January 28, 2016 Maciste in King Solomon’s Mines This is a rather cheap (and rather late) entry into the Maciste cycle of films which was directed by prolific scriptwriter Piero Regnoli and it can’t really be described as an entirely distinguished piece of cinema.
January 20, 2016 Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show Another in the line of generally disappointing recent Italian horror films, Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show does at least have some lineage behind it, featuring special effects by Sergio Stivaletti.
January 4, 2016 Testimone oculare Testimone oculare is one of the more obscure TV movies made by Lamberto Bava after the Italian film industry had gone into meltdown in the late 1980s. Despite the TV background, it has some cinematic credentials
December 30, 2015 Italian film distribution in the ‘golden age’ At its heart, film-making in Italy during the golden age of Italian cinema was – despite the claims of auteur directors proclaiming their artistry…
December 23, 2015 The Butterfly Room The Butterfly Room is a hodge-podge of genre references and clichés which – although decently made – has very little to say about present day Italy (partially because it follows the annoying recent trend of Italian films being shot and set in America).
December 20, 2015 The Playgirls and the Vampire The Playgirls and the Vampire is a modest, but rather agreeable, entry in the Italian Gothic canon. Released in the same year as Mario Bava’s superlative Black Sunday, it has none of the bravado (or perverse undertones) of that production…
November 28, 2015 Elio Petri: The Tenth Victim Based on a novel by Robert Sheckley, The Tenth Victim represented a marked sea change in Elio Petri’s oeuvre. Gone was the low key, wry approach of his former films: this is a brash, colorful production that exudes extravagance from it’s every pore.