Poultrygeist - Night of the Chicken Dead

Poultrygeist – Night of the Chicken Dead
Directed by Lloyd Kaufman
USA, 2006
Comedy /Horror, 103min
Distributed by: Troma Entertainment Inc.

Story:
Life is rolling on for young Arbie as he completes his summer of love by finally laying Wendy and being fingered by Native American Zombies in the cemetery. But in just a semesters time his life is turned upside down when he runs into his girlfriend Wendy, who is back from college to protest the newly erected American Chicken Bunker franchise in Tromaville. Arbie realizes that Wendy has turned lesbian during her time at college and devastated, he takes a job at the same fast food joint that Wendy (and most of Tromaville) are protesting against. But little does he stop to think about the fact that the fast food joint has been built upon the sacred Native American burial ground! Low and behold as Teenage lust, Indian burial grounds, Zombies and Fast food blend into the gore fest orgasm called POULTRYGEIST –NIGHT OF THE CHICKEN DEAD

Me:
Being a fan and friend of Lloyd Kaufman and Troma for a very long time, it’s only obvious that I at one point in time have to slip in the latest offering, Poultrygeist – Night of the Chicken Dead into the DVD and see if it holds up to the previous installments of Kaufman’s celluloid legacy. Keep in mind that Poultrygeist – Night of the Chicken Dead is a movie that I have feared for quite some time…

Well to be honest, Poultrygeist isn’t The Toxic Avenger, it isn’t Terror Firmer, it isn’t WAR, it isn’t Citizen Toxie, and it sure isn’t kosher in any way at all, but then again that’s part of the reason that you turn to Troma; for fast, violent, laughable, gory schlock entertainment, and I mean that in the most positive and respectfull way ever. Nobody can make blood-soaked carnage as hilarious as Lloyd Kaufman.

No matter how wild and crazy these movies get, you can never ignore Lloyd Kaufman’s engagement and statements, as each movie takes the time to criticize, mock and raise awareness for the topic of discourse, even if it's done sublimely and suggestive. Don’t start ranting on about how sexist these movies are and what a shitty view they take on women, because if you do, you are out of your league. I can’t think of a company that makes movies that celebrate sexuality, male, female or in-between as respectfully and interestingly as Troma. The Toxic Avenger was in many ways a poke at the health craze of the eighties, Class of Nuke Em High a raised fist against the dumping of toxic waste (themes also used in Toxic Avenger of course), Troma's WAR was a poke in the eye the arms dealers and US involvement in overseas conflicts, the second and third instalments of the Toxic Avenger series: Toxic Avenger Part II and Toxic Avenger Part III : The Last Temptation of Toxie both shot back to back in 1989 are obviously comments on global corporations and the era of the sharp dressed, backstabbing cold hearted businessmen. And then there’s Terror Firmer which made Lloyd the poster boy for his whole getting off your ass and making your own damned movie mantra as he shows that even a blind man can get his stuff in the can.

And this is why I say that you can't ignore Kaufman’s movies, as he goes after his topics and nails them by the balls to the wall. As the name indicates, Poultrygesist is a comment on the fast-food industry and the franchise globalization of the world. You can’t miss it, unless you are an idiot, and this is one of the finer points of Troma movies, they do have a message, even if it lost on the masses.

Needless to say the movie is effective, I avoid chicken products like the plague, (especially those fast-food grinders and anything that isn’t sliced and diced by my own hand) and this movie definitely makes one even more hesitant to chicken. There’s so much chicken carcasses, ground chicken, chicken slime, chicken sliver and chicken guts that you may never want to eat chicken again. So yeah, this movies message is loud and clear, and definitely comes across without any misinterpretations at all.

Also the fact that Troma have pioneered so many fields and areas that they have been completely ignored for that it is a crying shame.

Years before putting a new spin on the classics, like the recent Jane Austen vs. Zombies / Cthulhu fad of the past year, Troma and Kaufman where already light years ahead of their time., with films like Tromeo and Juliet 1996, at one point in time I recall Citizen Toxie was referred to as The Tale of Two Toxies. That’s TROMA and William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens! You don’t get that reference in your average schlock horror, but Troma knows their classic story telling and that’s why their movies, especially the ones written and directed by Kaufman himself, all rise above the average corny horror that is force fed onto fans of the genre. The last horror/comedy I tried to watch got shut down and slipped back into the case before I even got half way through, and that was the critically acclaimed Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. But never has a Troma movie been halted by my hand, and probably they won’t either, because as I said, there is a heart and soul to these movies no matter how you twist and shake it.

