Cinema Head Cheese - Movie Reviews, News, a Podcast and more!: 2024

November 15, 2024

Hardwood: The Adult Features of Ed Wood

In celebration of his centennial, Severin Films honors iconic filmmaker Edward D. Wood, Jr. – “the man who defined the term ‘Outsider Artist’ before it was even coined” (Daily Grindhouse) – with HARD WOOD: THE ADULT FEATURES OF ED WOOD, a loaded 3-disc Blu-ray set featuring a trio of his lurid ‘70s adult features now restored uncut from the ultimate source elements for the first time ever. Near the end of his career, the angora-loving auteur behind PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and GLEN OR GLENDA? earned his booze funds by writing and directing explicit adult films, and this eye-popping set delivers three of the most memorable: NECROMANIA – in both hard and soft versions – stars Rene Bond and The Amazing Criswell’s coffin in a tale of weird love shot in two days by Ed while wearing a pink babydoll outfit. Uschi Digard stars in THE ONLY HOUSE IN TOWN, a softcore saga of nonsensical dialog and orgiastic depravity. Wood’s bizarre final film, the thought lost THE YOUNG MARRIEDS, is presented in hard and its never-before-seen soft versions. As a Bonus, J. Pat O’Malley and William Schallert star in the Wood-penned hicksploitation rarity SHOTGUN WEDDING, plus over 7 hours of Special Features that include three separate audio commentaries, a conversation with Bobcat Goldthwait and Dana Gould produced exclusively for this collection, the North American disc debut of The Incredibly Strange Film Show – Ed Wood Jr., plus 9 vintage sex loops and much more.

November 1, 2024

A Binge too Far #46: Airplane! duo (1980 – 1982)

Leslie Nielsen and Robert Hays in Airplane! (1980)

Taking its cue from the disaster film genre in general and Zero Hour! (1957) in particular, the Airplane! (1980 – 1982) duo is treating us with some really outrageous comedy!

Airplane! (1980) poster

Airplane! (1980)

A goofy ex-fighter pilot (Robert Hays) must take control of a commercial airplane when all crew members become ill with food poisoning. Will he manage to land it safely and win the love of his ex-girlfriend (Julie Hagerty)? Will the only doctor (Leslie Nielsen) on board help matters or will he prove equally goofy?

The writing and directing team of Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker make a slapstick parody of the disaster film genre without becoming too removed from the source material, and deliver a wild comedy that became a phenomenon. It grossed a stunning $171 million on a modest $3.5 million budget and even won a few awards, along with critical appreciation.

Airplane II: The Sequel (1982)

It is now the future, and a commercial flight to space is suffering a computer malfunctions that changes its route to the sun. Ted Striker (Robert Hays) recently escaped from a psychiatric ward and it is now up to him to save the day.

With the original team behind the glorious original comedy nowhere on sight and with Ken Finkelman handling both writing and directing duties, this is funny enough to guarantee for a good time, but nowhere near as outrageous as the first outing. Julia Hagerty is also welcomingly back, but the absence of Leslie Nielsen hurt the proceedings. A third instalment was announced but since this grossed a mere $27.2 million on a $15 million budget, these plans never materialized.

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October 1, 2024

A Binge too Far #45: The Unhinged All Hallow's Eve duo (2013 – 2015)

Art the Clown debuting in All Hallow's Eve (2013)

October is Halloween month of course, and what a better way to celebrate it with a duo of movies set during horror fan’s most celebrated holiday!

All Hallow's Eve (2013) DVD

All Hallow’s Eve (2013)

Set in Small Town, U.S.A. during Halloween night, a babysitter (Katie Maguire) finds an unmarked VHS tape in a candy bag and proceeds to watch it with the kids she’s caring for (Sydney Freihofer and Cole Mathewson). The tape is appropriate enough for the occasion as it contains three horrible short films featuring a man in an uncanny clown costume (Mike Gianelli) performing all sorts of devilish deeps, including dismembering and disembowelling.

