Lamberto Bava | Scott's Film Reviews-1,529 Reviews posted!!! RECENTLY LAUNCHED-MY TOP 250 FAVORITE FILMS AND TOP 40 HORROR FILMS!!!

Inferno-1980

Director Dario Argento

Starring Leigh McCloskey, Irene Miracle

Scott’s Review #1,372

Reviewed June 27, 2023

Grade: B+

Any fan of the famous Italian horror director Dario Argento knows to expect a visual extravaganza from his films.

They reek of color and a weird atmosphere that makes them distinguishable from other, less crafty directors, and that’s worth a lot to a cinema fan.

Inferno (1980) is no exception, but, to be fair, the plot is brutal to follow, as the visuals easily overshadow the storytelling. On the flip side, despite being set mainly in New York City, Inferno has a definitive Italian vibe.

And why shouldn’t it, since it’s shrouded in Italian creativity?

Fans of Argento will know what I’m saying and leap into the film as I did, immersed in art direction rather than a defined plot.

The film is the second in his “Three Mothers” trilogy, and Inferno focuses on a Manhattan apartment building inhabited by a deadly spirit that murders the tenants in sadistic ways.

The other two films in the collection are Suspiria (1977) and Mother of Tears (2007).

When a poet named Rose (Irene Miracle) discovers a book suggesting she’s living in a building built for one of three evil sisters to rule the world, she begs her brother, Mark (Leigh McCloskey), to visit her from Rome.

But when he arrives, she’s disappeared without a trace. Mark encounters several creepy characters as he attempts to unravel the mystery and find his sister, either dead or alive.

It takes some time to figure out who the main character is supposed to be. Is it Rose, Mark, Mark’s friend Sara, or Rose’s neighbor, Elise? Before long, three of the four are sliced into bits.

The kills are superior, with my personal favorite being the death of one character guillotined with the glass of a broken window. This is nearly usurped by a pack of snarling cats with murder on their minds, attacking another victim.

As a cat lover, I grinned with pleasure.

As alluded to earlier, the story is too hard to follow. Therefore, the showdown between the main character and the witch is a letdown, and it is uncertain what becomes of the witch.

I also desired to see the witch more.

But maybe I wasn’t paying too close attention. The gorgeous sets caught my attention more than any plot point did.

I was especially enamored by the gothic New York City apartment set, which takes center stage during most of the film. The blue velvet curtains and dimly lit corridors, combined with desolate corners and few inhabitants, made me want to stay there.

Especially appealing is a secret hole in the wall that carries sounds throughout the behemoth building.

The colors and camerawork successfully create eerie, memorable sequences. One can easily dine on a bright green wall and gush over a deep blood-red drape or shadow.

The gloomy, downright scary underwater sequence when Rose dives to grasp a secret key is a brilliant piece of camerawork.

Alida Valli, so good as one of the witches in Suspiria, makes her return in Inferno, but in a limited part. As Carol, an employee of the apartment building, she has little to do, and adding insult to injury, Valli’s voice is dubbed by an American voice.

Sure, it’s not the best in the Argento collection, and Suspiria will always remain my number one, but Inferno (1980) is for the Argento fans only. I wouldn’t suggest it to novice fans, nor stress that one needs to see the trilogy in order.

The labyrinthine settings and elaborate deaths make the film a winner.

Macabre-1980

Director Lamberto Bava

Starring Bernice Stegers, Stanko Molnar

Scott’s Review #1,165

Reviewed July 26, 2021

Grade: A-

With a pedigree for horror, director Lamberto Bava has a lot to live up to.

He is the son of Mario Bava, deemed the “Master of Italian Horror” for creepies like Black Sunday (1960) and Black Sabbath (1963), and worked alongside Dario Argento, another famous Italian horror director.

Lamberto certainly learned his craft exceptionally well, and he created a terrific, gruesome horror film, Macabre (1980), that lives up to its name.

I won’t spoil the fun by revealing too much, but the experience of watching his film will stay with the audience long after it ends.

Nightmares anyone?

Let’s say that one won’t look at one’s libido and the human head in the same way ever again.

Sadly, Bava wouldn’t remain in the feature film industry for very long. After assisting Argento with his films throughout the 1980s, Bava would move to the television industry. But what a lasting impression he makes with Macabre.

The horrific tale mixes murder, madness, and perverse (or perverted) passion. A lonely New Orleans wife and mother, Jane Baker, played by Bernice Stegers, carries on a torrid affair without her family’s knowledge.

After sneaking around and arousing her daughter Lucy’s (Veronica Zinny) suspicions, a violent accident leaves her lover, Fred, dead.

Devastated, Jane does a stint in a mental institution. Supposedly cured, she leaves determined to pursue her forbidden desires and ends up moving in with her dead lover’s blind brother, Robert (Stanko Molnar).

But what secret or ghastly desires does she hold dear to her heart, and what oddity resides in her refrigerator?

You’re probably wondering why a director with Italian roots as strong as Bava’s would choose the cajun and gumbo-infused city of New Orleans- I was too.

Why not choose a more gothic locale like Rome? The setting is even more jarring, given the film’s British and Italian actors.

Rumor has it the events in the film took place in New Orleans, but I’m not sure I buy that.

Be that as it may, something about this weird setting is unsettling. But somehow it works, given the story’s bizarre nature. It’s so out there that, for some reason, it affects.

The running time is just right at one hour and thirty minutes, and with such a low budget, any longer might have felt distracting or made the pace too much.

Stegers is fabulous in the central role. She is controlled yet neurotic, madly in love with her beau, on the brink of instability. She is also a strong, feminist woman as she brazenly carries on with her affair unconcerned with the consequences, though death isn’t exactly what she expects.

Regardless, Stegers does a fine job and carries the action throughout.

It’s tough to tell at the time whether Bava is going for a mid-level camp or a complete over-the-top bizarro. He knows the tricks of the trade and avoids the popular slasher effects, such as gore and blood. This is to his credit.

Instead, he floods Macabre with juicy atmospheric elements and a perfect mood. This mood grows creepier as the plot develops, reaching a crescendo at the conclusion, when Richard, Lucy, Jane, and even the deceased Fred adjourn for a savory dinner, where the events will never be seen coming.

Macabre (1980) is a forgotten masterpiece that I highly recommend for fans of Italian-style horror and those seeking a ghoulish, titillating journey into the macabre.

How appropriate.