Secondly, technology! Back in the late nineties when other studios where still writing “animated menu” as an extra feature on their DVDs, Troma where dishing up exclusive audio commentaries, extended cuts, an amazing amount of extras so that you never, NEVER felt screwed buying a Troma DVD. And just look at the DVD titles they release today! The majority of their own movies all come with a complete extra disc of exclusive feature length documentaries giving a full insight into the movie making process and how it’s all done. So for a few bucks you are in fact getting your film school education while you laugh your ass off! Now you can’t complain about that now can you!

In many ways Poultrygeist is a great Troma movie, high on Troma values. Ass jokes, nudity, lesbians, fantastic effects, dorky protagonists and all round cheesiness (what’s not to like about that?) The fundamental narrative is here, the classic Troma storyline: The dorky underdog who comes out on top and saves the day. Yeah, everyone loves an underdog and that is probably why it’s always been Troma's main plot device, but Poultrygeist didn’t quite leave the impression I wanted it too. Sure it is a hillarious movie, all the regular Troma “guest actors” are there, the jokes and gag’s are up to usual Troma standards, and there’s even the craftsmanship of the story, yeah I said story, and even though YOU may not expect to find one in a Troma movie, it’s in there and if you have missed them, then that’s just proof of your ignorance, the underdog and the fight against unfair callous corporation! Remember I pointed this out earlier, there’s social criticism in these movies!

If you want another example of the genius of Mr. Kaufman here you are; all the major characters are named after US fast-food chains! Arbys, Wendys, Paco Bell and so on, and also if you fail to see who Robin Watkins General Lee Roy is supposed to be they you must be blind. See it’s all very sublime and highly effective! Perhaps it was the song and dance numbers that didn't work for me, as I can’t stand S&D numbers (apart from the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Grease that is…) and I definitely don’t want singing in my lesbian romp scenes, it just confuses me. But the soundtrack will have you singing the theme over and over again for the next few days after seeing the movie, so it's not all bad is it.

The story obviously focuses on Arbie [Jason Yachanin], yet another Troma underdog fighting for the good stuff and right values in life. It’s a pretty uncomplicated tale of how he tries his darnedest to regain the one true happiness he ever had, Wendy [Kate Graham, possibly the most “Girl Next Door” ever in a Troma movie], and how life constantly has other plans for him forcing him to take actions outside of his underdog, geek character trait.

The subplot of Arbie meeting his “Older self” [played to masterful perfection by director Kaufman himself] is great, and echoes the; if you really want something, “get off your fat ass and make it happen” mentality associated with Troma. A guide line for the entire “Make your own Damned Movie” philosophy that Kaufman and Troma stand for. Do it! If Troma have been able to make movies for 35+ years, then so can you!

And finally the one to bring in the final laughs, the one scene you always will find in Kaufman’s movies, the car flip – explosion scenes that cost them a million dollars back in 1990 when they shot Sgt Kabukiman NY.P.D. Ever since then that scene has been masterfully woven into all of Kaufman's movies and has become almost like Alfred Hitchcock’s cameo, you know that at one point during the movie, it will be there. In Poultrygeist it fills a very nihilistic and ironic function tossing the movie into dark ground and making it the The Unbearable Lightness of Being of horror comedies, as happiness is once again punished with ironic sudden death. Cherish what you have as it may be gone tomorrow.

You can huff and you can puff, but you can not blow down the house of Troma, an impressive institution that has been making independent movies since 1974 that’s over 35 years of real independent film making, 35 years of supporting independent filmmakers, and 35 years of showcasing that anyone who really wants can make a movie. And herein lays one of the inspiring magic of them, their passion for what they do and their ambition to make others get up and be active. Get away from the dronish dream state of fantasy, get off your asses and make your own damned movie. Then give Troma a call, and who knows they may even distribute it for you and give you that break you never thought you would get!

[And buy their movies right now, as even true independance has a price!]

Image:
Anamorphic Widescreen

Sound:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo

Extras:
Well as I stated above, Troma DVD’s are packed with extras, this one no exception; There’s the full length commentary track by Lloyd Kaufman and co-writer Gabe Friedman (no stranger to Troma himself), there’s the trailers for all your favourite Troma movies, music videos outtakes and loads of greet stuff, then there’s the stunning disc two with the feature length Poultry In Motion - Truth Is Stranger Than Chicken documentary on the making of Poultrygeist (see here’s the film school Troma style again) and also a shit loads of great stuff to, deleted scenes, further exploration of how to make a movie. Like I said, loads of stuff to keep you happy and satisfied, so go get it now!

J of Cinezilla with the always charming Uncle Lloydie in 2006.

Martyrs

Martyrs
Directed by Pascal Laugier
France / Canada, 2008
Horror, 95min
Distributed by: Pan Vision

Story:
Two young woman become friends in an institution during the seventies. As adults one of them takes her revenge on the people who held her captive as a child. This revenge is the start of an ordeal that will take them both beyond the limits of human suffering…


Me:
There’s been a lot of really great movies coming out of France these last years, and if you start with Haute Tension, and follow the blood line from there, Haute Tension [Alexandre Aja 2003], Calvaire [Fabrice du Welz 2004], ils [David Moreau & Xavier Palud 2006], Frontièr(s) [Xavier Gens 2007], À l’intérieur [Alexandre Bustillo & Julien Maury 2007], Vinyan [Fabrice du Welz 2008], and now Martyrs [Pascal Laugier 2008] it’s definitely worth calling it the New Wave of French Horror that gets darker and darker, and so much more sinister with each movie that is released. Perhaps much more than the recent wave of Spanish horror, the French stays more on psychological ground where the Spaniards have made some very impressive ventures into the real of the paranormal. And we all know that a realistic psychological driven horror movie will scar you more than the average ghost story does. So yet again a French movie storms the scoreboard and pushes France back to the top of the current European capital of horror once again.

If you have not seen this movie, I will for a change stop you here and advise you to watch this movie, because I have been thinking about this film for the last two weeks, and I’m going to blow this one right open here and now and I will spoil the crap out of it for you if you continue reading. But the choice is yours, you could read on and then watch, or if you have seen it, read on and let’s discuss this amazing movie.

This is a very dark, misogynistic disturbing movie. Really it is. It’s nothing like those other movies claiming to be the most violent horror of the decade and all that bull. This is the real deal and honestly you will be disturbed, you will be affected and you will feel nauseous. But at the same it’s perhaps one of the most fascinating movies of the wave of new nihilistic horror that has been put forth during the last five years, as Pascal Laugier actually manages to tell a story through the disturbing violence and sadistic torture scenes that make up the core of Martyrs.

The movie opens in the late 70’s where a young girl, obviously battered and assaulted, stumbles out of a desolate building and starts running down the street. The further away from the building she gets, the more she starts to realize that she has managed to escape (from an off-screen threat) and starts sobbing in relief in a scene that for sure had me conjuring up mental images of those iconic Nick Ut photographs of the naked Kim Phùc running down the road after the South Vietnamese napalm bombed the hell out of her village. And I can’t say that it’s unintended that Laugier wants these images to be brought to mind, as this definitely is the sort of imagery that will be used in the narrative later on. Anyhow, the young girl, Lucie is placed in an institution with other disturbed children and soon befriends Anna. After the exposition we understand that something really terrible happened to Lucie in that dark house, so terrible that she won’t talk about it. The pre-title sequence comes towards its end, and just as a sense of calm settles around the two young girls, the demon haunting Lucie makes its entrance. Calm bursts into unease once again. Cut forward fifteen years. A family goes about its morning rituals. Effectively the family is established, the good daughter, the dropout son, the proud father, and a wonderful red herring, the strong independent mom who has been fixing the water mains in the garden. As an audience we start looking for identification traits to see which of the two girls from the prologue is here. Is it Anna or is it Lucie who has been adopted into this happy family?

But you will soon understand that neither of the two pre-title girls are part of this family as Lucie [Mylène Jampanoï] makes her dramatic entrance into the house and slays all of the family with a shotgun and her emotional stare. This is also the first of many cunning plot twists that Laugier has written into Martyrs. Deceiving the audience into believing that one of the girls from the prologue is part of the family is a cunning device, and it also plays along with our familiarity with the genre. The poor traumatized child gets adopted and adapts into a new family before all hell breaks loose. But here the hell breaks loose as Lucie storms through the house taking her vengeance on the people she claims to be responsible for her abduction and torture all those years ago. Also we generally think of people who adopt lesser fortunate children to be nice people, so this really makes us uneasy, as we are not prepared for these “Seemingly nice” people to be gunned down. Little did we know, and this is an interesting topic for discussion; how do we define good and evil?

Just as in the pre-title sequence, when the calm returns and the gun smoke settles, Lucie’s demon appears again and this time we take part of the full fledged attack. Despite Lucie putting her hand in the blood of her victims and showing it to the demon, it still attacks, proving that it probably wasn’t the demons blood lust that drove Lucie to killing the family. But something else… The Demon savagely attacks Lucie, slashing at her back and body driving her out of the house and into the arms of her childhood friend Anna [Morjana Alaoui].


Anna arrives at the scene and starts to sort things out. Lucie tells Anna of the unseen demon attacking her again, and Anna indicates that she’s not quite on the same page as Lucie when it comes to the demon. But still, her love for Lucie is her drive and she goes about disposing of the bodies. Anna is the stable counterpart to Lucie’s frenzied psychosis. Anna sends Lucie to bed and starts clearing the bodies from the house. As mentioned in the pre-title sequence Anna has taken quite a mother role towards Lucie, and apparently still does, as she comforts, tends to and cleans up after Lucie. As Anna tries to dispose of the bodies, she also realizes that the mother is still alive!

Torn between her loyalty towards Lucie and her senses and values, she tries to help the mother to escape. A complex problem, as she acts out of empathy, but betrays Lucie at the same time. Once again the question of what is good and what is bad is raised. Should she help the surviving victim even though her lifelong friend was held captive and tortured by her? At the same time makes it known that she doesn’t really believe in Lucie’s motive for the killings. The heart broken Lucie observes Anna trying to aid the mother out, and after attacking the mother and making sure that she is dead this time, she turns her sights to Anna.

Once again the narrative makes a 180 turn and sports the two women against each other. Love and betrayal are strong themes that drive this part of the movie, as Lucie devastated and heartbroken after realizing that Anna has betrayed her, and on top of that exposed the tormenting demon to be just an inner demon of Lucie’s has a final break down. All these years of torment are too much for her and she rushes out of the house only to take her own life! The audience gasps in shock! This is probably the most effective shock death of the lead character since Hitchcock first thought up the device back in Psycho in fifty years ago. It hits really really hard, and the audience never sees this one coming. Once again a brilliant plot device used to perfection by Laugier and this is still only early stages of the movie.

With her best friend and love interest dead, Anna turns to the only person that she has left in the world, her mother. Once again the Love/betrayal/disappointment card is played as the comfort she seeks in her mother is not received. At the same time the mallet that Lucie previously trashed the apartment with topples into a cavity behind the wall revealing an entrance to a hidden underground dungeon. Anna puts down the receiver on the counter and investigates the secret passage only to find that there is indeed a dungeon down below. A rush of insight hit’s us/Anna, as we realize that Lucie was telling the truth. The people she killed where the fiends that kidnapped and tortured her. Ironically the neglect of belief led to her suicide and Anna has to deal with the guilt of disbelieving her friend. But to make things worse, Anna finds a captive woman in the dungeon, solidly proving that this is the family Lucie was searching for all those years.


Anna helps the woman up from the torture chamber, tends to her wounds and tries to communicate with the harrowed figure but in a final twist the members of the cult responsible for the kidnappings, break into the house and seize Anna, imprisoning her in the dungeon.

Finally the movie moves into shocking new ground as it with out resistance moves into the harrowing last third of the movie, an even darker tone that what has gone before. Anna, now a held captive in the underground dungeon, meets Mademoiselle [Catherine Bégin], the ringleader, who explains what the cult are dedicated to; creating martyrs. By showing Anna images of severe death and torture (remember the Kim Phùc reference earlier on? Well here those images come back as part of the narrative), where the victims, have reached an almost trance like state. Mademoiselle explains that these people have overcome their pain and have found peace in their suffering, hence becoming Martyrs. Needless to say the twenty five minutes that follow are horrific and agonizing as Anna is tortured and battered continuously in the cult’s strange attempt to create a martyr. But at the same time there is something rather unique that happens here, as Laugier uses the final torture sequence to tell his story. Avoiding the traditional convention of close-up’s on special effects and shock realism Laugier’s prolonged suffering becomes part of the narrative.


Be warned, this movie is disturbing, very disturbing. And Laugier has said on record that the movie is the result of a severe depression in which he envisioned the movie, which is appropriate, because it is a very dark and depressing movie. But after letting it sink in I started to appreciate the finer details of this movie, the innovative way that Laugier tells his tale and despite the terrifying ending actually gives us a somewhat “Happy Ending” and just how the hell do get to that conclusion you may be asking? Well with the smart and cunning use of a contrast frame which forces us to choose the lesser of two evils you can interpret this movie in the following way, but first ask the following question; Does Anna simply become a victim of the cult and die a terrible pointless death or does she turn into a heroic figure as she becomes a martyr?


Here’s how it works: the cult have been capturing and torturing young women systematically for years, and the chance of Anna escaping is minuscule. We understand that Anna will be beaten and tortured repeatedly until she dies in pain, goes insane or becomes a martyr. (And then dies elevated above the pain. Remember that’s what Mademoiselle told her happens to martyrs.) We come to the insight that Anna gives in to the pain and suffering when she hears the voice of Lucie telling her it’s Ok to let go and rise about the pain. (Lucie is Anna’s inner demon, but instead of a terrorizing one, she is a supportive, loving one. Facing your inner demons is part of the martyr process; Lucie had the caged woman she failed to save upon her escape, meaning that her demon is metaphorically her guilt coming back to haunt and punish her.) The tremendous amount of disturbing imagery we view as Anna is pushed further and further into oblivion, and finally skinned alive, we know that if she becomes a martyr she will be in no pain. So obviously by using the contrast frame we are manipulated into hoping that Anna becomes a martyr, for then she will be free of her suffering and will feel no pain of a continued beating and torment until she goes insane like the woman she freed earlier on in the movie.

So in a sinister and poetic way, by becoming a martyr Anna achieves the ultimate goal, she became free of our world and feels no pain hence escaping the tortures of the dungeon and the cult. Anna wins.

The added ending, with Mademoiselle and the cult is strange, but does offer a wide range of suggestive ending interptetations. Did Anna tell her what the afterlife is like, is there an after life or not? There are many questions to ask, and I feel that this ending, contrary to what many others have said, does not justify the violence towards Anna. This is a simple chance ending with no real logic, and I feel that this small appendix should have been clipped. Keep the ending with the cult gathering to show their respects and worship of Anna the martyr, but ditch this confusing last scene that really doesn’t add anything to the movie. The shock death of Lucie works, but you won’t catch me twice, so as soon as Anna is dead so is the movie. Time to brush off the popcorn, find the remote and flip over to the extra features…

In many ways I feel that Laugier actually manages to achieve what many before him have feebly tried, but only failed. He brings the pain - pleasure, life- death full circle and by using a contrast frame he manipulates the audience to finding relief in the death of Anna. Her martyrdom becomes our salvation too.

In a brief summary the movie can be broken down into three parts with three different approaches to the narrative. All with equally disturbing impacts at the climax of each part. The first sees the back-story of the two young girls which ends with Anna being appointed a “real mother [platonic] to Lucie” and the crazed demon attacking Lucie. We understand that she is still not free of her tormentor.

The second part is the revenge and divergence of the two women Lucie takes her revenge, Anna helps to sort things out, we understand that Anna still is the Mother character in this relationship, and when Lucie takes her life Anna regresses to a child again, and calls her own mother for comfort.

The final third is the horrendous torture and suffering of Anna at the hands of the cult. Abandoned by all, Anna regresses even further, and when Lucie talks to her (through visions) the roles are flipped over, it is now Lucie who is taking care and comforting Anna, by speaking to Anna in her visions, Lucie clearly forgives the previous betrayal and allows Anna to give in to the torture, feel no pain and achieve the martyrdom.

Let me wrap this one up with some fun trivia, during the two weeks I have been turning and flipping this movie over in my head since watching it, I conducted an interviewing with John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of fantastic book Let The Right One In for the TV show I’m working for. We ended up talking about Martyrs, which he saw at a horror convention in London, and his impression of the film was briliantly summed up the following five words; “Great Movie, Don’t Watch It!”

