was that it was possible fallout from the box office disappointment of Superman Returns (2006), which was co-written by Trick 'r Treat writer/director Michael Dougherty and both produced and directed by Bryan Singer, whose production company produced this film. There was brief talk that the film would finally be released around Halloween 2008 and possibly early 2009 but neither release ever materialized. The film was finally released straight to DVD in October 2009.

Slutty party.

Sexy boobs.

Trick 'r' Treat had many title changes before filming began. Originally titled Season's Greetings (also the name of the short film), it was changed because it sounded too much like a Christmas film. Then it was called Halloween Terrors, Jack O' Lantern Tales, October the 31st, and Trick or Treat. The final title was kept but since there was already a movie of the same name out (our previous review), they changed the spelling to Trick 'r Treat.  

The name of the character Sam is derived from Samhain, the ancient Celtic festival of the dead from which modern-day Halloween is derived. Despite having been portrayed as such in this film and several other works, Samhain is not a deity or other personage of ancient Celtic polytheism; it is only the name of the celebration. However, the idea of being either a deity or other personage dates back to at least the late first century, largely thanks to an Irish bishop named Cormac mac Cuilennàin and his book "Sanas Cormaic" (Irish Gaelic for "Cormac's Narrative"), which had identified Samhain as such. 

Father & son carving, cute!

Say cheese!

Overall, an excellent horror film that offers nothing but pure entertaining, so what are you waiting for?

Here's the movie trailer:

Trick or Treat

Cassette & vinyl will bring you to hell kids!

Although the 80's were shit (as The Vaselines put it in their wonderful second LP "Sex with The Vaselines") the film industry was very creative during the decade. Some of the most wonderful films, cult or massive, came out in that decade and none other film than today's entry can deliver a horror film with bulk 80's pop culture references. Trick or Treat is a 1986 horror gem written by Rhet Topham and directed by Charles Martin Smith. Starred by Marc Price as Eddie Weinbauer, Tony Fields as Sammi Curr & Lisa Orgolini as Leslie Graham.

What happens when a Glam Rock star dies and his number one fan gets his hand in the only vinyl copy of his latest recording? Well, shit happens! Featuring hard rocking cameos by Gene Simmons (as Nuke, a local radio DJ) & Ozzy Osbourne (as Reverend Aaron Gilstrom) this is the Halloween movie every audiophile enthusiast should watch as soon as possible. 

The evil sign of rock!

Ozzy, Sammi & Gene.

Eddie AKA Rag-Man Weinbauer, is a diehard fan of all things heavy metal, glam and classic rock in general. His bedroom is a fortress of music with giant speakers, a Sony turntable and very respectable collection of vinyl records & cassette tapes you wish you had today. As a matter of fact, he even owns a copy of Megadeth's debut album Killing is my Business which by the date the movie was filmed, wasn't even out, making our lead character's copy one of the earlier promotional copies send to different college radio stations in order to promote their music. So, going back to the movie (I'm a freaking audiophile, I admit it) Eddie's number one rock star, Sammi Curr is seen by society, school teachers, parents & reverends as a Satanic & perverted monster that is posoning America's youth with his evil music. This causes Eddie to be constantly bullied in school, just because he listens to Rock music. Yes, in the 80's everybody thought heavy rock music was a door to Satanic cult rites and all sorts of atrocities. 

Later while doing his chores Eddie finds out his ultimate hero has died in a fire, obviously causing our lead massive pain since "Sammi Curr was the only one who truly understood his teenage brawls against the world" For unexplained reasons, Eddie runs into the local radio station to tell Nuke (Gene Simmons, Kiss bass player & singer) his love about the recently demised Glam rocker. Nuke believes him and as gift, offers him the last studio session Curr recorded in brand new vinyl. Only one copy exists, and Eddie is the lucky winner! (Nuke has made a cassette copy he'll play during Halloween) 

What are these hidden messages?

Satan is calling to you Eddie!

The problem is, the copy features some strange voices Eddie can't understand, so, using the most cliched story about LP's he reverse plays it, or plays it backwards, finding creepy messages Sammi Curr left to the lucky owner of this unique vinyl. The messages are essentially "nail them all" something Curr kept singing about while he was alive. Eddie, being his number one fan, knows this message means he has to face his bullies at any cost, so evidently things will go south pretty quickly. 

