spider baby!

Che sorpresa, trovare una commedia horror anni '60 che risulti ancora efficace e sorprendente!

Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told narra la vicenda della famiglia Merrye, che vive isolata in una grande casa; la famiglia è composta da un paio di belle figliole fuori di testa, un fratello ormai demente ed un'altra manciata di strane presenze. Tutti vittime di una malattia ereditaria che li fa regredire mentalmente ad uno stato quasi selvaggio man mano che lo sviluppo fisico procede; ad accudirli il maggiordomo, rimasto con loro per esaudire una promessa fatta al padrone di casa sul letto di morte.
Dalla città arrivano dei lontani parenti con il loro avvocato, intenzionati a prendere possesso della casa.
I guai non tarderanno ad arrivare.

Sospeso tra horror e commedia, il film eccelle in entrambi i campi: funziona benissimo quando vuole suscitare antipatia per i nuovi arrivati (coinvolti in una cena alquanto disgustosa) ed ancora meglio quando decide di spaventare.
La spensierata crudeltà delle due ragazze è da antologia (agghiacciante nella sua ingenuità), ed anche gli altri inquietanti abitanti della casa non mancano di stupire.
Le loro azioni sono folli e tremende, ma mantengono sempre una propria perversa logica che le rende ancora più spaventose.
Finale adeguato alla pazzia della casa (ed a suo modo commovente).

Certo, il ritmo non è quello a cui gli horror moderni ci hanno abituato, ma su 1 ora e 20 si sente poco, ed i momenti morti sono pressoché assenti.
Ci si concede persino anche un poco di fan-service e si accenna in maniera piuttosto esplicita a tradimenti coniugali con un fare leggero.
Azzeccato l'uso del bianco e nero.

Scritto e diretto da Jack Hill non si può fare a meno di menzionare, nel ruolo del maggiordomo, l'icona del cinema horror Lon Chaney Jr.: l'unico ad aver interpretato tutti i quattro classici mostri dell'horror: Frankenstein, la Mummia, Dracula e il Lupo mannaro.
Da non perdere la segretaria dell'avvocato, appassionata di film dell'orrore, che durante la cena li cita tutti.

Voto: 8.5 (se amate l'horror, è da vedere - registi e sceneggiatori di horror moderni dovrebbero prendere appunti)
Tags: horror, commedia, famiglia, casa, Lon Chaney Jr., follia, pazzia, malattia mentale, malattia ereditatia, morte, omicidio, ragno, tradimento, parente, avvocato, segretaria, maggiordomo, esplosione, gatto, dinamite, cannibalismo, cadavere, tarantola, coltello, rete, ragnatela, gufo, guardone, tradimento.

Hill, Jack (I)

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Data di nascita: 28 January 1933
Coniuge: Elke::(1958 - present)

Ultimi lavori:

• Sugar Boxx (2007) .... Judge [attore]
• I Pass for Human (2004) .... Azami's father [attore]
• Sorceress (1982) .... (producer) (uncredited) [produttore]
• Death Ship (1980) .... (story) [scrittore]
• City on Fire (1979) .... [scrittore]
• The Bees (1978) .... (uncredited) [scrittore]
• Switchblade Sisters (1975) .... (story) [scrittore]
• Foxy Brown (1974) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974) .... (uncredited) [scrittore]
• Coffy (1973) .... [scrittore]

Biografia:
Jack Hill grew up around movies - his father was a designer for the Disney studios and Warner Brothers. He went to the University of California to study film, where he was a classmate of Francis Ford Coppola - they worked together on student productions and later both apprenticed with Roger Corman, working on The Terror (1963). While Coppola went on to Oscardom, Jack continued with B-flicks. He didn't make a lot of films, and while all were low budget they all (except Switchblade Sisters (1975)) made money, and his early 'blaxploitaton' films Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974) were hits. Soon after Switchblade Sisters (1975) he stopped making movies so he and his wife Elke could pursue meditation and he could write novels. Today his films are hailed as cult classics, thanks primarily to Quentin Tarantino, who saw Hill's work as it made its way to video. With retrospectives and a re-release of Switchblade Sisters (1975), his career seems to be reviving.

Trivia random: Hill's UCLA student movie "The Host" was a huge influence on the last third of Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now".

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Chaney Jr., Lon

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Nome di battesimo: Chaney, Creighton Tull
Data di nascita: 10 February 1906
Data di morte: 12 July 1973
Altezza: 6' 2½" (1.89 m)
Coniuge: Patsy Beck::(1 October 1937 - 12 July 1973) (his death), Dorothy Hinckley::(1928 - 1937) (divorced) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) .... Groton (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• The Female Bunch (1969) .... Monti [attore]
• Fireball Jungle (1969) .... Sammy (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• A Stranger in Town (1969) .... [attore]
• Buckskin (1968) .... Sheriff Tangley (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968) .... Bruno, The Chauffeur (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• Dr. Terror's Gallery of Horrors (1967) .... Dr. Mendell (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967) .... Maximillian (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• Welcome to Hard Times (1967) .... Avery, Saloonkeeper (as Lon Chaney) [attore]
• Apache Uprising (1966) .... Charlie Russell [attore]

