budget by luigi nannerini and An-
(1981), one of the films that earned Lucio Fulci the defi-
tonino lucidi and were distributed
nition of “poet of the macabre” from French critics.
8 Introduction be the talented michele soavi, whose transi-the important thing to many was to disguise
tion from low- budget (Deliria, 987) to the
their national identity, in a chameleon- like
Argento factory (La chiesa) crowned him as
game that went in the opposite direction than
the next big thing in the genre.
the gory excesses of the early decade. once the
However, it was becoming harder and
motto was to stand out, to exceed, to
harder for debuting filmmakers to find financ-
exaggerate; now, it was to dissimulate.
ing for their work. some opted for help from
the state through Article 28 of the 965 Italian
law on cinema, which had instituted a fund
The Changing Faces of Italian
to finance films “of national cultural interest,”
Gothic
but the results were little- seen products that
barely surfaced in theaters (La casa del buon
the main characteristics and figures of
ritorno, 986, beppe Cino), not to mention
Italian Gothic cinema can often be found
that their “cultural interest” was debatable to
under a very different light in the films made
say the least, as with the abysmal La croce dalle
during the 980s. take the witch, for instance:
7 pietre (987, marco Antonio Andolfi). but
the evil seductress, the temptress, the driving
relying on state support meant that genre proj-
narrative of the genre since the days of La
ects (popular products, hence not culturally
maschera del demonio (960), is in turn se-
relevant in the common opinion) were mostly
duced by the present- day commodities and
cut out. As for Reteitalia’s approximations to
becomes a benevolent housewife who takes
the horror genre, the box- office results proved
care of her wealthy husband in Mia moglie è
disappointing, while RAI’s investments in
una strega, an example of comedy feeding
young filmmakers would “offer study material
vampirically on the genre’s clichés and depriv-
to some willing cultural scholar,”3 to quote film
ing them of their primal essence. on the other
historian Paolo mereghetti, for their often in-
hand, La casa 4—Witchcraft (988, Fabrizio
explicable choices, with obscure and scarcely
laurenti) or Il bosco 1 (988, Andrea marfori)
attractive titles that sank to well- deserved
revisited the seductive witch within a context
oblivion.
inspired by sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead (98)
throughout the decade, small companies
and the new wave of gory American horror
such as Aristide massaccesi’s Filmirage kept
films. throughout the decade, the most inter-
producing low- budget horror pictures aimed
esting take on the figure of the female sorcer-
at foreign markets and gave debuting filmmak-
ess in all its subversive essence was marco bel-
ers a chance to make their bones. A new gen-
locchio’s La visione del sabba (988). though
eration of directors surfaced, namely michele
not a Gothic horror movie per se—and there-
soavi, Fabrizio laurenti, Claudio lattanzi and
fore not included in this volume—it is never-
Andrea marfori, but there were also young
theless an intriguing look at sexuality and the
independent, underground filmmakers who
battle of the sexes in today’s society by way of
tried their hand at the horror genre, such
psychoanalytic symbols and evocative dream
as Giovanni Arduino and Andrea lioy (My
sequences set in the 6th century, which reprises
Lovely Burnt Brother and His Squashed Brain,
one of the Gothic’s main tropes in an original
988), and the milanese Fabio salerno, who
and thought- provoking way. bellocchio uses
made several interesting super8 and 6mm
short films characterized by heavy cinephile
irreducible feminine, in the story of a psychia-
references, screened at specialized festivals.4
trist (choreographer/dancer daniel ezralow)
but, as shown by such works as the Gothic-
who is called to examine a delusional young
oriented Streghe (989, Alessandro Capone),
woman (beatrice dalle): she claims to be a
Introduction
9
350-year-old witch and almost killed a man
media, although in safer and more glamorous
who had sexually assaulted her. likewise,
terms than the run toward sex of the previous
the film employs the fantastic, by mixing past
decade(s). bellocchio’s film had what most
and present, reality and dream, realism and
Gothic films made during the decade lacked—
fantasy in the very same shot—and sometimes
eroticism, either explicit or not. still, the blend-
with extraordinary visual inventions—to tell
ing of hardcore porn with Gothic and/or su-
the protagonist’s escape from the “mediocrity
pernatural themes had produced a few notable
of reason,” as one critic called it.