Wait a fucking minute?! Why is this movie called Trick or Treat?! Where's Halloween?! Now, now. Eddie's school is celebrating a Halloween party! and Sammi Curr was supposed to be the feature artist  but since, society considered him a fucking satanic perv his invitation was revoked. Still not Halloween enough? Well, let me continue then. The more Eddie plays Sammi Curr's LP, the more evil like he turns, so when things go out of hand, Sammi comes back to life through Eddie's stereo asking him if he's forgotten they made a pact to "nail them all". From then on, murders start happening and Sammi sort of, avenges himself and Eddie's by making every detractor they had, explode (no graphic violence is featured in the film whatsoever) 

I hope Eddie cums on my tits, I'm not ready for another load on my face.

Oh C'mon! I know you swallow!

In order to "nail them all" Eddie makes a cassette copy of the LP and gives it to one of his bullies as a "peace offering" Unfortunately, the cassette ends up in the wrong hands (The bully's girlfriend) And via headphones the spirit of Sammi Curr rapes and leaves the girl comatose. Tim Haney (the bully, played by Doug Savant) instantly runs into Eddie to ask him what the hell was in the cassette he gave him. But, Sammi's spirit protects Eddie's house so Tim leaves him unharmed. Nevertheless, Eddie has a good heart and decides to tell his death idol he doesn't want any part in his murdering revenge. Obviously, and predictably, you can't get rid of a death rock star like that, so despite plugging off every stereo Eddie can find, Sammi Curr still finds a way to travel through the real world to propagate his hatred message of death targeting Eddie's love interest Leslie Graham (Lisa Orgolini)

So once Halloween night happens, Sammi replaces the band playing for the school party and so begins the Halloween party massacre, where our death rock star "nails" the students with his electric guitar. But shit doesn't stop there, since this unreleased LP is also being played in the local radio station, allowing Sammi to cover the whole city, making no one safe because stereos where everywhere in the 80's! home stereo, walkman, car stereo, radio signal oh man!

This music makes want to diddle my skittle.

Rock music is the true gate to hell!

Watching Trick or Treat feels like watching portions of other films. There's the late night teen pool party, with booze and tits. There's the bullied outcast seeking revenge. There's the death spirit possessing electrical devices. There's the girl who has a thing for the bullied character. There's a teenage party that ends up in a fucking massacre plus a couple of world class cameos. However, this isn't a copy of something that has been done before. This is a horror film made for rock music fans, specially those who dig Vinyl, Rock music & cassette tapes. If you're that kind of a person, you will enjoy this flick. Also, if you're into watching 80's horror films, I so believe this is for you, and I'm sure you've watched it already. For general audiences and digitized music era fans, this may be hard to swallow (no pun intended). For gore & slasher fans, this film doesn't offer visual violence, although there are hints here and there, it could be a family friendly slasher. 

Now, some stuff you probably didn't know about the movie:

-Eddie's best friend Roger is played by Glen Morgan, his only acting stint. Morgan later went on to be a prolific writer/producer for The X-Files (1993), Final Destination (2000), and Final Destination 3 (2006), as well as direct the Black Christmas (2006) remake.  

 
-All songs in the movie are written by the band "Fastway" which consisted of former Motorhead Guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke, and current "Flogging Molly" vocalist Dave King. 

 
-Cult movie company Anchorbay were all set to release a special 20th Anniversary Edition DVD of 'Trick or Treat' in 2006, but cancelled it when they encountered problems with the film's music licensing.  
-This movie features and after credit scene! (I won't spoil it here)

 

I'll leave you kids alone.

My bush is yours Eddie.

Overall, Trick or Treat is not as scary as other Halloween themed films yet, it is fairly entertaining and mildly original. If you want to watch something different, look no more. If you want to watch some good scary flick, wait until our next review coming before October the 31st.

 

Here's the movie trailer:

 

 

Le Notti del Terrore: Burial Ground, The Nights of Terror

Deadlier than death itself!

While we are currently watching the remaining filmography of the hottie Leonora Fani, we check in our archives and found there are a few reviews waiting to be brought online since God knows when. Such is the case of Le Notti del Terrore AKA Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror. A 1981 zombie slasher that for the uninitiated may look like as if it was directed by Lucio Fulci, but no sir, it was not. However, the similarities or inspiration if you will, it's clearly there and director Andrea Bianchi is not afraid of coming up with something entirely new out of pure homage.   