Biografia:
American character actor whose career was influenced (and often overshadowed) by that of his father, silent film star Lon Chaney. The younger Chaney was born while his parents were on a theatrical tour, and he joined them onstage for the first time at the age of six months. However, as a young man, even during the time of his father's growing fame, Creighton Chaney worked menial jobs to support himself without calling upon his father. He was at various times a plumber, a meatcutter's apprentice, a metal worker, and a farm worker. Always, however, there was the desire to follow in his father's footsteps. He studied makeup at his father's side, learning many of the techniques that had made his father famous. And he took stage roles in stock companies. It was not until after his father's death in 1930 that Chaney went to work in films. His first appearances were under his real name (he had been named for his mother, singer Cleva Creighton). He played number of supporting parts before a producer in 1935 insisted on changing his name to Lon Chaney Jr. as a marketing ploy. Chaney was uncomfortable with the ploy and always hated the "Jr". addendum. But he was also aware that the famous name could help his career, and so he kept it. Most of the parts he played were unmemorable, often bits, until 1939 when he was given the role of the simple-minded Lennie in the film adaptation of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men (1939). Chaney's performance was spectacularly touching; indeed, it became one of the two roles for which he would always be best remembered. The other came within the next year, when Universal, in hopes of reviving their horror film franchise as well as memories of their great silent star, Chaney Sr., cast Chaney as the tortured Lawrence Talbot in The Wolf Man (1941). With this film and the slew of horror films that followed it, Chaney achieved a kind of stardom, though he was never able to achieve his goal of surpassing his father. By the 1950s, he was established as a star in low-budget horror films and as a reliable character actor in more prestigious, big-budget films such as High Noon (1952). Never as versatile as his father, he fell more and more into cheap and mundane productions which traded primarily on his name and those of other fading horror stars. His later years were bedeviled by illness and problems with alcohol. When he died from a variety of causes in 1973, it was as an actor who had spent his life chasing the fame of his father, but who was much beloved by a generation of filmgoers who had never seen his father.

Trivia random: Well-known character actor William Smith started out as a child actor, and in an interview with a horror-film magazine stated that during breaks on the set of The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Chaney treated all of the children on the set to ice cream.
Citazione random: Director Reginald Le Borg: "His was a career and, I believe, a personality that resulted directly from trying to embrace and, at the same time, disown the career and image of his father."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Spider Baby or, The Maddest Story Ever Told (1968)

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Regista: Jack Hill
Scrittore: Jack Hill
Genere: Comedy, Horror
Valutazione: 6.9/10 (811 voti)
Durata: 81 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Lon Chaney Jr. .... Bruno, The Chauffeur (as Lon Chaney)
• Carol Ohmart .... Emily Howe
• Quinn K. Redeker .... Peter Howe (as Quinn Redeker)
• Beverly Washburn .... Elizabeth
• Jill Banner .... Virginia
• Sid Haig .... Ralph
• Mary Mitchel .... Ann
• Karl Schanzer .... Schlocker
• Mantan Moreland .... Messenger

Trama:
In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.

Trivia random: The film was shot in August and September, 1964 with the title "Cannibal Orgy, or The Maddest Story Ever Told" but its release was held up for years due to the producers going bankrupt. Producer David Hewit acquired it for distribution in 1968 and changed the title to "Spider Baby" and then later "The Liver Eaters."
Citazione random: Elizabeth: Spiders don't eat other spiders.::Virginia: Cannibal spiders do.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Horror 102

Horror 102: Endgame, già seguito del non-visto-ed-intendo-continuare-così Horror 101 e diretto da chi già aveva attentato alla nostra salute mentale con Day of the Dead 2: Contagium, ha dalla sua un unico merito: è poco noto. Così non fosse, avrebbe il suo posto speciale nel cuore dell'umanità, un po' come il vaiolo...
La sua oretta e mezza fa davvero male, non avendo né capo né coda, figlio com'è del digitale, che ha permesso a chiunque di darsi al cinema.

C'è questo manicomio riadattato a dormitorio universitario dove alcuni studenti vengono invitati da un non meglio definito Professore a trascorrere la notte.
I fatti di sangue avvenuti in precedenza sembrano ancora infestare l'ameno luogo, e ad uno ad uno i protagonisti moriranno; un po' come i neuroni del pubblico.
Tutta la parte di trama è lasciata alla buona volontà dello spettatore: ci si trastulla con riti magici e cocktail, con scarsi risultati in entrambi i casi.

Ad essere onesti, gli ultimi 5 minuti in cui viene rivelata la vera natura del gioco non sarebbero neanche male - ma fatto così il tutto resta solo un esercizio autopunitivo come pochi.

Da evitare come la peste bubbonica.

Voto: 1 Trashometro^® 2/10: looobotomiaaa!
Tags: horror, seguito, studenti, manicomio, università, gioco, professore, morte, presenze, omicidio, sangue, gore, fuga, fungo, avvelenamento, sopravvivenza, sequel, meglio-un-calcio-nei-marroni, trash.