Director Damien Leone was a master of the short film form by the time he managed to get this – his feature length debut – off the ground, and it channels perfectly his journey as a filmmaker as it incorporates almost entire segments of his previous shorts and quite flawlessly too. But aside from presenting his first feature as a ‘best of’ show-reel of his excellent previous shorts, this absolutely works as a standalone entry; and what an entry that it is! One of the best anthology horror films in the history of the (admittedly short in numbers) subgenre, this is unexpectedly provocative and will hit you like a hammer in the face; with Guinea Pig-styled brutal violence that broader audiences never got to witness before. It is also well-made and it deserves all the attention it received and deservedly made Art the Clown a meme and a horror character star.

All Hallow's Eve 2 (2015)

All Hallow’s Eve 2 (2015)

A man wearing a Jack-o’-lantern mask is stalking a woman until he is seemingly satisfied with leaving a VHS tape on her doorstep. As you would normally do, she checks out to see what is in the tape, only to witness a number of horror shorts.

Whereas the original film pushed really hard its concept and succeeded (as the shorts in that instalment were truly something otherworldly), this standalone sequel doesn’t do much of this (as the shorts are pretty standard material, and the whole scheme of the tape with the unknown origin doesn’t look much scarier than a promotional gimmick, for example), and whereas the first time around we had to face some pretty bizarre and uncomfortable taboo-breaking scenes (many of which were reminiscent of Joe D’Amato’s glorious early 1980s days), this unrelated sequel is mundanely standard and average (the unnatural dialogues are farce-like and come across as if they were written by a film student). The many directors involved made it easy for the haters to say that the horror anthology subgenre should remain underproductive.

September 1, 2024

A Binge too Far #44 - The Grim Aesthetics of the Interview with the Vampire duo (1994 – 2002)

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Based on a novel by Anne Rice that is beloved among Goths and the like, these two adaptations may be of interest to teens that like gorgeous vampires, but it is of little appeal to anyone else, especially fans of the real cinema of the macabre.

Interview with the Vampire

Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)

Set in 20^th century San Francisco this is about beautiful vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac (Brad Pitt) who gives an interview to Danie Molloy (Christian Slater) that results in several flashbacks that go as far back as in time and place as 1791 Louisiana, exploring numerous blood-drinking situations.

This massive $60 million production by The Geffen Film Company was directed by Neil Jordan [The Company of Wolves (1984)] and is featuring an outstanding cast of beautiful people (aside from the aforementioned players it also includes Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, and Kirsten Dunst). It was distributed by Warner Bros and became a box-office phenomenon as it grossed $223.7 million. It was nominated for a couple of Oscars too, because the Academy must have seen something in it that I don’t. All I see is endless boredom beyond belief.

Queen of the Damned (2002)

The well-known ancient vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend making a ridiculous Ville Valo impersonation, but at least he is sexually appealing to alternative girls, I imagine) makes a return to the modern world – in a Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) fashion, and we all know how that went – in the form of rock star that is fronting an awful band that sounds like a zombie version of Korn. And while it is said in the film that he has become bigger than Elvis (despite hanging out in the usual small Goth clubs and bars) he finds trouble in the form of the titular vampire (Aaliyah, who is also sexy enough to appeal to male audiences, but nowhere near looking anything exceptional enough to be certified as the leader of all vampires by any means).

Based on the third novel in The Vampire Chronicles series penned by Anne Rice, this loose sequel to the sleeper hit of the 1990s gets the emo upgrade (do you remember them?) from director Michael Rymer (better known for his television work) and is full of badly dated CGI and equally awful music that includes terrible acts such as Disturbed and Static-X. It didn’t do much at the box-office as it grossed a mere $45.5 million on a $35 million budget, but it resonated well with kids of that era’s style that still cherish the film as something special, which is definitely not.

August 1, 2024

A Binge too Far #43: Action Goes Big with the Crank duo (2006 - 2009)

Jason Statham as Chev Chellios in Crank (2006)

Boasting guns showdown and nudity galore Crank (2006) was made on a modest $12 million budget and turned into an action phenomenon by grossing $42.9 million that guaranteed a 2009 sequel. We take a look at both of them.

Crank (2006) poster

Crank (2006)

Following a high-profile job he shouldn’t have performed, professional hit-man Chev Chellios (Jason Statham, no introduction needed) is in the form of revenge injected with a dodgy Chinese drug, which gives him a slow death that will last less than a day, unless he keeps his adrenaline pumping and slow it down, and he does so in spades by going on a binge to find the perpetrators while all hell breaks loose.