Reviewers out there, have criticized this film value, but as always, our job is,  quoting Lion-O's "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight" legendary quot, to see underneath and beyond every single element that makes a film worth watching entertainment, and Le Notti del Terrore will neither disappoint today's standard movie goer, nor film connoisseurs.  

"Is there a Starbucks near here, I'm dying for a Latte"

Man made special effects!

This is the one. This is the one that puts them all to shame. Fulci, Romero, no one has ever made living-dead cinema seem so dark, gritty, and down right apocalyptic as Andrea Bianchi. Obviously less expensive than anything from those other guys, Burial Ground is certainly no more complicated than anything else from the genre, three horny as fuck couples and a weird man-child are invited  into professor's Ayres to witness his latest discovery regarding an ancient stone. Unfortunately, they arrive too late because their host is horribly killed by recently awoken Zombies that live under his mansion for unexplained reasons. Unaware of what's to come, every couple is assigned a room by the professor's servants (also, unaware of his death) and what do you do inside a luxurious bedroom? you fuck! you fuck until you cum air bubbles! So, while all these couples were invited for this awesome science find, they don't really seem to give a damn about as long as they can fuck indoors & outdoors as they please. One of the characters, Evelyn (Mariangela Giordano) has a son that looks as creepy as the zombies they're about to meet. Anyways, this weirdo is somehow suffering from the Oedipus Complex (Sigmund Freud's way of saying a child could have sexual desires for his parents, in this case mother) and that will add extra creepiness to the overall value of the film.

The first twenty minutes of this epic mostly involves the giddy couples spouting ridiculous dialogue, flirting with each other, and frolicking about with not a care in the world, until it happens, the dead are coming back to life, and unfortunately, for some reason, there are a dozen or so rotted corpses buried in the garden. As bad as the English voice-overs are, they do a great job at sounding terrified once the madness begins. Probably more powerful than it was meant to be, Burial Ground gives you the strong impression that these dozens of zombies, some of which resemble the Toxic Avenger, just might take over the world after they're done with these guys. Burial Ground is a prime example of grainy, bad film quality unintentionally enhancing the horror quality. Some scenes, you cant even make out what's going on. Although the sci-fi-ish sound effects are out of place (there are even some screaming sounds where the actresses are actually not doing that on scene), it adds an apocalyptic feel that makes things seem even more hopeless and dismal. Some how, the unintentional humor doesn't overshadow any of this. Calling Burial Ground creepy would be an insult, nightmarish would be a good start.

What the fuck is that!? I only came here to suck dick!!

Hungry? grab a snickers!

What makes this movie so interesting 35 years later, is the fact the Bianchi did a fantastic job worrying about the one thing that matters in a horror film: Scary scenes, disgusting monsters, graphic violence and helpless characters. Burial Ground is a pretty straight forward film and there are no wasted on screen minutes explaining the science behind these zombies, as well as no deep character development. Just the right amount of spice to make you like the characters and root for them when they're in danger.

The zombie genre is clearly meant to entertain those who know how to watch this kind of movies, you see, we could easily escape zombies that walk slowly and move clumsily. Also, everyone knows shooting them in the head or decapitating them, instantly solves the problem. Nevertheless, our characters always have little to rely on, spending most of the movie time being defenseless. Still, how come they never decide to get out of the house, or run somewhere else away from this deadly bunch of snails? See! a movie goes down to the bottom of shittiness if we start applying real life science facts.

Boner!

Why won't you blow me mum?

However, the zombies in Burial Ground are not your average zombie. They can use tools to attack you, or they can even notice when they're outgunned. They move slow like most Zombies do, but they are smarter than you think. As a matter of fact, they can even disguise to confuse their victims! Also, they seem to be some kind of long gone secret religious cult, but I'll leave that for you to find out once you watch it  yourselves. 

The special effects are all man made, no CGI shit of any kind. The zombies look so disgusting, they even feature living worms inhabiting their skulls, and they somehow resemble mummified corpses (yes, I've been to museums too, I'm no couch potato) So you may not want to dip Nachos while watching Burial Ground. The movie was made in only four weeks on location in a real Italian castle. The workshop scenes were filmed on the same location for Dario Argento's Inferno. Although this flick premiered in 1981 in Italy & Germany, it was actually filmed a year before. Burial Ground was released in different years on different countries: 1983 on Spain, and in 1985 on Mexico and the USA. An official Region 2 DVD premiered on 2011 on Finland. In addition, Burial Ground was starred by Gianluigi Chirizzi & Mariangela Giordano, some of the most prominent actors & actresses of the Italian exploitation genre

Can you undress a bit more? do it for art!