Horror 102: Endgame (2004) (V)

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Regista: Ana Clavell
Scrittore: Ana Clavell
Genere: Horror, Horror
Valutazione: 3.3/10 (18 voti)
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Jeremy Aldridge .... Raymond Gerry
• Melissa Frederick .... Maddie Engel
• Shasa Dabner .... Bebe Hilleman
• Christopher Hawkins .... P.J. Lansing
• Joshua Heck .... George (as Joshua Allen Heck)
• Lukas Langer .... Taffy
• Anna Lerbom .... Heid Leifdotter
• Michael Moon .... Owen
• Joanna Woods .... Samantha / Dead Girl
• Simon Burzynski .... Paul Barron (as Simon Zonatto)

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Horror 101 (2000)

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Regista: James Glenn Dudelson
Scrittore: Valorie Connally, Jenny McPhee
Genere: Horror, Horror
Valutazione: 3.6/10 (134 voti)
Durata: 89 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Brigitta Dau .... Tiffany
• Lisa Gordon .... Allison
• Josh Holland .... Mark
• Paityn James .... Lisa
• Michael Moon .... Jake
• Scott Rinker .... Carl
• Justin Urich .... Brian
• Jason Wolk .... Floyd
• Bo Derek .... Miss Allison James

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

murder set pieces

Avendo già in precedenza assegnato il titolo di Worst Movie Ever, mi tocca ripiegare sulla categoria Più Laido Film di Ogni Tempo, per premiare come si conviene Murder-Set-Pieces.

È sempre cattivo segno, quando un horror si bulla d'essere "il più QUALCOSA mai fatto"; dichiarandosi "the most visceral horror film ever made", Murder-Set-Pieces piscia talmente fuori dall'urinario che il regista-scrittore-a-fag-tot-mi Nick Palumbo andrebbe fustigato in pubblica piazza.

A Las Vegas, un sedicente fotografo attira modelle, baldracche, spogliarelliste e fica varia con la sempre originale scusa di un servizio fotografico.
Prima, dopo o durante la canonica scopatina, l'Helmut Newton dei miserrimi estrae il suo rasoio e sgozza le più o meno ingenue fanciulle.
Trasportate chissà come ancora vive in cantina, verranno torturate per eccellenti motivi che ai più potranno sfuggire.

Pur mietendo vittime a decine (30 in tutto, pare), nessuno si prende la briga di indagare, non fosse per la sorellina (dodicenne o giù di lì) della presunta fidanzata del serial kiler.
Nel mentre, in alcune trame del tutto disgiunte, veniamo informati che Bimbo Gigi Scannavacche è un neonazista nipote di un gerarca del terzo reich (la foto del nonno con Hitler e Mussolini! ), che ha incubi riguardanti una notevole pataccona che potrebbe essere sua madre come chiunque altro, e che l'11 settembre gli ha creato ulteriore confusione mentale. Non che ne avesse bisogno...

Non è neanche un "gore" classico, qui si punta più sul pseudo-vomitevole in quantità industriale, e francamente si riesce pure a mancare il bersaglio.
Sì ok, sangue ad ettolitri, sgozzamenti, sevizie e tutto il resto, ma non c'è un mezzo secondo che riesca davvero spaventare. Disgustare? Forse chi è poco avvezzo al genere o è troppo sensibile, ma in realtà il tutto suscita più noia ed ilarità che altro.
Nudo integrale (specie nella prima metà, che di fatto è un soft-soft-porn) come se piovesse, ed anche un po' di sesso più o meno esplicito; mi chiedo sempre come qualcuno che abbia più di 15 anni possa ancora considerare shockante o provocatorio un po' di fica depilata solo per il fatto d'essere lì: in un horror o ci fai qualcosa di sensato, o lascia perdere, va...
Presunto culmine sovversivo del film, l'omicidio di una bambina e l'utilizzo di un bimbetto di neanche 2 anni per una scena che grida "arrestate il regista, vi prego". In tutta onestà: YAWN.

Stupido a livelli allarmante, l'intera sceneggiatura non è sufficiente neppure per il fondo di una gabbietta per uccelli; nulla ha la benché minima logica (il tizio va in giro e ammazza - punto) e, come detto, si mira solo al (presunto) shock.
Va detto che è un film che strizza l'occhio agli amanti di molti generi: ce n'è per gli affezzionati della gnocca, degli slasher, dei vampiri (ogni tanto ci si beve il sangue, quindi suppongo valga), dei cannibali (pasto sano e ricco di proteine, il torso putrefatto ), delle feci-e-urine (vittime che evacuano durante la tortura e così via), della necrofilia (fellatio con testa decapitata: enough said) e del non-sense in generale.

Non che manchino i momenti divertenti, specie per una visione in compagnia: la mancanza di logica è sempre fonte di sane risate, e poi c'è Sven Garrett che può essere definito solo come Il Peggior Attore di Ogni Epoca; nella foga tanto dell'omicidio quanto dell'orgasmo fa delle smorfie da antologia (e non dimentichiamo il BUAAARGHHH che emette, una volta scoperto dalla bambozza!)
In teoria ci sono un paio di camei per attirare gli amanti dell'horror e dei ringraziamenti peculiari sui titoli di coda, ma non vale neanche la pena parlarne.