hybrids in the early 980s, which attempted to
With its complex, thought- provoking vi-
include sex scenes within a proper narrative
sion of woman as an order- shaking element in
frame, namely Alberto Cavallone’s surreal Blow
a male- oriented society—a notion in tune with
Job (Soffio erotico) (980) and mario bianchi’s
bellocchio’s work of the period: see also his
La bimba di Satana (983), a remake of Mala-
“scandalous” 986 film Il diavolo in corpo—La
bimba (979, Andrea bianchi).5 on the other
visione del sabba pointed indirectly at the de-
hand, the Piero Regnoli–scripted Malombra
piction of woman as an object of desire, which
(984, bruno Gaburro), a loose adaptation of
had been relaunched by television and the
Antonio Fogazzaro’s novel which had inspired
one of Italy’s proto–Gothic films,
mario soldati’s Malombra (942),
sported hardly any Gothic ele-
ments, and turned out to be a
glamorous soft- porn tailor- made
for the voluptuous starlet Paola
senatore, in the wake of the trend
of erotic period films spawned by
tinto brass’ La chiave (983). but,
as the decade went on, the “adult”
elements were discarded.
Classical Gothic was usually
revisited within the context of
spoofs (such as Fracchia contro
Dracula), while the politically
committed approach to the genre
that had proven so fruitful in the
past had virtually
disappeared:
Anemia was a less than remarkable
exception. similarly, the attempt at
exploring an Italian flavor of the
genre resulted in very few and
often obscure films, as was the case
with Giorgio Cavedon’s downbeat
ghost story Ombre (980), with
Pupi Avati’s Zeder standing out as
a startlingly original achievement.
As proven by the diffusion of
Marco Bellocchio’s La visione del sabba (1988) reprises one of Gothic and horror films via home
the Gothic’s main tropes (the seductive witch) for an intriguing
look at sexuality and the battle of the sexes in today’s society.
video, the genre had been adopted
0 Introduction by a different and much younger audience—
NOTES
teenagers who purchased popular horror
comics such as Dylan Dog and watched horror
1. see Paul Ginsborg, A History of Contemporary Italy.
Society and Politics 1943–1988 (london: Penguin uK,
movie marathons on tv. dario Argento un-
990).
derstood it well: his 985 giallo, Phenomena,
2. “the end of the Fiat strike,” Washington Post, oc-
tober 29, 980.
and the Dèmoni diptych were aimed at a pub-
3. see barbara Corsi, Con qualche dollaro in meno. Sto-
lic who listened to Iron maiden or mötley
ria economica del cinema italiano (Rome: editori riuniti,
200), 24–29.
Crüe, a generation of film buffs who could
4. “berlusconi a capofitto nel cinema,” La Stampa, July
savor the cinephile homages and would also
7, 986.
5. Gian Guido oliva, “berlusconi: ‘l’87? È andato così,”
buy the soundtrack albums.
Corriere della Sera, January 5, 988.
Postmodernist Gothic evolved from the
6. Paolo Calcagno, “siamo una major europea,” Cor-
mélange of references in the films scripted
riere della Sera, october 28, 988.
7. P.Ca. [Paolo Calcagno], “Patto berlusconi—Cecchi
by dardano sacchetti for lucio Fulci, which
Gori,” Corriere della Sera, march 8, 989.
stuck to the habit of borrowing themes
8. maurizio Porro, “berlusconi e Cecchi Gori: la Penta
Film è in orbita,” Corriere della Sera, october 25, 989.
and ideas and reworking them in a different
9. tonino Guerra, quoted in Franca Faldini and Gof-
way (often, it must be added, with impressive
fredo Fofi (eds.), Il cinema italiano d’oggi, 1970–1984
(milan: mondadori, 984), 393.
results), to the open homage and self-refer-
10. domenico liggeri, Mani di forbice. La censura cin-
entiality of Dèmoni and especially soavi’s
ematografica in Italia (Alessandria: Falsopiano, 997), 83.
La chiesa, Italy’s most self- conscious and co-
11. Which explains such paradoxical episodes as a
deputy prosecutor envisaging the crime of “complicity in
herent postmodernist horror movie of the
obscene spectacle” for the members of the rating board
decade. other, less impressive examples were
who had classified 9½ Weeks (986, Adrian lyne) with only
a v.m. 4 rating, allowing it to be broadcast at prime time
the self- conscious Anemia, which amply dis-
in december 987 on Canale 5.
played its makers’ elitist approach, and Fulvio
12. margheriti returned to the science fiction/horror
genre with Alien degli abissi (989).