It’s a fascinating movie that Laugier presents, it’s vile, foul, evil, disturbing and at the same time very poetic, philosophical and existential. We all have a fundamental fear of dying; it’s in our basic programming as humans. So forcing us to participate and by facing that fear and pushing boundaries is obviously part of the reason why people make and fans watch horror movies. And I definitely feel that Laugier manages to turn torture porn into torture art and in years to come I’m sure that the polarized Martyrs camps will still be as far apart as they are today, but Martyrs will have become a landmark movie in gene history.


Image:
Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

Audio:
French Dialogue, Dolby Digital 5.1 Swedish, Danish, Finnish and Norwegian subtitles are optional.

Extras:
An 85 minute long documentary on the Making of Martyrs where Laugier talks about the movie his feelings about the movie, the process of making it. (Although no reference to that depression but references to his previous movie House of Voices) Cast and crew talk on the movie and there’s the equally amazing story of the cursed shoot with its accidents and obstacles to make this a very interesting insight into the film making process. Subtitled in English. Teaser trailers and the theatrical trailer.

Saturday Special! A - Z Taught By Italian Exploitation Movie Posters.

C is for Cat O'Nine Tails
Il gatto a nove code
Directed by Dario Argento, 1971
[UK Semi-Quad - Signed]

C is for Challenge to White Fang
Il ritorno di Zanna Blanca
Directed by Lucio Fucli, 1974
[Australian Day Bill]




C is for City of the Living Dead
Paura nella città dei morti vivanti
Directed by Lucio Fulci, 1980
[UK Quad]



C is for Conquest
Directed by Lucio Fulci, 1983
[US One Sheet]

The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion

The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion
Original Title: Le foto prohibite di una signora per bene
Directed by: Luciano Ercoli
Giallo, 1970
Italy, 96 min
Distributed by: Blue Underground

Story:
A young woman, Minou is lured into a fiendish web of blackmail and extortion as she tries to protect her husband. Slowly but surely she is tangled up in a terrible game which forces her to engage in lurid sexual activity while the Blackmailer shoots photographs of her. When she finally tells her husband all, and they together with the police breakdown the door to the sex fiends’ apartment, it is empty and Minou’s sanity is questioned. But guess who shows up outside their house in the middle of the night in the pouring rain… The Blackmailer. Minou confronts him and the horrific truth is finally revealed in a plot twist that you never saw coming…
…if you never saw a Giallo before that is.

Me: Luciano Ercoli’s first attempt at directing a Giallo proves that you don’t need a bunch of violent killings to keep the story going. All you need is to delicately plant your red herrings here and there along the way to keep your audience guessing where the movie is going. The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion is a great example of this, and although it’s not my favorite of Ercoli’s Gialli, I found it to be a damned fine and entertaining movie.


Having produced a few dramas, some comedies and three movies for among others Duccio Tessari [both his Ringo Spaghetti Westerns and the action/comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang from 1966 ] it is no surprise that Luciano Ercoli wanted to get himself behind the camera and direct a few movies. And you have to give it to the man, of the eight movies he did direct, there are at least half of them really fabulous genre pieces.


The absurd ending to Ercoli’s career is as enigmatic and strange as the Gialli he directed. His final movie, the Poliziotteschi The Rip Off [La Bidonata 1977] was shelved after the producer Niccolo De Nora was kidnapped! De Nora was held captive for an amazing 524 days, and the ransom was supposedly well over four million. Not long after Ercoli came into a large inheritance, packed up his offices and retired from the movie industry. With a mind filled of red herrings and warped plots makes it easy to fantasize about the strange events and their conclusions. Ercoli obviously had nothing to do with the kidnapping, but it’s a fantastic story. Thanks to the age of restored movies on DVD, Ercoli’s The Rip Off, just like Mario Bava’s last shelved project, Rabid Dogs has finally been able to be presented to it's audience.


Often critiqued for his Gialli first and foremost being vehicle for his girlfriend (or wife, nobody knows for sure) Nieves Navarro aka Susan Scott, I still can’t help to find myself feeling that there is indeed more to these movies in Ercoli’s Giallo suite than just showcasing his fabulous wife. Navarro was a decent enough actress even before Ercoli started directing his own movies, and in some way that kind of diminishes the craft that the rest of the crew put into these pieces. I can certainly understand that one may like to claim that Ercoli only made the movies to show off his marvelous partner, but in all honestly there’s no way they could assemble the casts and crew if that where the case.