Insomma, consigliato solo se siete pronti e dell'umore per un film di rara imbecillità. Mi raccomando, in versione integrale (una dolorosa ora e quaranta), reperibile anche nei peggiori videonoleggi.
Fu un mezzo (anche un quarto di) caso in Inghilterra, dove è stato bandito dalla censura. L'unico messo peggio di quelli che lo hanno bandito, è il regista stesso, comunque.

Voto: 1. Trashometro^® 8/10:
Tags: horror, gore, slasher, fotograto, prostituta, omicidio, nazista, rasoio, gerarca nazista, madre, ossessione, follia, delirio, rapina, strage, 11 settembre, auto, necrofilia, cannibalismo, sesso, nudo integrale, sesso, morte, serial killer, Las Vegas, fidanzata, sorella, tortura, minorenne, forbici, arma, inseguimento, autobus, macchina fotografica, strip-club, sexy-shop, sangue, feci, urina, regista incapace, trash, il film più laido di ogni tempo.

Murder-Set-Pieces (2004)

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Regista: Nick Palumbo
Scrittore: Nick Palumbo
Genere: Horror, Horror
Valutazione: 3.7/10 (1311 voti)
Durata: 105 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Sven Garrett .... The Photographer
• Tony Todd .... Clerk
• Cerina Vincent .... Beautiful Girl
• Gunnar Hansen .... Nazi Mechanic
• Edwin Neal .... Good Samaritan
• Jade Risser .... Jade
• Valerie Baber .... Charlotte
• Natasha Bunker .... Dancing Blonde Girl
• Jennifer Cross .... Basement Girl #4
• Jerami Cruise .... Video Victim

Trama:
Set against Sin City, Las Vegas, "Murder-Set-Pieces" tells the story of a fashion photographer whose vocation is murder - a voyeuristic nightmare of blood, sex and brutality.

Trivia random: 30 people are murdered in this film and 55 gallons of blood was spilled.
Citazione random: The Photographer: What happens to you when you die?::Jade: You just rot away.::The Photographer: And you believe that?::Jade: Yea, I guess.::The Photographer: Remind me to take your picture sometime.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Garrett, Sven

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Nome di battesimo: Gadzimski, Sven
Data di nascita: 2 June 1973

Ultimi lavori:

• Final Engagement (2007) (V) .... Ray Gareson [attore]
• Murder-Set-Pieces (2004) .... The Photographer [attore]
• A Miami Tail (2003) .... Cop [attore]
• Night Shift (2002) .... Karl (as Sven Gadzimski) [attore]
• The Miami Chronicles (2001) .... (as Sven Gadzimski) [attore]

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Palumbo, Nick

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Data di nascita: 12 November 1970
Altezza: 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Frigid (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Sinister (2005) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Murder-Set-Pieces (2004) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Necromaniac: Schizophreniac 2 (2003) (V) .... Lt. Hayes [attore]
• Nutbag (2000) .... (writer) [scrittore]

Biografia:
Filmmaker Nick Palumbo was born in Washington, D.C. in 1970. He has been obsessed with film since catching "The Wizard of Oz" on TV in 1974. Palumbo immediately identified with the Wicked Witch, and ever since then became a film fanatic. In 1977, his father introduced him to filmmakers Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and Werner Herzog via a revival house movie theater. Even at 7 years old Palumbo was spellbound. He knew then what he wanted to do with his life. Palumbo attended film school in Los Angeles from 1989-1991. After learning the technical aspects of filmmaking, he worked on several low-budget features to gain knowledge and experience. In 1999, Palumbo started his own production company, Fright Flix Productions. In 2000, undaunted by not cracking into the Hollywood Machine, Palumbo wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film "Nutbag". His extremely controversial horror debut put him at the forefront of independent filmmakers. Dividing his time between Las Vegas, New York City and Los Angeles, Palumbo continued to work on productions and write original screenplays. In 2002, he followed with the 4-minute 35mm short film "Sinister". In 2004, Palumbo wrote, produced, and directed his next 35mm feature film, the shocking "Murder-Set-Pieces". "M-S-P" had a limited theatrical run in 2005. The film was the first Un-rated American horror/slasher film to hit theaters in 25 years! Lauded by critics from around the world as "a masterpiece of horror", "Murder-Set-Pieces" is the most expensive and controversial independent horror film ever made. Palumbo is known in the movie industry for his controversial, ultra-violent films, but in real life he's an easy going, fun loving guy. Now living in Los Angeles, Palumbo enjoys art, traveling, meeting new people, music, muscle cars, reading, and making films. His favorite film of all time is Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter"(1955). Palumbo's new film is called _Frigid (2006)_ ...a shot on 35mm survivalist/horror film photographed on location in Eastern Europe. Frigid tells the story of a group of beautiful young girls on holiday across Europe who encounter unimaginable horrors.

