Let Sleeping Corpses Lie

This week I was in the mood for something different and chose a zombie movie with a lot of titles. The one IMDB uses is:

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie (1974).

It is also known as The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (misleading title), Don't Open the Window (fair enough but pointless title) and Don't Disturb the Sleeping Dead (spot on).

This Spanish-Italian production was shot in Italy and England and directed by Jorge Grau, with an international cast of whom most are Italian.

Minor Spoilers ahead!

A young antique dealer, George, closes up his shop and heads north. While stopping for gas, a young woman, Edna, accidentally rams his motorcycle and bends the wheel. As a way to make amends she agrees to take him to his location as she is on her way to visit her sister. They are soon lost and stop for directions and while George is talking to a farmer, a zombie attacks Edna. Some scientists are busy on the farmers field testing a new machine that uses some kind of radiation waves to eliminate pests and the movie makes no attempts to hide that this machine is indeed the reason why the dead are waking back up with murder in their red pitiless eyes. What follows is a desperate struggle for George and Edna to not only survive but to put a stop to the horror. A task made extra difficult since the police, led by an old fashioned sergeant is convinced that George and Edna, fueled by drugs and satanism are the murderers.

Synopsis and Spoilers over.

I have in my time seen more than my fair share of zombie movies. From the stars of the genre like Dawn of the Dead (Original and remake), to obscure low budget flicks I can't even remember the names of. But what I haven't seen before is a movie quite like Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. It almost achieves an intimate Hammer Horror feel while still using all the grisly gore only a group of hungry zombies can achieve.

The actors are all good, the plot is good and the atmosphere is a cut above what many can do. The soundtrack or should I say soundscape is great but grating on headphone users. It is hard to describe, maybe electronic whine is correct, but it did make my ears hurt after a while. That said, I wouldn't be without it either as it fits perfectly with the scientific resurrection of the dead and the dread of new, poorly tested technology .

In fact, the only thing I really disliked is the police sergeant. He is completely unprofessional, and lets his prejudices lead him around instead of actually doing his job. Now, I'm sure this is the intent of both script and director, but he goes too far and becomes more of a caricature of the conservative bully snarling at everything he sees as the moral decay of society, like men with long hair. Still, since the character fit the movie well enough, is it worth complaining about?

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, to horror fans I do. It is solidly a 70's horror movie so if that isn't your cup of tea, move along, but for everything else... It's not quite a must see, but not far from it. All in all I really liked Let Sleeping Corpses Lie. Non horror fans should give it a wide berth though. There is nothing there for you.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have great week!

 

A Bay of Blood

This week I watched:

A Bay of Blood (1971)

aka. Twitch of the Death Nerve, this movie by legendary Italian director Mario Bava is one of the major prototypes for the Slasher genre.

The story takes place in the eponymous bay, a lovely quiet place with small but cozy villas. It is owned by Countess Donati who is promptly murdered which sets off a long, and I do mean long string of murders. In an almost Agatha Christie like fashion, all the characters have motives for the killings, at least until they themselves get killed. If you wonder why I didn't include a spoiler warning, it's very simple. This isn't really a whodunit. The identity of a killer or killers is only a minor part of the plot itself. Or as much of a plot this movie even has. The rest is pretty much murders. When I say that it is a prototype for the Slasher genre, I'm not joking.

Some claim the Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) is the father of the Slashers, but I'd say Psycho is the grandfather and A Bay of Blood is the father. Ultimately you will have to make up your own mind on the subject, since there isn't really a right answer.

As I watched it, it struck me that some of the kills wouldn't look out of place in a Friday 13^th movie (Jason with the hockey mask), and it turns out that one of the kills in the first Friday 13^th and one in Friday 13^th Part Two are in homage to A Bay of Blood.

Despite the plethora of murders, there is very little blood. Some yes, but considering the amount of graphic killings, I expected more of the red stuff, so if you are a little bit sensitive, no need to worry too much. I suppose there may exist a gorier cut of the movie, but the one I watched was quite tame.

Mario Bava directed the movie as well as being the co-author and the films cinematographer due to an extremely low budget of $500.000. Most was shot in and on locations owned by Bava or other crew members. Instead of a real camera dolly used to get smooth shots, Bava used a child's wagon. Other tricks included setting up branches for the camera to move through in order to make the area seems forested. All in all, it is a bit of a case study in how to work within a small budget. Many filmmakers could learn a thing or two...

Beyond the lovely cinematography, the movie is fine. Actors, music etc. are all fine, nothing to complain about. Interestingly, Dario Argento loved the movies so much he got a friend who worked at a cinema to steal it for him, but legendary horror icon Christopher Lee left the theater in disgust.

That is about all I can say without going into detail, and if you want that, you have to watch it yourself. Do I recommend this movie? Yes. It was actually a pretty good movie, despite its simple premise. Part giallo, part slasher, Bava leaned on his experience in horror cinema to produce a surprisingly good film. Not for the squeamish, but anyone who is looking for a gruesome and fun experience should enjoy it.

That is that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!

 

Four Flies on Grey Velvet

Since giallo movies have been on my mind a lot lately, I began to question whether I had in fact seen Dario Argento's:

Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971).

Turns out that if I saw it back in the day I have completely forgotten everything about it. Minor spoilers going forward.

We are introduced to Roberto Tobias (Michael Brandon), a rock drummer who is being stalked by a man in a black suit. One evening after band practice, Roberto follows his stalker to an old theater and confronts him. The stalker pulls a knife and in the struggle, gets stabbed. A stranger in a cartoon mask takes pictures of the killing before Roberto flees home. Soon after, things get grim. The house he shares with his wife Nina (Mimsey Farmer) is burgled, he finds pictures of the killing in his home, he finds threatening notes, people are killed etc. With his friend God (Bud Spencer) he tries to figure out what is going on. Everything looks like a case of blackmail, but no one has asked for any money...

As stated above, the movie is directed by Dario Argento, and expertly directed at that. The shot composition is first class, and despite the movie not having all that many lavish locales, the movie is gorgeous. The music is by Ennio Morricone, and is pretty good. The actors are fine, in fact I have nothing to complain about from a technical standpoint.

I do have a couple of complaints about the story. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say that two of the murders are illogically set up and feels more like killings for the sake of killings even though there is are story reasons they were murdered. Now plot holes aren't the biggest deal breaker in the world, but in my personal opinion, Four Flies on Grey Velvet is boring, and that is pretty bad.

I can't even really put my finger on it. Objectively, the story from start to finish is pretty interesting and the ending was odd but alright, I even deduced the killers identity, but the movie just feels so slow and plodding. Another aspect that I wasn't a big fan of was the humorous elements. Giallo movies rarely try to be funny, and it's not like Four Flies on Grey Velvet tried to be a comedy, but there are clear comedy elements at work here, and together with the general dullness, I wasn't amused.

That is really all I can say about it. Do I recommend Four Flies on Grey Velvet? Yes and no. It's not like it's awful so if you are on a giallo or Argento binge, do give it a shot. It could just be me that don't like it, so give it a shot if you're in the mood.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!

 

Who Killed the Genre?

Sometimes a movie comes along that changes the landscape of cinema for a long time, perhaps even forever. Today we're talking about Genre Killers.

Basically there are three types of genre killers and first up is the Bomb. A bomb is a movie that performs so abysmally at the box office that no studio wants to risk making another for at least ten years, maybe even longer. Some notable examples include:

Cleopatra (1963) and The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964) killed the Sword and Sandal epics and it wasn't until Gladiator (2000) that the genre was revived. It did survive on television with I Claudius and Masada but for 36 years, the genre was effectively dead.

Similarly, The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965) hammered down the coffin lid on the religious epic. It had an all star cast (eight Oscar winners, ten nominees) and was horribly expensive but it still failed at the box office. This wasn't helped by the fact that some studios pushed the envelope on what was allowed to be shown in the vein of sex and violence with their religious epics, since they had the excuse of showing the vagaries of sin.

Doctor Dolittle, Camelot, and Hello, Dolly! (1967-1969) wrecked the big Hollywood musicals and the genre stayed dead until Cabaret (1972) managed to revive it a little. On top of that, Cabaret was called a musical for people who hated musicals. Paints a picture, doesn't it? The musical genre is still a shaky one to invest in.

