Retrospective: Black Belly of the Tarantula (1971)

12 Thursday Aug 2021

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The more I delve into the giallo film scene, the deeper I fall in love with the sub-genre. Black Belly of the Tarantula has all the hallmarks of a classic example of the movement with a complex thriller and mystery populated with stylised murders that keeps you guessing to the film’s conclusion. It’s added benefit is that it has a beautiful score from the great Ennio Morricone, providing further substance to the drama as it unfolds.

Italian director Paulo Cavara weaves a cracking tale following Detective Tellini (Giancarlo Giannini) charged with the muder case. The murder in question is centred on Maria, who is killed by an unknown assailant, who is dressed in black and wearign surgical gloves. The killer injects Maria with a chemical that leaves her parlaysed but still conscious while they carry out their deathly needs. Our chief suspect is Maria, husband Paolo, who recently discovered her infidelity

Throughout the film we see Tellini at home discussing the job with his wife and admits that he feels not cut out for the job. This vulnerability that Tellini discloses is part of the film’s appeal, willing to show our protagonist at his weakest and most open allows the audience closer to his character in the process. 

It is when another murder is commited however, that bears no connection to Maria’s death that the case is thrown wide open, and the complexity begins. We also get another insight into the film’s title when Tellini visits a scientist who informs him of a species of wasp that paralyzes tarantulas before eviscerating them.

As the film snakes its way to a satisfying, yet brutal conclusion, the audience is dealt with some highly charged investigation that isn’t afraid to throw a few dead ends into the mix. And like most giallos, BBOTT manages to deliver sublime stylised deaths. Marcello Gatti’s cinematographer captures the visual energy of the piece, lifting the quality of the movie and for me, is one of the better films of its genre and I could happily revisit it again. 

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

12 Thursday Aug 2021

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When Roger Corman and Vincent Price teamed up to work on an Edgar Allan Poe adaptation of The House of Usher in 1960, it ignited a series of films inspired by the American writer of the macabre, such was the success of the film. The second venture however, entitled The Pit and the Pendulum would bear little resemblance to Poe’s short novella with the exception of the final act which featured the titular pendulum and pit.

Price would as usual bring another of his deliciously macabre and melodramatic performances that he had become known for. In this instance Price plays Nicholas Medina, whose wife Elizabeth (Barbara Steele) has mysteriously disappeared. It is through Elizabeth’s brother Francis (John Kerr) from which the story is told when he travels to Medina’s abode in Spain to find out what has become of his sister. Upon arrival he learns from Medina and through a local physician, Dr. Leon (Antony Carbone) that his sister has supposedly died of fright, due to her morbid fascination with the torture chamber beneath the castle, a leftover from the days of the Spanish Inquisition. The story does not ring true however and Francis becomes hellbent on uncovering the truth.

Corman with the aid of screenwriter Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) weave together a delightfully melancholic tale that embodies Poe’s unconsciousness through a psychological disintegration of the human psyche. The destruction of Medina’s mind and the mask of sanity that slowly falls is maginficientally portrayed by Price. And the supporting cast lift this larger than life fantasy to deliver an apt climax, ticking all the boxes that makes this era of filmmaking so great to revisit.

The effect would prove a financial success for American International Pictures (AIP) and would carve the formula for Corman and Price with further adaptations of Poe’s work. The Pit and the Pendulum would also have a significant impact on future filmmakers, most notably Antonio Marghereti’s Web of the Spider and Mario Bava’s The Whip and the Body, as such it’s an important keystone in the realms of gothic horror films.

  • Saul Muerte

Movie review: Teddy (2021)

11 Wednesday Aug 2021

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There is something that I find instantly appealing about French films and the way it both challenges and delivers in-depth personality.
There are times that it misses the mark, sure… but there is genuinely a unique appeal to the country’s artistic lens.
This is why you shouldn’t be deterred by this quirky take on an age-old tale set in the heart of a rural French town.
While it certainly isn’t an out and out scare fest, there is something reminiscent about the film that taps into Guy Endore’s The Werewolf of Paris. 

The writing/directing partnership of the Boukherma brothers Ludovic and Zoran inject some decent humour into this coming of age tale, centred around no-hoper Teddy (Anthony Bajon), the town’s laughing stock.
Teddy may have resigned himself to making ends meet at the local massage parlour, but he has grand plans to save up and build a home for him and his girlfriend Rebecca (Christine Gautier).
These plans turn sour though when Teddy is attacked by a wolf that has been roaming the woods and then the stuff of lycanthropy come to the fore, starting with the amped up sexual appetite, and leading into the bizarre such as hair growth on his tongue and protruding from his eyeball.