Written and directed by the credited Neveldine/Taylor team (the Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor duo) this is considered an action classic now, but it hasn’t aged too well visually as it was shot on video and the image looks rubbish now even to the most untrained pair of eyes. It lives up to its title though as the rock and metal soundtrack is cranked up to 11 and the music video-like editing is bombastic, to say the least, even if it looks like a bad copy of Quentin Tarantino film, at times.

It is essentially the high octane action version of Run Lola Run (1998) and it is salvaged by some very clever dialogue and its overall edginess as we see the ‘down and dirty’ protagonist snorting cocaine and dismembering his opponents. The problem though is that most of its humour seems very ‘politically incorrect’ these days and could be accused of homophobia and/or racism.

Crank: High Voltage (2009)

This time around the Chinese threat comes to Chev Chellios (returning Jason Statham) in the form of another high-profile Triad gangster that steals his heart (as in the vital organ) and transplants it to himself with the aid of some dodgy medical operation. The hero has very few hours to live with his artificial replacement organ and in order to make some time for himself and prolong his foreseeable death he must keep pumping high voltage adrenaline to himself, which he does in spades in the means of shootouts and car crashes.

The Neveldine/Taylor writing and directing duo return with this crazier and more expensive sequel (it was budgeted at $20 million), maintaining the bombastic rock soundtrack and the frenetic editing, but the action has become more comedic, so much in fact that it is bordering on Troma-type features (even Lloyd Kaufman and Ron Jeremy provide cameo appearances). The critics didn’t get a chance to see it (advance screenings were not made available, somewhat understandably so) but the fans loved it and it went on to gross $34.6 million, so the fact that we never saw another sequel (even a straight-to-video one) is strange.

July 6, 2024

From the Creators of Rottentail! The Abnormal Entertainment Collection Blu-Ray!

Absolutely no one wanted this! Here is the as-complete-as-possible collection from Abnormal Entertainment in glorious standard definition and -2K. You get multiple features: Back Woods, Back Woods 2, Blown, Blood Orgy of the Damned, UFO, Return to Yucca Flats and more! Short films like Undone and Partnership of Corruption! Stage plays! Webisodes! Animation! This is over EIGHT hours of content for one low price! Featuring Kevin Moyers, Jeff Dolniak, Tony and David Sabal, Dalyn Viker, Jimmy Edberg and many more! In loving memory of Kevin Moyers. Purchase now and get it signed if you like.Click the link below! https://splattertheatre.com/products/why-the-abnormal-entertainment-collection

July 1, 2024

A Binge too Far #42: 9th Horrorant International Film Festival – ‘Fright Nights’ report

9th Horrorant International Film Festival - Fright Nights

The 9^th Horrorant International Film Festival – ‘Fright Nights’ that primarily took place at the prestigious Elize theater of Athens, but also and as per usual traveled to other cities in Greece as well, was a great success on all fronts, including the quality of the program and the record ticket sales. The fact that we also had legendary filmmaker Mario Bava as a guest of honor was a pleasure, and the fans showed their appreciation and love.

As usual the festival opened with last year’s best picture award winner, namely Hongsun Kim’s Project Wolf Hunting (2022). The opening ceremony was accompanied by the screening of Carlota Pereda’s The Chapel (2023). The closing ceremony was followed by the screening of Park Dong-hee’s Drive (2023).

The Chapel (2023)

A young girl (Maia Zaitegi) tries to communicate with a spirit named Uxoa that is bounded for centuries in a hermitage, and in order to achieve her strange deed, she asks for help from a medium (Belen Rueda). Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Carlota Pereda, this lavish Spanish horror production was the best possible way to kick-start this year’s terrifying festival proceedings. Atmospheric and eerie, without resorting too much on jump scare, but rather to its uncomfortable tone, this was screened out of competition, and rightfully so as otherwise it would win way too many awards.

Competition Horror

Here’s my commentary of Horrorant’s main block.

The Cursed Island (2023)

A group of vacationing influencers and other such annoying characters have the brilliant idea of spending a night at a deserted and forbidden island. Once they get there they find an abandoned village and break a local spell, unleashing a spirit that will doom them. Directed by Eu Ho and hailing from Malaysia, this is formulaic and it features heavily stereotypical characters, but it is done well and won’t hurt fans of the genre that would like to experience just a little more ghost action.