Trivia random: He lists directors Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and Dario Argento as his biggest influences.
Citazione random: "Many years ago I read that Thomas Jefferson said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get". "That is the way I have lived my life."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

nazi-zombie

C'è un motivo se i teteschi non sono tifentati padroni ti mondo: si facevano troppi viaggi in acido sognando di invincibili armate di zombie!

Uno dei grandi classici del filone nazi-exploitation è L'Occhio Nel Triangolo (Shock Waves) che annovera tra i protagonisti niente meno che John Carradine e Peter Cushing (nello stesso anno in cui quest'ultimo fece Star Wars e, comunque, un bel po' di anni dopo che entrambi avevano già cominciato a scavare, una volta raggiunto il fondo delle rispettive carriere).

Quattro o cinque pirla in navigazione alla ricerca di relitti di navi fanno naufragio, dopo uno scontro con una misteriosa nave fantasma, su un'isola che pare deserta.
Ben presto incontreranno l'unico abitante: un ex comandante delle SS, che intima loro di lasciare immediatamente l'isola.
I poveri stolti non fanno però in tempo, e diventano prede di uno squadrone di SS delle quali verrà rivelato l'orrendo segreto: si tratta in realtà di SS morte in combattimento che gli scienziati del reich erano riusciti a riportare in vita come perfette macchine da combattimento zombie (salvo alcuni piccoli dettagli: sono stupidi come tafani, esplodono se gli togli gli occhiali scuri e si muovono alla velocità di bradipi )
Lo scarso acume dei protagonisti e la selezione naturale farà il resto, e ben pochi potranno ritornare sani e salvi.

Stupido a livelli dolorosi, è comunque un genere che i veri amanti del trash devono prima o poi esplorare; reperibile in una edizione mega-deluxe in dvd - che, priva di ogni dignità, si bulla d'essere un grande classico del cinema - presenta una versione migliorata del capolavoro originale con tante scene extra che francamente mi pare impossibile non fossero presenti al cinema, dato che senza il film non ha né capo né coda (non che cambi poi molto, ad onor del vero, ma...)

Voto: 1. Trashometro^® 7/10: (achtung: kuesto film fifrà 1000 anni tra i fostri più dolorosi rikorti!)
Tags: horror, mistero, zombie, ss, nazisti, nazi-exploitation, isola, relitto, nafragio, nazi-zombie, trash.

Cushing, Peter

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Nome di battesimo: Cushing, Peter Wilton
Data di nascita: 26 May 1913
Data di morte: 11 August 1994
Altezza: 5' 11½" (1.82 m)
Coniuge: Violet Helene Beck::(10 April 1943 - 14 January 1971) (her death)

Ultimi lavori:

• Biggles (1986) .... Colonel William Raymond [attore]
• Helen Keller: The Miracle Continues (1984) (TV) .... Professor Charles Copeland [attore]
• The Masks of Death (1984) (TV) .... Sherlock Holmes [attore]
• Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1984) .... Seneschal [attore]
• Top Secret! (1984) .... Bookstore Proprietor [attore]
• House of the Long Shadows (1983) .... Sebastian Grisbane [attore]
• Monster Island (1981) .... William T. Kolderup [attore]
• Black Jack (1980) .... Sir Thomas Bedford [attore]
• A Tale of Two Cities (1980) (TV) .... Dr. Alexandre Manette [attore]
• Arabian Adventure (1979) .... Wazir Al Wuzara [attore]

Biografia:
Peter Cushing was born in 1913 in Kenley, Surrey, England. He and his older brother David were raised first in Dulwich Village, a south London suburb, and then later back in Surrey by his mother Nellie Marie and father George Edward, who was a quantity surveyor. At an early age Cushing was attracted to acting, inspired by his favorite aunt, who was a stage actress. While at school Cushing pursued his acting interest in acting and also drawing, a talent he put to good use later in his first job as a government surveyor's assistant in Surrey. At this time he also dabbled in local amateur theater until moving to London to attend the Guildhall School of Music and Drama on scholarship. He then performed in repertory theater, deciding in 1939 to head for Hollywood, where he made his film debut in The Man in the Iron Mask (1939). Other Hollywood films included A Chump at Oxford (1940) with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, Vigil in the Night (1940) and They Dare Not Love (1941). However, after a short stay, he returned to England by way of New York (making brief appearances on Broadway) and Canada. Back in his homeland he contributed to the war effort during World War II by joining the Entertainment National Services Association.After the war he performed in the West End and had his big break appearing with Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948), in which Cushing's future partner-in-horror Christopher Lee had a bit part. Both actors also appeared in Moulin Rouge (1952) but didn't meet until their later horror films. During the 1950s Cushing became a familiar face on British television, appearing in numerous teleplays, such as 1984 (1954) (TV) and Beau Brummell (1954) (TV), until the end of the decade when he began his legendary association with Hammer Film Productions in its remakes of the 1930s Universal horror classics. His first Hammer roles included Dr. Frankenstein in The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dr. Van Helsing in Dracula (1958) and Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959).Cushing continued playing the roles of Drs. Frankenstein and Van Helsing, as well as taking on other horror characters, in Hammer films over the next 20 years. He also appeared in films for the other major horror producer of the time, Amicus Productions, including Dr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965) and its later horror anthologies, a couple of Dr. Who films (1965, 1966), I, Monster (1971), and others. By the mid-1970s these companies had stopped production, but Cushing, firmly established as a horror star, continued in the genre for some time thereafter.Perhaps his best-known appearance outside of horror films was as Grand Moff Tarkin in George Lucas' phenomenally successful science fiction film Star Wars (1977). Biggles (1986) (aka "Biggles: Adventures in Time") was Cushing's last film before his retirement, during which he made a few television appearances, wrote two autobiographies and pursued his hobbies of bird watching and painting.In 1989 he was made an Officer of the British Empire in recognition of his contributions to the acting profession in Britain and worldwide.