As much as he tries to hide these strange bodily changes, it soon overcomes him and right at a time when Rebecca appears to be losing interest in him.
The one person who seems to understand his plight and warns about the dangers of the monster lurking within, is his foster parent, Pepin (Ludovic Torrent) an admittedly slow-thinking man.

What the Boukherma brothers do remarkably well is own the grit and realism of both the setting and the characters including the actors who portray them.
Particular applause has to go to Bajon’s portrayal of the titular character, perfectly capturing the heartache and desperation.
When you’re already down, there’s no place to go but deeper and embrace the animal within.

The Diagnosis:

Yes there are flaws.
But some of those blemishes are part of Teddy’s attraction and at times the film borders on genius.
It’s a bold approach to a mythological tale and while it doesn’t necessarily scare, it does provide a quirky, and sympathetic slant that will satisfy those into curiosity.



– Saul Muerte

Teddy is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ

Movie review: Bleed With Me (2021)

10 Tuesday Aug 2021

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On face value this slow burn of a movie from Director Amelia Moses feature length debut can feel like it’s happy to flow along without much pace or kick to its narrative. But as it shambles its way pulling you into a false sense of lull, it gradually reveals more to its outward exterior with a few jolts out of the comfort blue.

Our protagonist Rowan (Lee Marshall) appears to be a lost and vulnerable soul, who welcomes the friendship and support from Emily (Lauren Beatty – Jigsaw) and her partner, Brendan (Aris Tiros – Slaxx), but like the movie itself, none of these characters should be judged by appearance and harbour secrets that run deep. 

We join the trio at the start of a winter retreat in a log cabin far from any other human contact. As the story unfolds and the wine continues to pour, the emotional instability begins to show.
Rowan and Emily are drawn to one another with whispers of a traumatic past connecting them through some harboured common understanding of the pain that they have both had to endure. Rowan clearly doubts her sanity however and begins to suspect that her Florence Nightingale saviour, Emily may actually be drugging her. Is this another sign of her losing her way, or is there something more sinister at play? Rowan continues to doubt all about her, but is trapped between trusting her judgement and allowing herself to fall at the mercy of the one person who is giving her the love and attention that she so craves. It’s an intimate and finely balanced episode that gently rests between serenity and despair. 

Moses manages to craft a lot of ambience and emotion from the remote setting and the minimal cast, that despite some flaws in substance, there is enough flair and intrigue involved to warrant intrigue into her next directorial venture, which looks to reunite her with Beatty once again in Bloodthirsty. 

The Diagnosis:

A little slow but a nice balance of psychological interplay between two women suffering from traumatic episodes in their lives.

Director Amelia Moses crafts an intricate tale that constantly questions the real state of affairs and what are ripples of past suffering.

Bleed With Me is currently streaming on Shudder ANZ.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Others (2001)

10 Tuesday Aug 2021

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Put this down to pure ignorance but when I sat down to re-watch 2001’s The Others as part of the Surgeon’s of Horror retrospective reviews in recognition of 20 years since its release, three thoughts came to mind. Firstly, ‘What happened to Chilean film director Alejandro Amenábar?” Of course I had forgotten that he had followed up this film with the brilliant The Sea Inside and Agora. He would take a seven year absence before then coming back to direct Regression starring Ethan Hawke, which admittedly I haven’t seen. The reason for my ignorance is that he simply slipped off my radar, despite having a clear eye for psychologically disturbing stories, especially when you look at his sophomore outing, Open Your Eyes, which would later be remade and retitled Vanilla Sky and star Tom Cruise.
It does feel though that following The Sea Inside, Amenábar lost his edge a little. 

Secondly, I have a blind spot when it comes to Nicole Kidman in that I find her grating to watch at the best of times. So I have always been reluctant to revisit it.
And thirdly, I felt that it paled in comparison to other haunting features, such as The Innocents, The Haunting, and The Devil’s Backbone. 

Upon my latest viewing, a few things in my mind altered. Namely that not only is The Others a better movie than I gave it credit for, but also that it’s potentially one of Kidman’s best performances captured on screen. This surprised me and also allowed me to scrutinise this in more detail.

