Wednesday, October 24, 2018

ABSURD: AN APT TITLE



Okay so yes, that may be an apt title for this movie but none of that matters to fans of the film, director Joe D’Amato or the film ANTHROPOPHAGOUS. Why mention that last film? Because this film is directly related to that one, a quasi-sequel to the gore fest that fans have loved for years. I wrote in my review of that film that fans have been clamoring for a great quality version of the film and that Severin has just released it in the best version ever seen. What I didn’t mention is that they are releasing the sequel at the same time and in just as fantastic quality.

The movie doesn’t exactly tie in to the first film but with the same director, same writer, same actor playing the “monster” and a taste for gore on hand it is done in the same vein. The movie opens with a man on the run (Luigi Montefiori aka George Eastman who also wrote the screenplay) from another man in a long black coat who finds himself impaled on a spiked fence outside a house where a young girl confined to her bed is recovering. Taken to the nearby hospital he is worked on by the doctor there and his team who marvel at the speed that his body is mending itself.

Police investigate the incident and on their way back from the house the incident took place they pick up the black coated man who claims his car broke down while visiting here from Greece. The police begin to question his story when they find Greek coins in the victim’s pockets and find him checking in on the victim. They soon discover that he is actually a priest and he informs them that he worked in a secret Vatican sponsored lab where they were looking into the victim, a man named Mikos Stenopolis. It seems his body can regenerate cells so he will live indefinitely, but the end result is that his brain cells don’t do the same and he’s gone mad.

This becomes obvious when Mikos wakes and kills the nurse watching over him using a drill to her head, all captured on screen. He escapes from the hospital and sets out on a murderous rampage with his only goal being to kill anyone he meets. As he cuts a bloody swath across the countryside the police aided by the priest search for the killer. Of course he ends up back where he started, the home where the young girl is bedridden and only her nurse and small brother are home.

While interesting to watch I didn’t find this one near as enjoyable as ANTHROPOPHAGOUS. If felt like there was less story than in the first film and much of the time spent on camera was of different people searching or moving from one spot to another rather than moving the story along. In spite of that it was still interesting to watch and to try and connect with the other title.

As with their release of ANTHROPOPHAGOUS Severin has done an amazing job of offering this in the best quality release possible with another 2k scan of the original negative making this the cleanest version you will find. They’ve also loaded it with plenty of extras as well including either the American release of the film or ROSSO SANGRE the original Italian version of the film, THE RETURN OF THE GRIM REAPER another interview with Luigi Montefiori aka George Eastman, D’AMATO ON VIDEO an archive interview with director Joe D’Amato, A BIKER an interview with filmmaker/extra Michele Soavi and the trailer for the film.

If you loved the first film the odds are pretty good that you’ll enjoy this one as well. Fans of D’Amato will definitely want to add this to their collection and those who enjoyed ANTHROPOPHAGOUS will need to pick this one up to make sure their collection is complete. For horror fans I’d suggest making sure you get the chance to see this one and enjoy it. The concept may by as the title suggest a tad bit absurd but it will still provide enough chills and gore to make fans happy.

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