Trivia random: Considered The Blood Beast Terror (1968) to be the worst film he ever made.
Citazione random: "There is little chance for a person to exercise the imagination today in this complex, programmed society we have."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Carradine, John

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Nome di battesimo: Carradine, Richmond Reed
Data di nascita: 5 February 1906
Data di morte: 27 November 1988
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Coniuge: Emily Cisneros::(1974 - ?), Doris Rich::(1957 - 1971) (widowed), Sonia Sorel::(13 August 1944 - 1956) (divorced), Ardanelle McCool Cosner::(1935 - 1941) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Bikini Drive-In (1995) .... [attore]
• Jack-O (1995) .... Walter Machen [attore]
• Buried Alive (1990) .... Jacob [attore]
• Prison Ship (1988) .... The Justice [attore]
• Evil Spawn (1987) .... Dr. Zeitman [attore]
• Monster in the Closet (1987) .... Old Joe Shempter [attore]
• Peggy Sue Got Married (1986) .... Leo [attore]
• Revenge (1986) (V) .... Sen. Bradford [attore]
• The Tomb (1986) .... Mr. Andoheb [attore]
• Evils of the Night (1985) .... Dr. Kozmar [attore]

Biografia:
Son of a reporter/artist and a surgeon. Grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York. Attended Christ Church School, and Graphic Art School, studying sculpture. Roamed the South selling sketches. Made acting debut in Camille in a New Orleans theatre in 1925. Arrived in Los Angeles in 1927, worked in local theatre. Applied as scenic designer to Cecil B. DeMille, who rejected his designs but gave him voice work in several films. Debuted on film in Tol'able David (1930), billed as Peter Richmond. Protege and close friend of John Barrymore. Extremely prolific movie character actor, while simultaneously maintaining a stage career in classic leading roles such as Hamlet and Malvolio. Typed in later years as horror star. Member of the "John Ford Stock Company."

Trivia random: Grandfather of Ever Carradine.
Citazione random: "I've made some of the greatest films ever made - and a lot of crap, too."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Shock Waves (1977)

Occhio nel triangolo, L'

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Regista: Ken Wiederhorn
Scrittore: John Kent Harrison, Ken Pare
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Valutazione: 5.5/10 (619 voti)
Durata: 90 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Peter Cushing .... SS Commander
• Brooke Adams .... Rose
• Fred Buch .... Chuck
• Jack Davidson .... Norman
• Luke Halpin .... Keith
• D.J. Sidney .... Beverly
• Don Stout .... Dobbs
• John Carradine .... Captain
• Clarence Thomas .... Fisherman
• Sammy Graham

Trama:
This horror movie concerns a shipwrecked yachting party. Rose (Brooke Adams) and her fellow yacht-mates, including the captain (John Carradine) run aground on an island when they hit an odd-looking freighter. Once beached, they meet up with an aging SS Commander (Peter Cushing) who had been in charge of a crew of zombies.

Trivia random: Headlining stars John Carradine and Peter Cushing each worked four days and earned $5,000 each.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Star Wars (1977)

Guerre stellari: Episodio IV - Una nuova speranza

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Regista: George Lucas
Scrittore: George Lucas
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Valutazione: 8.8/10 (173211 voti) [#11 nella top250]
Durata: 121 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Mark Hamill .... Luke Skywalker
• Harrison Ford .... Han Solo
• Carrie Fisher .... Princess Leia Organa
• Peter Cushing .... Grand Moff Tarkin
• Alec Guinness .... Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi
• Anthony Daniels .... C-3PO
• Kenny Baker .... R2-D2
• Peter Mayhew .... Chewbacca
• David Prowse .... Darth Vader
• James Earl Jones .... Darth Vader (voice)

Trama:
Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the Galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and dashing Captain Han Solo (Harrison Ford) team together with the lovable robotic duo, R2-D2 and C-3PO, to rescue the beautiful princess and restore justice in the Empire.

Trivia random: In Italy, R2-D2 was renamed C1-P8 while Darth Vader became Dart Fener, the reason being that "Vader" in Italian sounds too close to the common noun for the toilet bowl (the "water", clearly from the English "water closet"). The "clones" mentioned by Obi-Wan Kenobi became "quotes" (Italian: "cloni"/"quoti").
Citazione random: Princess Leia: [in a holo message] General Kenobi: Years ago, you served my father in the Clone Wars; now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person; but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

diary of the dead

Impantanato chissà perché in una distribuzione da terzo mondo, tocca rivolgersi al solito generoso mercato inglese anche per Diary of the Dead.
Le recensioni non erano entusiastiche ed anche il pubblico reagì con freddezza; inevitabile quindi un minimo di sospetto verso l'ennesimo zombie-movie di zio Romero.
Ebbene, per quanto mi riguarda tutte le voci critiche si sono rivelate dead wrong.