Wetzl’s feature length debut, Rorret (988),
13. Paolo mereghetti, “Piccoli film crescono (976–
about a psycho cinema owner (lou Castel)
998),” in Alberto barbera (ed.), Cavalcarono insieme. 50
anni di cinema e televisione in Italia (milan: mondadori
who screens only horror films and picks his
electa, 2004), 37.
female victims among the most impression-
14. born in 965, salerno made his first short film,
able in the audience; he then attempts to have
Spirit, at 4. several more followed: Cadaveri (982), Extra
sensoria (985), Vampiri (986, presented at Cattolica’s
them revive traumatic fears in real life. the
mystfest), Mezzanotte (986, predating Hellraiser), Arpie
premise partly recalls Fade to Black (980,
(987) and Oltretomba (987). In 990 salerno directed the
6mm feature film Notte profonda (990), which cost only
vernon Zimmerman), Anguish (987, bigas
million lire, followed by another short, L’altra dimensione
luna) and of course michael Powell’s Peeping
(993). He committed suicide in 993, at just 29 years old.
15. the same cannot be said about other porn films
Tom (960), and Wetzl is remarkably bold in
with sparse horrific and supernatural elements, sketchily
recreating key scenes from no less than three
inserted between one graphic sex scene and the next. this
is the case with Orgasmo esotico (982, mario siciliano, as
Hitchcock films: Psycho (which becomes
“lee Castle”), in which sonia bennett plays a witch who
Blood in the Shower, directed by a “Graham
puts her deadly spell on the other characters, including
sutherland” but replete with bernard Her-
marina Hedman (credited as marina lotar), resulting in
assorted deaths and in Hedman turning up as a zombie to
rmann’s music score), Strangers on a Train and
perform one last fellatio. In the circular ending it is
Dial M for Murder. but the theoretical dis-
revealed to be a dream … or maybe not? However, sicil-
iano’s direction is so dire that one never cares about the
course about cinema seems to have been lifted
plot, but the sex scenes are even more boring. Nera … calda
from some not- too-bright film student’s
… e dolce (987, A.P. spinelli [Alessandro Perrella]) is a
rip- off of Jonas middleton’s golden age classic Through the
thesis, and the only thing more awkward than
Looking Glass (976), starring future porn star Rocco
the acting is the concept that a movie theater
siffredi as a malevolent sex phantom who lures the heroine
(marie-Christine veroda, credited as “Jennifer o’naeale”)
that specialized in horror films would attract
into sex escapades, including a particularly unpleasant cli-
enough spectators to survive in late 980s
max involving a close encounter with a horse.
Italy.
A note on the entries
this volume lists all the films produced
dino de laurentiis, who had relocated his
and released in Italy between 980 and 989
production company overseas for financial
that in my view can be defined as “Gothic” (ac-
reasons, and developed from an original
cording to the analysis included in my previous
script by dardano sacchetti, possibly the most
volume Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969,
active scriptwriter in the genre during the
on pag
es 3 to 9, and continued in my 1970–1979
decade. As for the werewolf movie Monster
volume), or have prominent Gothic elements
Dog, a.k.a. Leviatán (985), listed in official
and themes to them. the entries include
sources as an out- and-out spanish production
spoofs, hardcore films or modern- day riffs on
(but financed by the dutch producer eduard
classic themes and characters (the ghost story,
sarlui with his company Continental motion
the werewolf, the vampire). each entry is listed
Pictures), it was filmed in spain by genre spe-
according to its first official screening or the-
cialist Claudio Fragasso, who also scripted it.
atrical release date instead of its filming or its
each entry features a comprehensive
submission to the rating board. this led to the
crew and cast list, based on the film’s opening
exclusion of such titles as lamberto bava’s
and closing credits. uncredited extras are also
made- for-tv remake of La maschera del de-
listed, if noteworthy. Please note that on some
monio and luigi Cozzi’s The Black Cat (a.k.a.
occasions the Italian crew and cast members
De Profundis) which are dated 989 on the
adopted english pseudonyms: whenever pos-
Imdb but were in fact screened or released
sible, I included the participants’ real names
later: La maschera del demonio premiered in
after their Anglo- saxon aliases. Also featured
June 990 at Rome’s Fantafestival, whereas
are filming locations, running time, screening
Cozzi’s film was shot over a period of time
certificate (visa) number, release dates, Italian
between spring and fall of 989 and is copy-
box- office grosses, alternate titles; a brief syn-
righted 990 in the credits. Its video premiere
opsis; and an essay on the film, often with
took place even later, in June 99.
the inclusion of little- known or never- before-
As with the previous volumes, I did not
seen data regarding production history and
include spanish majority co- productions di-
assorted trivia. As for filming dates, whenever
rected by spanish filmmakers, such as Estigma
possible I included the official ones as reported
(980, José Ramón larraz), which was not
in the Public Cinematographic Register in
even released theatrically in Italy. on the
Rome, but bear in mind that this official source,
other hand, I opted to include two films that