Whilst it’s clear that the film was inspired by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, the beauty of the film is the slow, enticing pace that Amenábar draws out the suspense and mystery surrounding the small remote house in Jersey.
There are rules and conventions that are set up to pull you in and manipulate your mind, falling into a false sense of security despite always knowing that something is off key. Kidman’s mentally estranged mother Grace with a tight noose around her children Anne and Nicholas, under the strange guise of photosensitivity that forces them to live in the darkness with all curtains drawn.
Then the hired help led by Mrs. Mills (Fionnula Flanegan) as the nanny, Mr. Tuttle (Eric Sykes) the groundskeeper, and Lydia (Elaine Cassidy) a mute maid, all add fuel to the curiosity that surrounds them all.

Whatever is lurking behind the curtains is soon sent backwards with the surprise visit from Grace’s physically absent husband, Charles (Christopher Eccleston) due to the War, believed to have been lost for dead. His return momentarily puts the needle back in the groove, before it shifts off gear again with curious noises and movement from the house, sending the family into fear that there are ghosts residing with them, only to have the sheets pulled back for the final reveal. 

When this happens, our perceptions are left spiralling and we begin to question how we weren’t able to see this all along. Again, this is clever misdirection on the part of Amenábar and is actually strengthened further with repeat viewing. Something I should have done along time ago and proves that either my tastes have changed or as stated at the fore, I was misguided by my previous misconceptions.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Session 9 (2001)

10 Tuesday Aug 2021

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Shortly after Session 9 was released there were whispers from the horror genre about it, praising Brad Anderson for his directing and character development and yet my actual watching of the feature had evaded me. 20 years down the track, the whispers have grown into a loud chorus, pushing the feature into cult status, so it would be remiss of me not to take a look and assess why the buzz has been so positive.

Firstly, its lead character Gordon Fleming is played by one of my favourite actors, Peter Mullan, who blew me away in the Ken Loach movie My Name Is Joe, so again strange that I hadn’t pushed the film to the top of my must watch list. Here, Mullan’s portrayal of Fleming is a perfect example of someone who pushes down all their emotions and feelings, a dormant volcano waiting to erupt at any given moment. 

Fleming is the owner of an asbestos abatement company in Massachusetts, who takes on a job at an abandoned psychiatric hospital… never a good idea… and takes a small team with him on the promise that they could complete the task in the space of two weeks. The pressures of money drawing him to agree to a job which will stretch the team both physically and mentally.

The team is made up of Fleming; Mike (Stephen Gevedon), a law school dropout, who has a deep knowledge of the hospital and stumbles across some recorded session tapes of Mary Hobbes, a former patient at the hospital who suffered from dissociative identity disorder (Throughout the movie, Mike becomes more and more fascinated by the tapes); there’s Gordon’s nephew Jeff (Brandon Sexton III), who has a fear of dark spaces; Hank (Josh Lucas), the wildcard of the group who has a severe gambling addiction; and lastly Jeff (David Caruso, a man who has made a name for chewing up the scenery and immersing himself deeply into his characters, here is no exception). 

The further the team starts to disassemble the hospital, the more layers are peeled back into the psyche each of the individuals. Loyalty and trust come into question and what initially started out as a strong unit, begins to unravel drawing out the weakest and most vulnerable traits that they hold. Were these cracks in their personality armour always on display, or is there something sinister lurking in the asylum shadows, feeding on their weaknesses?

When interviewed about filming at the Danvers Asylum, Caruso opened up about the uncomfortable feeling on set. The Asylum is a character in its own right and lends weight to the unsettled nature of the film, tapping deep into the psychological component on display. It’s a slow boiler, that exposes the darkest side of humanity and how everyone holds demons in their heart. Whilst the ambience is expertly crafted by director Anderson, it’s the cast that ground the weight of oppression into the film, and cut deep to the bone with its psychological exposition. With all these components combined, Session 9 more than proves itself and it’s no wonder that it has resonated among so many, myself included. 

A cracker of a movie, which like me, if it has passed you by, I highly recommend that you pay it a visit.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)

08 Sunday Aug 2021

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Another Giallo horror film marks a milestone this year with Emilio Miraglia’s The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave celebrating 50 years since its initial release. 

