
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
R.I.P. Captain Phil Harris

Tuesday, February 09, 2010
My Fifteen Frames of Fame…

Not that I needed to be in there - with the rest of that great cast, I obviously have nothing to add as a mere fanboy.
But what puzzles me is that the guy behind the camera was an Italian, and could hardly talk any English at all. But he still managed to inquire if he could roll as Dario signed stuff for me, as he was making a documentary of The Maestro and I’d brought a pretty big pile of stuff brought to the table. So during this same meeting the camera guy shot a whole lot of material with Argento signing stuff for me and our conversation about the artworks for the various films. Some that Argento obviously preferred more to others making it was a fun and somewhat different meeting as the artwork became the area of discussion instead of the regular movie chitchat. This was the third timeI had met Argento which meant I was quite at ease talking to him and the direttore della fotografia also stuck around to shoot the interview I conducted with Dario a short while later. (Which I think was the one published in Delirium #5 as this was at the time Stendhal Syndrome was doing the festival circuit.)

I have often wondered what ever happened to the Italian camera guy’s project, and why it ever derailed. He isn’t anywhere in the credits, and his documentary obviously vanished off the map, only to have the footage turn up in a completely different documentary made four-five years later.
Never the less, that’s the way stuff moves in the documentary business, and at least someone bought his footage, and I finally got my, even if only in the outer space area, the one reserved for Gialli killers and stalkers, fifteen frames of fame.
Well only I know that that’s me there, but on a personal level it’s still pretty satisfying.
Monday, February 08, 2010
Shock Waves





Friday, February 05, 2010
Comics 2 - Dylan Dog
One of my favourite comic books when I was at University back in the day, was the first round of Swedish translated Dylan Dog comics. – Well not only then, even now, as I still read the same trash that I used to read back then. I love that Italian Pulpy Stuff.

Be it academic books, fanzines, magazines, reference books, biographies, of just one of the many hundred goofy books on the horror genre, or my own damned writing… – Oh Yeah did I mention that I’m also part of ConstructingHorror.com, a project dedicated to teaching the dramaturgy of horror?
Not to forget the comic books. All those wonderful comic books, my precious treasures… Stuff that my kid’s are going to be getting into pretty soon. And I’m making it my mission to educate my kids in the world of horror. Both of them have watched Scooby Doo (a great entrance to the world of the dark) and Godzilla movies since they where babies. Without letting them watch stuff that’s too advanced for them too early they so far have a wonderful deck of reference to the Universal Monsters, Lovecraft Mythos, Japanese Kaiju Beasts, Mexican Lucha Libre stars, and as the oldest decided that he’s into the music of Michael Jackson I had to show him John Landis, still to this day excellent music video – Wolfman, Zombies, Vincent Price and all – the youngest son, racing to the screen frantically stating that he wants’ to see the zombies too.

A few months ago Dark Horse released the above mammoth bumper book of The Dylan Dog Case Files. If you like horror, especially Italian horror, and in cartoon form, and by chance have missed Dylan Dog before, then this is a book that you really need to pick up! It compiles the seven issues released over the last few years and has some great Mike Mignola (Hellboy) art, out over the many splendid works of the many Italian illustrators who have contributed to the long running comic book

Wednesday, February 03, 2010
Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein


Dracula Prisoner of Frankenstein
Original Title: Dracula contra Frankenstein
Directed by: Jesus Franco
Spain / France, 1972
Horror/EuroGoth, 88min
Distributed by: Midnight Video





Sweden, Heaven and Hell - Revisisted!

Tuesday, February 02, 2010
Sweden, Heaven and Hell


Sweden Heaven and Hell
Original title: Svezia, inferno e paradiso
Directed by : Luigi Scattini
Italy, 1968
Mondo/documentary, 85min
Distributed by: Klubb Super8
And don't download it Buy it!
Monday, February 01, 2010
Bloody Moon


Bloody Moon
Original Title: Die Säges des Todes
Directed by: Jesus Franco
West Germany, 1981
Horror, 82min
Distributed by: European Shock DVD


Lost boxes of stuff... #2

...as I await the arrival of Jess Franco's latest movie Paula Paula - I go back in time and read European Trash Cinema Special Vol1.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Colin


Colin
Directed by: Marc Price
UK, 2008
Horror /Drama, 97min
Distributed by: Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.


Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Martin


Martin
Directed by: George A. Romero
Horror / Drama, 1977
USA, 95min
Distributed by: Anchor Bay



Sunday, January 24, 2010
The Dead Don't Talk / Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder - Turkish Horror Double Bill


The Dead Don’t Talk
Original Title: Ölüler Konuşmaz Ki
Directed by: Yavuz Yalinkiliç
Turkey, 1970
Horror, 76 min.
Distributed by: Onar Films


Friday, January 22, 2010
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Doghouse

Doghouse
Directed by: Jake West
England, 2009
Comedy / Horror, 89min
Distributed by: Sony Pictures

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
The Bloodstained Butterfly


The Bloodstained Butterfly
Original Title: Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate
Directed by: Duccio Tessari
Italy, 1971
Giallo / Poliziotteschi, 89min
Distributed by: Manga Films
Even though Duccio Tessari’s The Bloodstained Butterfly is safest placed in the Giallo genre, I feel that is has more in common with say Massimo Dallamano’s What Have They Done to Your Daughters? 1974, than the common Giallo. Sure it plays off the same who-done-it plot structure, but follows the cops methods of singling out the villain more than the regular following of one specific lead character – until we get half way through that is. Just like What Have they Done to Your Daughters? it becomes a near perfect hybrid of the Giallo and Poliziotteschi genres.

Starting with a typical genre trait opening murder, we see the poor victim rolling down a hillside after being stabbed to death by the assailant. Through a speedy montage, various witnesses see the murderer fleeing from the scene of the crime. A Man stares out of his window, a balloon seller later points the killers path of escape to the police and a woman making out with her boyfriend sees the killer as she winds down the steamy window. This is where Tessari and Gianfranco Clerici [Ruggero Deodato’s Last Cannibal World 1977, Cannibal Holocaust 1980, Phantom of Death 1988, Lucio Fulci’s New York Ripper 1982 and Don’t Torture a Duckling 1972], start laying out the red herrings for us to chomp down on as he brings us into the movie.

Pretty soon Inspector Berardi’s [Silvano Tranquilli - Paolo Cavara’s Black Belly of the Tarantula 1971, Silvio Amadio’s A Smile Before Death 1972 and Umberto Lenzi’s Violent Naples 1976 among others] hard work pays off and they bring in sport newscaster Alessandro Marchi [Giancarlo Sbragia], their prime suspect. The Victim - French exchange student Françoise Pigaut [Carole André – Visconti’s Death in Venice 1971, Lucio Fulci’s White Fang 1973 and Massimo Dallamano’s Colt .38 Special Squad], was a friend of his daughter Sarah [Wendy D’Olive – Mike Nichols’ Catch-22 1970 and Joe D’Amato’s Cormack of the Mounties 1974], his fingerprints where on the murder weapon, the stains on the victims coat match the interior of his car seats , his coat – as described by the witnesses – was sent to the cleaners by his wife Maria [Ida Gali once again as Evelyn Stewart – Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body 1963, Lucio Fulci’s The Psychic 1977] in a rather held back performance, not to mention that his skin was found under her nails - Alessandro seems to firmly hold a one way ticket to the slammer for the rest of his life.

Enter the sub plot that will spin this movie around and get the tempo back to a firm beat. While her father Alessandro is in custody, Sarah starts dating Giorgio [Helmut Berger - from all those great Visconti movies and Tinto Brass' Nazisploitation classic Salon Kitty 1976 ] a filthy rich music student who was Pigaut’s boyfriend before she was killed – which isn’t disposed to the rest of the cast, but we know it and it’s soon going to work it’s way into the narrative. Anyhow it’s a relationship that will get ugly before the climax. Simultaneously Alessandro takes to the chair during his trial and tells how his car was broke into several weeks earlier, the knife, his gloves and a black leather bag being stolen at the time. Marchi’s defence, Attorney Gulilio Cordaro [Günther Stoll – Dallamano’s What Have You Done To Solange 1972 and Jesus Franco’s The Castle of Fu Manchu 1969], starts trashing the prosecutions case and as a favour to Sarah, even Giorgio testifies on behalf of Alessandro.

A string of event’s that expose double crossing lovers and intricate relationships are told in great Hitchcockian fashion – let the audience in on the plot and keep the characters in the dark – all lead up to a second murder and further complications for the cops. Not to mention Alessandro who is held captive, even though his Attorney Cordaro claims he’s doing everything in his power to get his set free. But when the obligatory Italian husband’s lover makes an entrance he’s off the hook thanks to a watertight alibi. Once again we are desperate to solve the mystery and expose the killers identity, and thanks to he complex weave that’s been woven into the narrative we have a whole new set of prime suspects.
In a final reel twist Tessari chucks in a brief blackmail subplot that comes kind of unexpected, but leads up to the greatest reveal of them all. You won’t see this one coming and you will be surprised as all your conclusions are once again shattered. And for a change the motif behind the killings is actually quite logic, which once again proves that Tessari and Clerici are masterful screenwriters. The two worked together on several movie’s and the results where often very satisfying.

I can feel that there perhaps are a few courtroom scenes to many in the first half of the movie, but it’s all part of the set up, as in the second half all the conclusions that we have come to make are thrown aside when Tessari kicks the movie up full throttle. We are certain that Alessandro is the killer or at least perhaps hiding the real killer, and as soon as this presumption is made, he throws us a tight series of red herrings at us when a second victim is found only to have us jumping at new conclusions – the way only Gialli can, inviting the audience to be the amateur detective.
Just like his later Giallo, Puzzle 1974, a fantastic movie in it's own right, Tessari takes a delicate approach, avoids the predictable clichés and focuses more on the characters and their development than the usual trait of violent deaths and jazzy scores sat to wild cinematographically compositions. And it’s a healthy break from the fast paced moves of other movies in the genre at the time period. The slow pace also is where Tessari manages to build his characters and give us an insight into the deceptive reality behind the fancy façade that the characters hold towards the audience upon first glimpse.

There’s a great returning gag with Inspector Berardi’s espresso that keeps coming back every time they are in the office, he can never get that perfect espresso that he craves, and it gives a neat little comic relief to the movie.
The movie features a terrific score by Gianni Ferrio [Who scored several other Tessario movies, among them the 1974 Giallo Puzzle and also Luciano Ercoli’s Death Walks at Midnight 1972 and The Rip-Off 1977], which is possibly one of his best scores. Take notice of Ferrio’s opening score and you will hear how he fuses in Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No1 into the opening scenes, and that’s not just coincidental as it will be of major importance to the rest of the movie. It’s the record that Françoise had with her before she was killed, it the record that breaks down Giorgio as he reminisces about his lost love, and it’s also the music that is of importance to the killer in The Bloodstained Butterfly. Another Gialli trait - the fine art that triggers the murderers killing spree!

Half the fun of great Gialli is trying to figure out the title of the movie, as the title often refers to a specific item, incident or scene found in the narrative. Dario Argento’s Bird with the Crystal Plumage 1970 refers to the bird in the zoo that becomes a valuable clue to solving the case, Profondo Rosso 1975 is the grizzly climax - deep red blood. Sergio Martino’s The Case of the Scorpions Tail 1971 to the photographic image that eventually exposes the killer, Fulci’s Murder to the Tune of Seven Black Notes 1977 to the melody that plays on Virginia Ducci’s watch - which is why the US title sucks so hard, Umberto Lenzi’s The Oasis of Fear 1971 to the house they spend the main time of the movie in and so on and so on. The title The Bloodstained Butterfly also has a semiotic significant within the movie. The title is a reference to the necklace butterfly that Giorgio bought Françoise before she was killed – a butterfly soon to be stained with her blood.

Duccio Tessari’s The Bloodstained Butterfly is a wonderful piece of Gialli cinema, perfectly conducted, well performed, holds a splendid plot and is a refreshing change to the common eclecticism of many other movies in the genre. Definitely a one to pop on when you grow tired of trippy, surreal Funky Jazz fests with to many incoherent killings and shifty characters – you won’t be disappointed.

Here's that great score by Ferrio for your audio pleasure.
And here's the opening titles... with a scene not included on the Spanish Manga films release.













































