Yum! a couple of unaware horny teens.

The darkness of this masterpiece goes far beneath the dark, grainy quality of the film, even when they show a sunny day, all I see in this film is darkness, things just seemed doomed from the very beginning, and that, exploitation fans, is the makings for true horror. Burial Ground stands next to the best Italian gore films, and that is next to The Beyond and Beyond the Darkness, Burial Ground has no equal. The only thing I can recommend more than this, is this on VHS, the film quality is even worse, the sky looks almost pink. VHS really brings out "that look" that the DVD format has ruined. Now, I know asking for a VHS tape on this day an age maybe a bit too much, but I' m sure you know about VHS-Rips. 

Overall, Burial Ground, is a feast of Gore, nudity, incest creepiness and more importantly, a feast of real horror, featuring the most disgusting Zombies you can find. The Walking Dead? ha,ha,ha, gimme a break, will ya?!

Here's the movie trailer:

 

Reazione a Catena: a Bay of Blood

Even for slashers there's a first time.

2016 is proving to be a very sad year for fans of pop culture as they're seeing their precious childhood memories butchered by heartless Hollywood producers. Before I decided to review Rezione a Catena I watched Batman: The Killing Joke hoping to find a fantastic animated adaptation of Alan Moore & Bryan Azarello's groundbreaking graphic novel, I found nothing but a kitsch parody, just like our previous entry. 

You know who else butchers? Every character from today's review! Mario Bava's masterpiece, Reazione a Catena (Chain Reaction) AKA a Bay of Blood AKA Twitch of the Death Nerve is one of those films that deserve to wear the "unique" ribbon label from our humble blog. How many movies have you watched where every single character in it gets killed in the most brutal possible way? How many movies have you watched that hold the title of first slasher film ever? fasten your seat belts for  today's review!

A death rich lady.

an all-seeing eye.

The definition of a horror film hasn't been the same since Reazione a Catena premiered in 1971, and chances of its influence ever completely receding are next to nil. The first film to exploit its body-count as the main reason for viewing, the flick even hits the ground running (or wheeling rather), with the first two of its thirteen ghastly murders occurring in the first scene alone. Besides the high mortality rate of the characters, and Bava's diabolical tunnel vision of the carnage, another not so easily noticeable (yet perhaps most lasting) influence of this film reliance on set pieces to reach its sadistic goal. Every murder is methodically, systematically designed for optimum shock, and the film's cameraman (Bava himself), art director, actors, writers, editors, FX men, etc., all play their crucial and individual parts to perfection each time, thereby making each piece stand alone like masochistic movements in a sadistic symphony.

Said actors run the gamut from fallen icons of World Cinema (like Isa Miranda), and ex-Bond Girls (Thunderball's Claudine Auger), to Laura Betti, and a Brechtian spaghetti western star (Luigi Pistilli). The writers include none other than Dardano Sacchetti, who had just recently penned Argento's Cat O' Nine Tails, and would go on to give Lucio Fulci one of the finest scripts of his career – The Beyond. Carlo Rambaldi, who would go on to win two Oscars for Alien and E.T., created the then-state-of-the-art special effects. I suppose I should mention the story line, which is often attacked for being inconsequential, illogical, irrational, impossible to sort out, or simply the odious ex machina to simply get from one murder to another. I find it all pretty simple to explain myself – I don't see what's so difficult to understand. Bava's penchant for cynicism and his fascination with humanity's dark side has never been more apparent than on this film, whose plot concerns greed, real estate, the raping of the environment, and revenge.

I wanna buy that bay no matter the cost honey.

The smell of death is upon us, dear.

All the action transpires around a beautiful, undeveloped bay and its surrounding picturesque landscape/acreage, whose owner (Isa Miranda) has been murdered. Those who wish to convert the entire area into a fashionable resort now threaten the forests and natural life. But just who is the real heir to this potential fortune now? And who won't stop at nothing to own it all, or to preserve the land's natural state. Throw in some sex-crazed teenagers who stumble and wander where they shouldn't belong, and you've got the makings for wholesale slaughter. Beheadings, faces cleaved in two, necks gouged apart, bodies run through with spears & tridents, flying pots of boiling water, hangings, strangulations, bodies being blown to shotgun bits – Reazione a Catena's got it all! Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas said it best, "…the horror genre had seen nothing quite like it before – and it's seen very little unlike it ever since." Touché. As with his work on I Vampiri and Black Sunday, Bava likely had no idea that what he was making would change the course of horror film history. Reazione a Catena was a film for which Bava was especially proud – the body count, the blatantly offensive amorality, the over-indulgent carnality, and the ludicrous lump of unlikable characters.