Un vero e proprio reboot (concetto che di norma non amo), per aggiornare gli zombie ai giorni nostri: d'improvviso, senza alcuna motivazione, i morti si animano ed iniziano ad attaccare i viventi. Il panico è immediato e devastante: in brevissimo tempo l'intera società si sfalda; niente più sicurezza, né legge, né comunicazioni.
Un piccolo gruppo di studenti di cinema - che ovviamente stavano girando un horror - s'imbarcherà in un viaggio verso casa nella speranza di trovarvi ancora qualcuno vivo.

Concetto non dissimile da quello già esplorato in tutti gli altri della serie, la differenza qui la fa la modalità narrativa: il film è infatti presentato come se fosse il montaggio definitivo di una serie di spezzoni di riprese girate dagli studenti stessi - in particolare uno di loro, ossessivo nella sua mania di documentare quanto sta accadendo.
Come facilmente prevedibile il viaggio sarà tutt'altro che agevole, ed occasione tanto di sgraditi incontri quanto delle immancabili riflessioni romeriane (il già visto "siamo degni d'essere salvati/siamo poi così diversi da loro?" ma anche e soprattutto uno sguardo molto critico ai nuovi media ed ai nuovi modi di diffondere e fruire la comunicazione).

Romero dovrebbe stanare e uccidere tutti coloro che solo per questo hanno paragonato il suo lavoro a Cloverfield e The Blair Witch Project; sono sempre stato un detrattore dell'abuso della telecamera a mano, ma quel che davvero conta è cosa racconti, e Diary of the Dead nei suoi 95 densi minuti racconta molto e soprattutto lo racconta dannatamente bene.
Senza tralasciare il piccolo dettagli che - a differenza dei due titoli citati - questo film fa davvero paura, quando decide di farla.

Aveva tutti gli ingredienti per risultarmi alquanto sgradito (reboot, telecamera a mano, nuovo capitolo di una serie che sembrava aver detto tutto o quasi, l'addentrarsi in un campo non suo come l'utilizzo dei nuovi media, ...), ed invece ho finito con l'adorarlo, anche se la mia pare essere una opinione non così diffusa.

Voto: 9.5. Lo zombie che non ti aspetti!
Tags: horror, fantasy, thriller, zombie, Romero, George A. Romero, viaggio, studenti, reboot, telecamera a mano, metafilm, film nel film, montaggio, Internet, comunicazione, media, nuovi media, blog, filmato, youtube, chat, video, download, fucile, pistola, arco, frecce, parente, madre, padre, fratello, morte, cannibalismo, ospedale, università, facoltà, cinema, fuga, villa, camera di sicurezza, panic room, piscina, professore, suicidio, morti viventi, incidente, ambulanza, telecronista, amish, tomba, guardia nazionale, esercito, milizia, intestino, mummia, critica, mockumentary, bomba, falce.

Romero, George A. (I)

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Nome di battesimo: Romero, George Andrew
Data di nascita: 4 February 1940
Altezza: 6' 5" (1.96 m)
Coniuge: Christine Forrest::(1981 - present), Nancy Romero::(1971 - 1978) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• The Crazies (2010) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• ...of the Dead (2009) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• Deadtime Stories (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Deadtime Stories 2 (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Into the Dark: Exploring the Horror Film (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• The I Scream Man (2009) .... Earl [attore]
• Day of the Dead (2008) .... (motion picture "Day of the Dead") [scrittore]
• One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' (2008) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Diary of the Dead (2007) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• Il pianto della statua (2007) .... (short story "Passion and Extasy") [scrittore]

Biografia:
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; however, by all indications, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Dead" pentalogy was born February 4, 1940, in New York City. He grew up there until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed "Image Ten Productions" in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly US$10,000 a piece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over US$100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore) enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost, became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key and less seen including There's Always Vanilla (1971), The Crazies (1973), Hungry Wives (1972) (where he met his future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as Night of the Living Dead (1968), or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues, usually horror-related, at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1978, Romero returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of Night of the Living Dead (1968): Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shooting in the Monroeville, Pennsylvania, Mall during late-night hours, Romero told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Shot on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over US$40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. The film also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. Dawn of the Dead (1978)'s success led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first, but not the last, time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, Creepshow (1982) was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero. The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993), (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned, Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and his recent films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after Day of the Dead (1985), with major-studio distribution, he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre he created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received both excellent and indifferent reviews and even topped the United States box-office in its first week of release. He still resides in Pittsburgh.