At its heart the film is a tale that depicts how the wealthy are inescapable of punishment, free to carry out their wims. Where it gets slightly complex is through the unhinged mind of its central character Alan (Anthony Steffen) who is mentally scarred when he finds his wife making love to a man. It’s a bender that sends him into an institution, but upon release his unstable condition is all too apparent when he hires red-haired prostitutes that remind him of his wife, to enact tortuous and murderous acts upon them as a form of warped revenge.

The twist in the tale however, comes when Alan attends a séance where the medium makes contact with Evelyn sending Alan spiralling downwards. It is here that Alan’s cousin George moves into the mansion to take care of him, but does he have an ulterior motive?

To add more oddity to the fold, Alan then meets Gladys (Marina Malfatti) he instantly falls for her charms (maybe a little too easily) and it is not long that they are wed and Gladys too moves into the mansion. Then the sinister nature of the movie takes hold again as Gladys begins to experience some further goings on at the mansion when she meets Evelyn’s brother and his invalid Aunt, who instantly take a dislike to Alan’s new bride. Gladys is convinced that Evelyn may have faked her own death, and is still alive haunting the mansion and sending Alan further into repression.

There are further twists and turns throughout the narrative like most giallos’ of the era before a conclusion is reached. As it unravels, the madness of the piece is on show and its convoluted plot never really awakens in the mind of this writer and leaves me a little unsatisfied as a result. Not nearly as clever or complex as other films in the Giallo genre, and a little more gratuitous for the sake of it. The ending tries to be smart and shocking but instead, it just leaves you feeling cold.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Patrick (2013)

06 Friday Aug 2021

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While it’s clear that director Mark Hartley is a huge fan of the original 1978 feature of Patrick, and the Ozploitation scene, this is none more evident than in his fantastic documentary Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! It seems an obvious choice for someone so immersed in the subgenre should take the helm and wield a reimagining of the classic Aussie feature, what is absent however, is the essence of the original feature that made it so iconic.

That’s not to say that it’s poorly constructed, the film is crafted well enough and Hartley does well to tap into the world of psychokinesis, and draw it out for a modern-age audience. It boasts a decent cast in Sharni Vinson (You’re Next), Rachel Griffiths and Charles Dance. All of whom manage to craft out some nice performances from dialogue that feels a little strained at times.

For those unfamiliar with the narrative, Patrick tells the tale of Kathy (Vinson), a nurse who starts work at a psychiatric clinic where she meets the titular character, Patrick, a comatose patient who has the ability to move objects with the power of his mind. 

Patrick is also being systematically abused by Dr Roget (Dance) and the Matron (Griffiths) through a series of Electroconvulsive therapy. This is like kicking the hornet’s nest and stirring a world of hatred in Patrick, who also becomes dangerously obsessed with Kathy and begins to manipulate things and people who come close to her, so that he can have her for himself.

The Diagnosis:

The film is slick enough, perhaps too slick, not harbouring the grit of its predecessor, but the cast are engaging and tied to the script despite its flaws and bring life to the fore. 

Stand out for me will always be Vinson, who deserves more praise than she currently receives and Dance happily chews up the scenery and gives across condescending like no other performer that I know. For that it’s worth the watch.

Currently this feature serves as a double feature blu-ray alongside the original in a current release by Umbrella Entertainment.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Patrick (1978)

05 Thursday Aug 2021

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Patrick, which was released back in 1978 sits firmly in the centre of the Ozploitation scene, a genre of Australian exploitation films that are filled with a mix of low-budget horror, comedy, sexploitation and action that wears its heart  on its sleeve.

Directed by Richard Franklin under the penmanship of Everett De Roche (Long Weekend), Patrick could easily be dismissed as farcical but it’s precisely the absurd nature of the storyline that is its appeal.

The film opens with the titular Patrick (Robert Thompson – an actor who should be applauded for his ability to keep his eyes open for an elongated period of time) kills his parents in an oedipal act, throwing an electric heater into a bathtub. 

Somehow Patrick ends up in a coma, something that is never fully explained, but is arguably irrelevant when it comes to the telling of the tale and to get said subject into the setting of choice, the Roget Clinic in Melbourne with all the hallmarks of the Bates house in Psycho. This is of no surprise as Franklin is a self-confessed fan of Hitchcock and would go onto direct Roadgames for his follow up feature, a film heavily inspired by the premise of Rear Window.

Surgeons of Horror podcast: Roadgames (1981)

Franklin would even go to direct the sequel to Psycho in 1983.

We follow the film through eyes of nurse Kathie Jacquard (Susan Penhaligon) who is appointed at the hospital to look after Patrick and soon encounters that there more to her patient than meets the eye and that in spite of being physically bound to his bed, has learnt to explore other sensory means through the power of psychokinesis. Her infatuation with this discovery fuels Patrick’s own lustful desires towards Kathie and thus throws those nearest to her into his wrathful rage.

There are some notable support performances on show here that warrant recognition, namely the larger than life Robert Helpmann who plays Dr. Roget and hams up his role, injecting some much-needed melodrama into the mix and moulding the tone of the film despite Franklin’s efforts to tone it down. Equally Julia Blake’s  Matron character is suitably insipid, casting a wonderfully dark light across the spectrum of the hospital; and Rod Mullinar who plays Kathie’s wayward husband in contrast to Bruce Barry’s egocentric and potential love interest Dr. Brian.

Perhaps one of the greatest things about this movie is Franklin’s depiction of male empowerment at the heart of the film. With Kathie seemingly trying to break down this impregnable barrier in her life, from her adulterous husband, the cocksure Dr. Brian, to the deranged Dr. Roget..Even Patrick himself who is incompacitated throughout the bulk of the film is trying to exert his will over Kathie, who must ultimately rise above this all.

Upon its release in Australia, Patrick did not receive the praise that it deserves but instead saw greater success abroad, but controversially was heavily dubbed Stateside, in spite of Franklin deliberately casting English actors to gain greater appeal abroad. The irony being that this very move is partly what isolated its homegrown audience.

Since then however it has reached a cult following and even gained a fan from acclaimed American director Quentin Tarantino.

For me, I went in expecting a certain kind of film, which it is, but was happily rewarded by the sheer enjoyment and direction. 

It would go on to inspire a sequel in Italy called Patrick Still Lives and then more recently in 2013 a remake would transpire, the latter of which would star Charles Dance and Sharni Vinson (You’re Next) and serves as a double feature alongside the original in a current release by Umbrella Entertainment.

  • Saul Muerte

Retrospective: Body Parts (1991)

02 Monday Aug 2021

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I found this a curious one as I have no recollection of its release despite it being thirty years old this year and in 1991, I was probably at the height of my cinema activity. It may in part be due to that it got a minimum release in the UK or that it simply didn’t hit my radar. Regardless it has Jeff Fahey as its lead, a year prior to his role as Jobe Smith in The Lawnmower Man.

In Body Parts, Fahey plays a criminal psychologist, Bill Crushank, who works closely with convicted killers in prison. On his way home from work he is suddenly involved in a horrific car accident and loses his arm. Thanks to modern science though, he is granted the chance for experimental transplant surgery and is given a new arm, thanks to Dr. Agatha Webb (Lindsay Duncan), a leader in her field.

All seems well, as Bill adjusts to his new appendage at home with his family, but there is something sinister afoot when he starts to have aggressive episodes that alter his mind and visions that affect him. 

When he learns that his arm used to belong to notorious serial killer, Charley Fletcher, he then discovers that more body parts were donated in this experiment. Another arm was donated to an artist, Remo (Brad Dourif), who finds his talent harnessed further since the operation but again, a level of darkness lay within.

The other person who gains from the transplant is Mark, (Peter Murnik) who receives both of Fletcher’s legs.

Slowly however, Bill realises that there is something foul at play, and despite trying to warn both Mark and Remy, they are soon picked off in a brutal way, their new body parts removed.

Body Parts struggles under the hammy delivery and at times feels more like a tv movie, during a time when this was a bad thing. It does tap into the whole mad doctor thing nicely though and this is largely due to Duncan’s performance. And even though it contains some shock moments, the reveal is a far-fetched resolution that falls heavily into cheeseville and little substance is on show.

It was good to see a strong cast in Fahey, Duncan and the always reliable Dourif, but it’s not enough to save it from a essentially a bland script. It would have been nice if the mania was heightened to elevate the prosperous nature of the narrative and be bold in its delivery.

What is probably more shocking however is that the film was released at the time that Jeffrey Dahmer’s apartment was raided and numerous body parts were discovered. This had a significant impact on the movie’s distribution and several ads for the movie had to be pulled as a result.

  • Saul Muerte