All these things were purposeful commentary on Bava's part – to take a stab at the industry, the genre; to see what he could do with a little bit of money; to push the envelope; to push the buttons and watch people's reactions. Such are valid and fun reasons for doing what he did. Little did Bava know that this film's genius would be singularly responsible for a whole bevy of '80s crap, including Friday the 13th,Part II's blatant theft of two of Twitch's death scenes. Argento's Bird and Bava's Reazione a Catena were the nails in the coffin for the first half of Italian Horror's heyday. The dark, alluring fantasies were now gone. No longer would the plots be semi-innocent, or quasi-Victorian. No more wandering through fogged graveyards and abandoned castles. Though Bava continued to make some work of merit in the '70s (Baron Blood, Lisa and the Devil), never again would he find himself at the forefront of the genre he almost single-handedly created. The future belonged to perversion, degeneracy, gore, hysteria, cannibalism, Teutonic witches, zombies and Goblins…lots and lots of Goblins.

Death is here to stay.

The very first teens to be slashed on the big screen.

The story has it, legendary film maker Dario Argento loved the film so much, he had a friend (who was a projectionist) steal him a print of the film during its first run in Italy. The theater ended up showing Blood Brides (1970) to replace the stolen print for the remainder of the film's run there (about a week and a half according to Argento. He possesses the print to this day).  

The film not only had numerous release titles, but also several working titles throughout the production. Among them "The Stench of Flesh", "Thus Do We Live To Be Evil" and "That Will Teach Them To Be Bad". "Reazione a catena" was the final choice for the local release. 

One of the re-release titles for this film was "The Last House on the Left Part II", even though this film has nothing to do with Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left (1972). In fact it was made a year earlier than "Last House".

Splitting headache.

Together forever.

The origin of the film was Mario Bava's desire to work with Laura Betti again. Betti had previously appeared in Bava's Blood Brides (1970) and the two had gotten along so well they concocted the premise of this film for another project together.  

The film's low budget resulted in Mario Bava being his own cinematographer. He had to utilize a simple child's wagon for the film's many tracking shots. Due to the film's low budget, most of the locations in the film belonged to director Mario Bava or members of the crew. The interiors of Countess Federica's home was shot at a favorite villa of Bava's and the interiors of Frank Ventura's country house were shot at a summer home owned by the producer. 

The 1971 Avoriaz Film Festival jurors awarded the film the Best Makeup and Special Effects Award. Carlo Rambaldi's effects work also earned the film a "Special Mention" Award at the prestigious Sitges Festival in 1971.  

That's the biggest cock I've ever seen!

I better hurry to get some Vaseline to stick it in with ease.

Although nudity is one of the key elements in a slasher film, Reazione a Catena only features a single scene where we are able to see gorgeous men magazine model Brigitte Skay sporting nothing but her curves and blonde pubes. Coincidentally, her character is the first to witness something terribly wrong is going on near the abandon mansion  but just before she's able to tell her friends about it, she's bloodily terminated, and so will her friends. Brigitte passed away in 2012 at the age of 72. During the 70's she would star several Italian exploitation films such as Man of the Year (1971), San Babila 8 P.M.(1976) & La Bestia in Calore (1977)  among others.

According to IMDB, Reazione a Catena is probable the number one film of all time to have a lot of different international titles. Some of the titles are: A bay of Blood, Blood Bath, Bloodbath Bay of Death, The Antecedent, Blood Bay, Twitch of the Death Nerve, Carnage, The Last House on the Left II & Ecology of a Crime, not to mention titles in other languages!

Brigitte Skay, the blonde bombshell.

You got something on your sweater, let me get it for you.

Overall, Reazione a Catena is a film that goes straight to the point. With a very simple plot involving every character in one way or another, this film is a total murder feast that I'm sure slasher fans and connoisseurs in general have already watched many, many times. If you've never heard about this movie but enjoy watching Giallo movies and horror movies from the late 70's and early 80's this film is definitely for you. If you've never watched a slasher before (I doubt it in 2016 but...) This film would be a great appetizer to a very interesting genre. 