The second type is the Smash Hit movie. These movies are so incredibly popular that there simply is no point in making another movie in the same vein, at least not for a very long time. Alternatively they out perform the competition and bury it in a shallow grave.

The archetype of this kind of movie is James Cameron's Titanic (1997). What is the point of even trying to make a serious film about the disaster after this one?

The Exorcist (1973) killed the Blaxploitation genre. Apparently it was so popular that black audiences traveled a long distance to see it above watching blaxploitation movies closer to home. This convinced studios to change the line ups in theaters in black neighborhoods. Star Wars (1977) and Jaws (1975) had a similar effect. Jaws also murdered and ate the low-budget summer movies by introducing the summer block buster.

The final entry is the Parody. Movies that lampoon a subject so well that any subsequent movies can't be taken seriously.

Airplane! (1980) took the airport/airplane disaster movies out back and shot them. Back in the 60's and 70's this genre was very popular but Airplane! spoofed it so well that it was impossible to make one afterwards.

While Austin Powers (1997) didn't kill the spy movie genre, it destroyed the lightheartedness in the genre, and it had to evolve and become darker in response to the super popular comedy.

Not Another Teen Movie (2001) and Mean Girls (2004) pretty much wrecked the teen rom-com genre. While it wasn't destroyed and it is possible that the old formula was outdated anyway, these two absolutely did serious damage.

There are of course so many other examples like Wild Wild West and the western/sci-fi crossover, Batman & Robin for the superhero genre although that has been revived with enormous success, Cutthroat Island whacked the pirate adventure until Pirates of the Caribbean and so on. There are also genre killers in all other kinds of media, but one at a time.

So if you suddenly wonder why X type of movies aren't made anymore, look and see if you can spot the genre killer that did the deed. For more reading go here:

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/GenreKiller/Film

That's that and all that. Join me again next time, and until then, have a great and safe week!

 

Who Saw Her Die?

A new year and new, but old movies! This time it is:

Who Saw Her Die? (1972).

Minor spoiler warning, but it is nothing you won't learn if you look it up on IMDB.

Who Saw Her Die? starts with a young, red haired girl being brutally beaten to death by a woman in black. We then cut to five years later and watch as young Roberta Serpieri (Nicoletta Elmi) arrives in Venice to visit her father Franco (George Lazenby). Her mother Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) lives in London as the couple has some issues. Franco is a successful sculptor who sells his pieces through art dealer Serafian (Adolfo Celi). Roberta has flaming red hair and it doesn't take a genius to see that she is doomed. Soon enough, the woman in black starts stalking her until the inevitable happens. Franco frantically starts investigating his daughters death since the police are dragging their heels.

That's what I'm willing to spoil. Now, first things first. Who Saw Her Die? is a quintessential Giallo. It is a joy to watch with Venice as the grim and gloomy but still impressive backdrop. The rich Serafian doesn't own a limo, he owns a chauffeur driven luxury boat to cruise the canals with. The movie feasts on the ancient and still elegant buildings and contrasts them with run down industrial structures.

The actors are all fine, and the music is okay, being composed by Ennio Morricone. The director, Aldo Lado did solid work and the cinematography is good but not brilliant. What Lado does do brilliantly however is create a magnificent feel of tension and dread as Franco puts life and limb on the line in order to solve Roberta's murder. One of the most typical tropes in Giallo cinema is the killers hands covered in black leather gloves. Here we have black lace gloves instead and it is a nice nod to the trope as well as a slight subversion. We even see what the killer sees though an old fashioned black veil. All dramatic and atmospheric.

Now for the bad. The ending is disappointingly dull. Obviously I'm not spoiling anything, but Who Saw Her Die? builds up to something it sadly can't deliver. In a lesser movie, the ending would have been fine, but in a movie this good, it is a real shame. In a sense, the movie is a victim of its own success. The end isn't outright bad, but I feel like I was promised more and got handed a lot less.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, absolutely! I thoroughly enjoyed the whole movie until the end, and that is what is the most important thing: Enjoying the ride. Giallo fans who haven't seen it really should and general thriller fans can enjoy it as well!

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week as well as a fantastic start of the new year!