All three of the Gialli, The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion 1970, Death Walks on High Heels 1971 and Death Walks at Midnight 1972, where all written by the master of the genre, Ernesto Gastaldi (Midnight was co-written by the great Sergio Corbucci). And, The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion is a great script which definitely has an engaging narrative, wonderful plot twists, even if there are no genre typical killings. It builds empathy for Dagmar Lassander's Minou character as she is lured deeper and deeper into a sinister blackmail scheme set to force her into bed with the stalker. Friend and ally Dominique, played to perfection by Nieves Navarro (as Susan Scott) uses her emancipation to trick the viewers into never quite knowing who’s side she is on, is she really concerned for Minou or is she in cohorts with the blackmailer. The sleazy Blackmailer played by Simón Andreu is excellent, (Andreu returned in all three of the Giallo movies) and Minou’s husband Peter [Pier Paolo Capponi – no stranger to the Giallo genre or the Nunsploitation genre for that part…] once again prove that in an Italian Gialli you can’t trust any man at all, unless it’s the old reliable police commissioner of course. The shock surprise end doesn’t really come as a bombshell after seeing a reasonable amount of movies in the Giallo niche, but at the same time it doesn’t really take all that much away from the story as the final twist is held for an as late as possible reveal, and there’s plenty of red herrings along the way to keep you guessing who masterminded the plan against Minou. It’s pretty common Gialli ground, and entertaining enough to keep the steam going all the way through.



The editing on both Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight was performed by Angelo Curi. Ercoli himself edited The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion, with Curi as his assistant, and Curi stayed on as first editor on all the films Ercoli directed from there on. The Cinematography by Alejandro Ulloa on The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion is probably the simplest of the three Gialli, but brooding sinister reds and deep dark blues create some wonderfully lit scenes. Fernando Arribas on the other hand used the frame much better on Death Walks on High Heels and Death Walks at Midnight, setting the camera at low angles and using wide lenses for some really delicious shots that can’t be found in The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion.


Then there’s the soundtrack. Ennio Morricone’s score for The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion is standard Morricone fare, which is easily summed up in the word fantastic. The music of Morricone does wonders to add to the lush feeling of the Gialli and this one is no exception.

Finally a small reflection on the actors, I’ve never been much of a fan of Dagmar Lassander. She has the same two, three facial expressions in her repertoire and never does much to surprise. (With perhaps Piero Schivazappa’s The Frightened Woman being the exception) and there’s not really any surprises here either, she just get’s the job done. Navarro is almost always fabulous as she constantly wears clothes that look dazzling on her (contrary to Lassander who looks like she got makeup and dressed in the dark), perfect makeup and that stunning smile. I think that if Ercoli had flipped the parts here, had Navarro in the Lassander part, put in Anita Strindberg, Edwige Fenech or Marisa Mell in that ferocious part I'm positive that the movie would have become a classic of the genre. Not taking anything away from The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion, it is a great movie, and it really keeps you trying to figure out who is in on the scam and how far they are going to go with it. But a re-shuffle of the cast would have been beneficial. This could possibly have been in the mind of Ercoli too, as this is exactly what he did with the next two installments of his Gialli suite, giving Navarro the lead, Andreau the male lead, and probably what ignited that reputation of his movies only being a vehicle for Navarro. But if you are married to a woman like that you’d be insane not to have her lead your movie.


One of the things that intrigues me about The Forbidden Photographs of a Lady Above Suspicion is that the opening sequence is terrible! The movie opens on Lassander in the bath, she gets out and ponders around her house talking to herself how she’s going to seduce Peter when he get’s back from work. Not until she gets outside and Andreau starts stalking her on the beach does it start to pick up pace. But that opening is just so ridiculous, and it would have been much better to start with her on the beach, roll the credits over shots of her walking and then start straight off with the attack instead of that meaningless five minute blotch at the start.


Image:
Widescreen, 2.35:1 [16x9 Anamorphic]

Audio:
English Dubbed version. Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono. No subtitles.
Extras:
Forbidden Screenplays. A short interview with Ernesto Gastaldi on the script and movie and the Theatrical Trailer.