In case you're concerned about the murder scenes and how graphic they are, well, there are far worse than Reazion a Catena if you're faint of the heart.

Anyways, here's the movie trailer, and please make sure you watch it in Italian because the English dub isn't the best.

Paura nella città dei morti viventi: City of the Living Dead

From the bowels of earth...

Having been one of the lucky bastards who spent his weekends browsing through several video rental stores, I'm talking 70's & 80's here, I can firmly state the VHS era allowed an entire generation to discover hidden gems that didn't make it to your local movie theater. Like the internet is today, these wonderful rental stores, where the go to when you wanted to feast on more obscure movies.

Paura nella città dei morti viventi, AKA City of the Living Dead, is a 1980 horror zombie slasher directed by the great Lucio Fulci. While, some people would think of him as a Giallo film maker, others, like me, discovered his 80's films first, so in a way you were under the impression of a single genre film maker. Luckily, I had some really good video stores back in the day. This movie is also known as The Gates of Hell. 

Deadly reflection.

Let's play hangman!

Starred by the beautiful Catriona Mccoll (who'd later collaborate with Fulci on The Beyond & The House by the Cemetery) City of the Living Dead  is a clever zombie horror film unlike what most casuals of the genre would think. One of the many themes Fulci explores on his films is Catholic/Christina religion, and how the stereotypical vision of it can be used fictionally to convey a deeper message: Religion is violent, vicious, misleading, dangerous, and more evil than Satan himself.

So, the story has it, a priest from the small village of Dunwich, has killed himself in the local cemetery in order to open a gate to hell so that the dead can rise again and, well, kill everybody to bring eternal darkness back to life once and for all. This sacrilege is foreseen by a group of Ouija enthusiasts, thus, enabling the movie plot to exist: Find the small village of Dunwich and close the gate from hell before it's too late. Mary Woodhouse (Mccoll) & Peter the journalist (Christopher George) head to the little town to save the day only to find a doomed village full of witchcraft stories and a scared to hell population. Obviously, evil unravels, people begin to die (in the most graphic way I might add) and the ultimate battle between good and evil will decide the fate of humanity for good.

a girl comes back to life.

She's crying for life.

Unlike The Beyond, where Fulci intentionally wanted a horror movie going straight to the point without too much explaining, City of the Living Dead, takes its time to develop the story, something that allows the characters to have a more consistent presence in the film ultimately leading to a more serious horror film. When it comes to the special effects department, Sergio Salvati did an excellent job as the director of photography. Although some scenes are too dark, due to the video limitations of those years, most of the film is still well photographed. The scenes with the camera moving around town are eerie with their light blue white fog and empty streets. The shots of the underground cemetery is one of the film's eeriest parts. The camera in this film, as in Fulci's other horror films, forces the audience to take a hard long look at the carnage occurring on the big screen.

The make up effects are done with flamboyance by Gino De Rossi as Gianetto De Rossi was not available to do the effects. 

The most awesome scenes I can think of, on this film, are four. First, the accurate scene where a woman pukes out her guts (I read somewhere Fulci once studied to be a doctor before turning into his passion, hence the careful work put into the death scenes) . Second, the drill through the head scene (no further explanation needed). Third, Mary's claustrophobic burial scene and last but not least, the rising of the dead in the underground cemetery, which sort of, makes you feel how empowered the dead are and how miserable our heroes are.

 

You still like blonde girls?

Someone's got a headache.

Catriona MacColl's debut in a Lucio Fulci film is splendid, she's a natural scream queen. City of the Living Dead brings back a few elements from Don't Torture a Duckling. One, the murderers in the two films are priests (yeah! mindfuck Church Fulci's style). Two, Bob, the special needs workshop kid, is wrongfully accused of murder and brutally assassinated, just like what happened to the equivalent character in the Duckling movie. Three, the film takes place in a desolated and isolated town. Four, in both films a reporter and a blonde woman are the main characters, the more you know! haha!

Overall, City of the Living Dead is one hour and twenty minutes of pure classic horror, like the one only the 80's could deliver. No CGI, no dead teens, no viral trends, just pure gory horror with great music and just the exact amount of story telling, and if you live in a small foggy town, be careful! Go watch it now!

Here's the movie trailer: