Oct '19
Any faves there or opinions you want to share?
Mario Bava (probably my number 1 mostly because of his older atmospheric stuff) In my collection (all Arrow releases):I Vampiri
Black Sunday
Black Sabbath
The Girl who Knew too Much
Blood and Black Lace
Kill Baby Kill
A Bay of Blood
Baron Blood
Lucio Fulci (made some pretty decent gialli late 60s eearly 70s even though they don't really have RW value to me. I know The New York Ripper is well liked but that was the first in a series of 'monstrosities' to me and yes I have seen all of the man's horror flicks). In my collection:
Zombi 2
City of the Living Dead
The Beyond
House by the Cemetery
The Black Cat
Dario Argento (the guy has huge potential and a great craftsman but I find his style over substance approach not really satisfying. Especially Phenomena sounds like the coolest premise ever only to find out it's the umpteenth style exercise. Yeah Suspiria is hailed as one of the greastest horror movies. It does have its gruesome scenes but overall I find it rather empty and boring). So no I don't have any of him in my collection. Still 2 I would consider:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (at least this has a decent story)
Trauma (more straightforward than his others)
Ruggero Deodato (honestly I haven't seen that much except for his most infamous ones and also 'The House at the Edge of the Park' That's how The original Last HOuse on the Left should have been like IMO) IN my collection:
Last Cannibal World
Jungle Holocaust
Guess I need to dig deeper into his filmopgraphy
Umberto Lenzi (I have seen a handful but I tend to forget which ones. NOt really a good sign.) Anyway those I have seen at least I can remember I did:
Man from Deep River (first cannibal movie with little cannibalism, disappointing)
Eyeball (seen yesterday, giallo not bad bur far from good rather repetitive and proly sleep inducing without the nudity)
Eaten Alive (well it's a cannibal movie and it copied a lot from other movies, better watch the ones it copies from cos this one doesn't offer much original)
Cannibal Ferox (very weak Cannibal Holocaust clone)
Ghosthouse (barely remember it)
Mario Bava (probably my number 1 mostly because of his older atmospheric stuff) In my collection (all Arrow releases):I Vampiri
Black Sunday
Black Sabbath
The Girl who Knew too Much
Blood and Black Lace
Kill Baby Kill
A Bay of Blood
Baron Blood
Lucio Fulci (made some pretty decent gialli late 60s eearly 70s even though they don't really have RW value to me. I know The New York Ripper is well liked but that was the first in a series of 'monstrosities' to me and yes I have seen all of the man's horror flicks). In my collection:
Zombi 2
City of the Living Dead
The Beyond
House by the Cemetery
The Black Cat
Dario Argento (the guy has huge potential and a great craftsman but I find his style over substance approach not really satisfying. Especially Phenomena sounds like the coolest premise ever only to find out it's the umpteenth style exercise. Yeah Suspiria is hailed as one of the greastest horror movies. It does have its gruesome scenes but overall I find it rather empty and boring). So no I don't have any of him in my collection. Still 2 I would consider:
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (at least this has a decent story)
Trauma (more straightforward than his others)
Ruggero Deodato (honestly I haven't seen that much except for his most infamous ones and also 'The House at the Edge of the Park' That's how The original Last HOuse on the Left should have been like IMO) IN my collection:
Last Cannibal World
Jungle Holocaust
Guess I need to dig deeper into his filmopgraphy
Umberto Lenzi (I have seen a handful but I tend to forget which ones. NOt really a good sign.) Anyway those I have seen at least I can remember I did:
Man from Deep River (first cannibal movie with little cannibalism, disappointing)
Eyeball (seen yesterday, giallo not bad bur far from good rather repetitive and proly sleep inducing without the nudity)
Eaten Alive (well it's a cannibal movie and it copied a lot from other movies, better watch the ones it copies from cos this one doesn't offer much original)
Cannibal Ferox (very weak Cannibal Holocaust clone)
Ghosthouse (barely remember it)
The trouble is I have trouble remembering the names of a lot of the directors and which films they directed other than Bava, Argento and Fulci.
I've only seen four Fulci films - Lizard in a Woman's Skin, New York Ripper, Don't Torture a Duckling and Perversion Story. I really liked the first three. New York Ripper is pretty much the last word in really sick gore and sexual perversion, but still manages to have a decent story and a memorably downbeat ending. Perversion Story, despite its title, is pretty boring.
For Bava, my favorites (of those I've seen)are Black Sunday and Kill Baby Kill. Bay of Blood has excellent cinematography and locations, but the story is confusing. Four Times That Night is not horror but I sort of liked it. Baron Blood is pretty tame - PG rated if I remember correctly. Not awful but just not great. Five Dolls for an August Moon is okay but again not great - the setting isn't so good and the story is weak. But, it does have Edwige Fenech. Kidnapped is an okay crime thriller. The Whip and the Body is okay but it just doesn't have enough whipping of bodies to live up to its title. Still, Christopher Lee is always great in a leading role.
For Lenzi I've only seen Cannibal Ferox, Spasmo, Nightmare Beach, and Oasis of Fear. Oasis of Fear is far and away the best of the four. It has a hot older woman (Irene Papas) an even hotter younger woman (Ornella Muti), an interesting story, a great theme song apparently sung by co-star Ray Lovelock, a Manson homage, and even a room full of raptors. This one really needs a quality Blu-ray release from someone like Arrow or Severin, but I'm pretty sure it would never be available in the USA due to Ornella Muti being underage and having nude scenes in it. That would make it an illegal film in the USA. As of now YouTube is the only way to see it. Cannibal Ferox is fairly boring for me. I'm just not into the cannibal movies. Spasmo is decent but is slow going in parts. Nightmare Beach was apparently recently revealed to not really have been directed by Lenzi, and he was just a technical consultant on it. It doesn't have much gore but it is paced well and has a good cast including Michael Parks, John Saxon and Lance LeGault, and a hot Hispanic chick who was apparently never in another movie.
For Michele Soavi I've seen three of his four films. I haven't seen the one that is generally considered his best: Cemetery Man. Stagefright had one of the best costumes ever for a slasher film and some decent gore, but the setting didn't quite work for me at first. Technically it's a pretty good movie. The Church I've only seen once but I remember thinking it had a good cast and some good special effects. The Sect I liked better because it had some really memorable imagery and set pieces - the giant stork, the face ripping, the prehistoric bugs, and plenty of blood. And Jamie Lee Curtis's sister.
For Argento my favorites are Deep Red, Tenebre and Cat o' Nine Tails. They all had good stories and memorable killings. Suspiria had some great killings and gore but the plot wasn't so interesting. I liked Phenomena but it seemed like it was trying too hard at times to be something other than a giallo. It's never boring and it was pretty original. Stendhal Syndrome was weaker than the others for the main reason of Asia being just too young to be believable as a law enforcement officer. And it also seems that someone who suffered from a potentially debilitating condition like this would not be allowed to even be in law enforcement regardless of age. That would tend to cause problems in the line of duty. Those two factors do really take me out of the movie.
Some others from other Italian directors that I think are pretty good:
What Have You Done to Solange?
Red Rings of Fear
Death Walks at Midnight
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key
Who Saw Her Die?
Case of the Bloody Iris (this might be my favorite Edwige Fenech movie)
Eye in the Labyrinth