Body Parts (2023)

A young woman joins a cult and is soon doomed by the sacrifices that some of its members must do. Hailing from South Korea, this award-winning paranormal horror may be lacking in the story department (it is a bit formulaic), but is extremely stunning when it comes to visuals, offering creepy and disgusting imagery that will haunt you. An exceptional and refreshing addition to this year’s program, this is strong Asian horror and it comes highly recommended.

ClearMind (2024)

Directed by Rebecca Eskreis, this U.S. independent feature is sold with a poster and a tagline (‘Revenge is not a multiplayer game’) that is targeting the horror crowd, yet in its heart it is a room comedy about people talking a number of topics while mainly projecting their frustration as middle-aged professionals. It aims at making some sort of commentary on artificial intelligence gone wrong, but it doesn’t have the legs or the depth to elevate into something outstanding. Yet, at its mere 85 minutes of running time, it never outstays its welcome and it was a decent addition to this year’s festival program.

The Syndrome (2021)

Yegor (Ilya Korobko) and Karina (Darya Melnikova) find themselves in peculiar situation as they try to find a solution to a terrible epidemic in St. Petersburg which has its residents committing suicide one after the other, after seeing a mysterious figure of a man in white. Written and directed by Vyacheslav Rudenko, this is extremely eerie and unsettling. It was shot in Russian, but the English dub was screened at the festival.

My Mother’s Eyes (2023)

Hitomi and her daughter Eri are both classical musicians (they play the cello, in particular), and one day they get involved in a traffic accident leaving Hitomi blind and Eri paralyzed. With the aid of cutting-edge technology (VR goggles and the like) the two of them share one strange vision. Written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Takeshi Kushida (who also produced, with Shin Nishimura and Yosuke Sato), this is your typical slow-burn Japanese horror film which takes its time to unfold, before the wild and gory finale that leaves everyone in the audience speechless. Visceral, bloody, and challenging, this is poetically macabre cinema at its best.

Pandemonium (2023)

Following a freak car accident, Nathan (Hugo Dillon) realized he is dead and is now wandering the depths of hell, getting to meet and know other tortured souls with horrible pasts. Written and directed by Quarxx (who was in attendance during the screening and the awards ceremony) and boasting breath-taking Lucio Fulci-like visual sensibilities of netherworld nightmares, this is breath-taking atmospheric material and easily the best film we’ve seen this year.

You Shall Not Sleep Tonight (2024)

A young boy is suffering from some very realistic and eerie nightmares of a monster that lives in his closet. His parents try to calm his down and explain that it’s all his head, but maybe there’s more to it and the fear is connected to demons from the past. Hailing from Argentina but shot in English (with some awkward accents to boot), this keeps a perfect balance between paying homage to classic horror tropes and resorting to modern-day ‘jump scares’ tactics, and is one of the most well-crafted films we’ve seen at this year’s program.

Motel Melati (2023)

Hailing from the unlikely Indonesia (a country that had strong genre output in the 1970s, but not too much in recent times) Losmen Melati (the film’s original title), directed by Mike Wiluan (who also penned the screenplay, with Freya Bennett) and Billy Christian, is about a group of travelers that find shelter in a secluded motel, which turns out to be haunted and brings them face to face with their inner fears and secret past. Creepy and full of jump scares, this production has nothing to be jealous of from Hollywood big budget horrors by Blumhouse and the like.

Breathing In (2023)

Set in 1901 and amidst the sociopolitical turmoil of South Africa (this film is a local product and was made in that country), the screenplay by Jaco Bouwer (who also directed) and Reza de Wet is centering on a wounded general who seems to find a place for rest in the form of a small house run by a strange woman and her daughter. He will soon find out not only why he was invited in, but also the reason the – seemingly – two innocent women have survived for so long amidst the dystopian chaos. Scoring distribution by XYZ Films (a major player these days, especially when it comes to offbeat releases), this is the most lavish production presented at this year’s festival, but it is also the most atmospheric, gaining most of its effective points due to its dark bleakness.

Monster on a Plane (2024) crew awarded!

Monster on a Plane (2024)

Shot in English, this German production written and directed Ezra Tsegaye benefits from its great and simple premise of having a (Critters-like) monster set loose on an airplane, wrecking havoc and causing gory deaths. It keeps a perfect balance between practical effects and cheap CGI, resulting in a very entertaining blend that at times resembles recent Troma output and at others the usual SyFy creature-fests. Concepts in the vein of Snakes on a Plane and the like never get old, and since I spoke with some of the cast and crew that visited the festival, I can assure you that their hearts are in the right place in regards to making this. We need more stuff like this, and we need more Killer Condoms as well.

Note: Simon Sandquist’s Carousel (2023), Oskar Mellander’s Cancelled (2023), and Victor Ginzburg’s Empire V (2023) were also screened as part of this block, but I didn’t manage to review it in time for this article.

Panorama Competition

The ‘Panorama Competition’ was another excellent block made available in this year’s festival that showcased great films from a variety of horror-related genres and subgenres, and here’s my thoughts on them.

Black Bits (2023)

After meeting at a bar, Dora (Jordan Alexandra) and Beth (Yvonne Mai) become a couple, and decide to combine their skills in crime. Once they tackle a perfect heist, they seek ‘a safe place’ (an obvious double meaning to that) in the form of a secluded house in the woods, but it turns out to be a trap set up by men and artificial intelligence. This co-production between Poland and Italy (as it is awkwardly claimed in the credits) was shot in English and directed by Alessio Liguori. It has a Most Dangerous Game setting, but it is modernized with the dark web involved and all that. It is also feminist in its approach, and the most serious thriller Minerva Pictures has released in recent years.

Nina of the Wolves (2023)

A mysterious solar storm – in the vein of The Day of the Triffids (1963) – is disabling all electricity, causing societies to fall and life as we know it to take u-turn. The focus here is on the titular young girl (Sara Ciocca), who is born on a mountain and is, in Raised by Wolves (2020 – 2022) manner, is raised by wolves! This Italian production was released by Minerva Pictures and it is one of the most serious films in their recent catalogue, in terms of tone and quality. Directed by Antonio Pisu and featuring stunning production values and cinematography, as well as Hollywood-styled storytelling, this is a very enjoyable film within the spectrum of the fantasy genre.

Skinford 2: The Curse (2024)

Written and directed by Nick Kacevski, this sequel to a film that resonated very well with the festival’s audience last year, takes us on another journey through underground clubs of dubious morals and people that can’t die. It’s another welcome action/horror showdown from Australia, full of well-staged shootouts and generally good CGI. It is sexy and entertaining, and once it’s over it’ll have you asking for more.

Unspoken (2024)

A Chinese old man (Hanyu Zhang) is traveling to rural United States to grief for his recently-murdered daughter and catches the killer. This lavish co-production between Canada, China, and the United States is perfectly plotted by Daming Chen (who also directed) and Peter Walters owes a lot to Fargo (1996) and maintains a perfect balance between the true crime and thriller genres. Deep, thoughtful, and with plenty of things to day about family and loss, this is a masterpiece of genre cinema. The stunning cinematography alone makes it one of the greatest visual experiences we had at this year’s festival.

Note: Kike Narcea’s I’ll Crush You All (2023) was also screened as part of this block, but I didn’t manage to review it in time for this article.

First Look

Making films is always hard, but making your first film is even harder, and since our festivals has its eyes always open to new talents, we managed to tackle via this block several pictures from debuting directors; the results are good and the future looks promising.

Tenement (2024)

Manga artist Sorya (Thanet Thorn) goes back to her native Cambodia to properly mourn the recent death of her mother, but what she discovers aside of grief is terrible secrets from the past that will haunt her beyond belief. Written and directed by the team of Sokyou Chea and Inrasothythep Neth, this semi-folk horror is strong on atmosphere and benefits from the excellent use of decadent rural locations (Cambodia is not known for its horror cinema output and the results here look refreshing), adding extra eeriness to the proceedings. Some of the visuals echo the works of Dario Argento, and overall what we have here is a very well-crafted macabre film.

Deus Irae (2023)

Claiming the possession and exorcism horror subgenres with a storm, writer/director Pedro Cristiani’s debut feature from Argentina is expectedly focusing on a trouble priest that doubts his own faith, but the film goes much deeper and becomes a visceral extravaganza that echoes the body horrors of the 1980s. It is a strong and challenging journey that descents the viewer into a decadent version of a visual hell, and as such it is an outstanding work of cinema.

Hangar (2023)

Three young and attractive women visit a remote Italian country side when upon looking for weed they find company in the form of two local Italian men, who propose hard partying. One party leads to the next, which is set in a secluded and secret military base, but the drugs take their toll and dreams turn into nightmares. Directed by Luca Tartaglia (who also produced, with Umberto Massa) this Italian film was shot (mainly) in English (presumably to appeal to the international market) and is raw, sexy, fun, and above all very entertaining. If you ever wondered what a Gaspar Noe film would look like with a lower budget and more generous violence and gore, this horror goodie will give you a good idea.

The Redeemers (2022)

Two religion cult door salesmen end up accidentally killing one of their potential followers, and in order to dispose the body they have to masquerade as role-playing gamers with a group of weirdos, resulting in a torturous experience. Written and directed by Miro Laiho (who also produced, with Pekka Ollula) and Niko Kelkka, Lunastajat (the film’s original Finnish title) is a hilarious horror/comedy that works mainly because the subject matter is funny, but also because the violence is quirky.

Clawfoot (2023)

Janet (Francesca Eastwood) is a stunning and rich housewife who receives an unexpected visit from an unknown contractor (Milo Gibson) claiming that her husband sent him for some maintenance work. Upon accepting the stranger in their posh villa, he starts manipulating her step by step. However, once Janet is joined by her equally stunning best friend Tasha (Olivia Culpo) his plan will prove difficult to materialize, and the situation may turn deadly. Directed by Michael Day, this dark comedy/horror hybrid is fun, sexy, entertaining, and one of the best films we’ve seen this year!

Note: Anglee’s Couples to Hell (2024) was also screened as part of this block, but I didn’t manage to review it in time for this article.

2^nd Exploitation Tribute

I was the curator of this block, in which I had the pleasure of working for a second year with Vinegar Syndrome, in order to bring three exploitation film classics on a big screen in Athens. We had the pleasure of screening Massage Parlor Murders! (1973), Angel (1984), to appreciative audiences who asked for more and we could do no less than promising exactly this, for next year.

Massage Parlor Murders! (1973)

Set in the titular institutions located at New York’s 42^nd Street and during its most fascinating decade, this is about two detectives (George Spencer and John Moser) who follow the trail of a serial killer that is slaughtering young female masseurs. Failing at resembling a mystery thriller at all fronts (even though the audience doesn’t know the killer’s identity, there’s not much tension in the proceedings) but succeeding at being a perfect time capsule of an era long gone (full of marquees for films the likes of which we’ll never get to see again and seedy establishments you can no longer find in any civilized city), this is featuring charming gore effects and murder set-pieces (Herschell Gordon Lewis would be proud) as well as surprisingly attractive starlets. Directed by Chester Fox and Alex Stevens this was a personal pick and seeing it on a big screen was a dream come true.

The Boogeyman (1980)

A young boy is stabbing his mother’s abusive boyfriend, and twenty years later – now mute – is still haunted by the terrible event that also involved a mirror causing him and his sister nightmares. Motivated financially and inspired aesthetically from the success of John Carpenter’s seminal Halloween (1978), but with an extra supernatural touch, Uli Lommel’s cult opus is now considered a classic. Featuring a quick appearance by the legendary John Carradine, as well as some of the most bizarre murders, this is 1980s horror/exploitation entertainment at its best. It was a hit at the box-office, resulting in two mediocre sequels.

Angel (1984)

15-year old Molly Stewart (Donna Wilkes) is an excellent student by day and a Hollywood Boulevard hooker by night, under the code name Angel. When a serial killer (John Diehl) is murdering two of her colleagues, she joins forces with the detectives assigned to the case, in order to catch him. Directed by Robert Vincent O’Neil (who also wrote the screenplay, with Joseph Michael Cala) and distributed by the legendary New World Pictures this horror/exploitation hybrid is rated R, but remains quite ‘clean’ other than a few murder set-pieces and some brief nudity (it feels like a ‘safe’ movie throughout). It was an outstanding success at the box-office and expectedly spawned two sequels. It wouldn’t fly in the current ‘politically correct’ climate (drag queens, underage prostitutes, and many more are on display here), so the absence of any remake action is safely guaranteed.

Lamberto Bava Tribute

The Horrorant International Film Festival is proud to have brought legendary Italian filmmaker Lamberto Bava for the first time in Athens, Greece as our guest of honor. Mr. Bava was a pleasure to have at the festival and he was very kind with his many fans who wanted a photo taken with him or their Blu-ray discs signed. He was also very generous with providing lengthy introductions and Q&A sessions before and after the screenings of his classic films, much to the awe of his excited fans. Lamberto Bava is a living legend, and we now know that he is also a good friend of Horrorant. We were honored to present him with Horrorant’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

L to R: Christos Mouroukis, Lamberto Bava

Macabre (1980)

Set in New Orleans, this is about a blind landlord (Stanko Molnar) who suspects that the attractive woman (Bernice Stegers) that recently rented a room in his house may be having a love affair with the corpse of her recently-deceased husband. Approached by the already-established filmmakers Pupi and Antonio Avati, with a screenplay they based on a then-recent news story, newcomer Lamberto Bava (who had so far only worked as an assistant director for other renowned filmmakers, such as Ruggero Deodato, and his own father Mario Bava) made his directorial debut with this peculiar thriller, that is exactly what the title describes, absolutely macabre. Subtle, quite, and slow at times, this is a great work and is tonally approached perfectly by Bava.

Italian horror cinema legend Lamberto Bava

A Blade in the Dark (1983)

Horror film composer Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti) resides in a posh Tuscany villa in order to get inspiration for his next work, but the wider area is haunted by a serial killer, whose identity may be hidden in Bruno’s latest movie. Originally conceived and shot as a television series, this ultra-gruesome giallo was deemed too violent and gory for broadcasting, and was re-cut as a feature film and it met with enormous adoration by horror fans (who appreciated it particularly on home video). Produced by Mino Loy, Lamberto Bava, and Luciano Martino, and written by Dardano Sacchetti and Elisa Briganti, this may have come a bit late into the game (gialli were pretty much old news by 1983), but the stylized murders shot on 16mm do the trick and deliver a very satisfactory thriller. A young Michele Soavi makes his debut in front of the camera, as well.

L to R: K. Chatzipapas, L. Bava, C. Mouroukis

Demons (1985)

Set in a movie theater in Berlin, in which the patrons get attacked by zombie-like demons, this is heralded as the last true masterpiece of the golden age of Italian horror. Written by Dario Argento (who also produced), Lamberto Bava (who also directed), Dardano Sacchetti, Franco Ferrini, Demons benefits from excellent pace and eerie atmosphere. The practical gore special make-up effects by Sergio Stivaletti are absolutely fascinating, while Claudio Simonetti provides one of his most memorable scores (the soundtrack is enhanced further with the addition of several rock tracks by acts such as Motley Crue and Accept). The scenes featuring the motorcycle and the helicopter are worthy of the admission price alone.

Greek Shorts

Unfortunately I did not manage to see this year’s Greek short films in time for this article, but these were Blue Whale (2023), A Girl Plays with Knives (2023), Comet 2060 Chiron (2023), and I Karekla (2024).

International Shorts

Unfortunately I did not manage to see this year’s International short films in time for this article, but these were La Noche Dentro (2023), Humormatic (2024), Turno de Noche (El Lugar Equivocado) (2023), Raton de Biblioteca (2023), Co-Haunting (2023), For Pete’s Shake (2023), La Compania (2024), Lo Que Sangra (2024), Metobo Zombie (2023), Sincopat (2023), Selfie (2023), Los Complices (2023), La Croix (2023), Ponle Fecha (2023), Hado (2023), La Companera (2023), Tenebres (2023), Cultes (2023), Bebes (2023), Mi Zona (2023).

The Awards

Best International Short: Sincopat and Selfie

Best Greek Short: Comet 2060 Cheron

First Look Award: Tenement

Panorama Award: Unspoken

Best Special Effects Award: Monster on a Plane

Best Cinematography Award: My Mother’s Eyes

Best Screenplay Award: Motel Melati

Best Female Lead: Aleaxandra Gottardo (Motel Melati)

Best Male Lead: Sven Ruygrok (Breathing In)

Best Director Award: Quarxx (Pandemonium)

Best Feature Award: Pandemonium

Lifetime Achievement Award: Lamberto Bava

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