Trivia random: Was originally attached to write and direct Resident Evil (2002), but left the project in 1999 due to creative differences over the script.
Citazione random: If you have 60 people dress like zombies and you show them something that you like, you get 60 people doing the exact same thing. My opinion of a good zombie walk is to loll your head as if it's a little too heavy and the muscles have begun to atrophy.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Diary of the Dead (2007)

Le cronache dei morti viventi

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Regista: George A. Romero
Scrittore: George A. Romero
Genere: Fantasy, Horror, Thriller, Fantasy
Valutazione: 6.1/10 (16234 voti)
Durata: 95 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Michelle Morgan .... Debra Moynihan
• Joshua Close .... Jason Creed (as Josh Close)
• Shawn Roberts .... Tony Ravello
• Amy Ciupak Lalonde .... Tracy Thurman (as Amy Lalonde)
• Joe Dinicol .... Eliot Stone
• Scott Wentworth .... Andrew Maxwell
• Philip Riccio .... Ridley Wilmott
• Chris Violette .... Gordo Thorsen
• Tatiana Maslany .... Mary Dexter
• Todd Schroeder .... Brody (as Todd William Schroeder)

Trama:
While filming a horror movie of mummy in a forest, the students and their professor of the University of Pittsburgh hear on the TV the news that the dead are awaking and walking. Ridley and Francine decide to leave the group, while Jason heads to the dormitory of his girlfriend Debra Monahan. She does not succeed in contacting her family and they travel in Mary's van to the house of Debra's parents in Scranton, Pennsylvania. While driving her van, Mary sees a car accident and runs over a highway patrolman and three other zombies trying to escape from them. Later the religious Mary is depressed, questioning whether the victims where really dead, and tries to commit suicide, shooting herself with a pistol. Her friends takeg her to a hospital where they realize that the dead are indeed awaking and walking and they need to fight to survive while traveling to Debra's parents house.

Trivia random: Begins on the same day as Night of the Living Dead (1968), although the setting has been updated to the present day. The concept for the film evolved from an idea that director George A. Romero had earlier for a "Living Dead" TV series, which also would have begun on the same day as "Night of the Living Dead."
Citazione random: Debra: Everyone who dies, unless they get a bullet in the head, is gonna come back and try to kill someone else.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Blair Witch Project, The (1999)

The Blair Witch project - Il mistero della strega di Blair

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Regista: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Scrittore: Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller, Horror
Valutazione: 6.2/10 (77240 voti)
Durata: 86 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Heather Donahue .... Heather Donahue
• Joshua Leonard .... Joshua 'Josh' Leonard
• Michael C. Williams .... Michael 'Mike' Williams (as Michael Williams)
• Bob Griffith .... Short Fisherman
• Jim King .... Interviewee
• Sandra Sánchez .... Waitress (as Sandra Sanchez)
• Ed Swanson .... Fisherman With Glasses
• Patricia DeCou .... Mary Brown
• Mark Mason .... Man in Yellow Hat
• Jackie Hallex .... Interviewee with Child

Trama:
Three film students travel to Maryland to make a student film about a local urban legend... The Blair Witch. The three went into the woods on a two day hike to find the Blair Witch, and never came back. One year later, the students film and video was found in the woods. The footage was compiled and made into a movie. The Blair Witch Project.

Trivia random: The working title was "The Black Hills Project."
Citazione random: Michael Williams: [sees dozens of stick-men hanging from trees] No redneck is this creative.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

the crazies

Ho ricordi un po' vaghi (ma abbastanza amorevoli) dell'originale di Romero del 1973; la nuova versione de La città verrà distrutta all'alba mi pare ne riprenda il concetto generale e poco altro.

In una piccola cittadina della provincia americana precipita un aereo che trasporta una tossina. La sua diffusione - attraverso l'acqua - porta ad una epidemia di follia ed istinti omicidi.
In mezzo al caos, sembrano restare sani lo sceriffo e sua moglie, il vice ed una manciata di altre persone (che evidentemente tracannavano solo alcolici e non si lavavano da giorni ); l'arrivo dell'esercito non sarà foriero di pace e tranquillità.

Una buona partenza ed un finale noto e prevedibile ma accettabile, il film ha qualche pecca realizzativa ma nel complesso riesce a tenere alta la tensione.
Pur non presentando niente di mai visto prima, molte scene sono ben costruite; il problema è una eccessiva lunghezza che ad un certo punto fa un po' "sedere" il film, vittima della sindrome "e adesso cosa facciamo succedere?". Si segnalano anche una serie di dialoghi molto banali: una ripulita alla sceneggiatura non avrebbe fatto male.

Per il resto, si guarda senza sforzi.

Voto: 6.5
Tags: horror, thriller, drammatico, fantascienza, morte, città, distruzione, esercito, tossina, rabbia, acqua, contaminazione, follia, omicidio, fucile, caccia, sceriffo, vicesceriffo, moglie, marito, fidanzato, famiglia, pazzia, esplosione, esplosione nucleare, remake, Romero.

Crazies, The (2010)

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Regista: Breck Eisner
Scrittore: Scott Kosar, Ray Wright
Genere: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Valutazione: 7.0/10 (8060 voti)
Durata: 101 min
Paese: USA, United Arab Emirates
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Timothy Olyphant .... David Dutton
• Radha Mitchell .... Judy Dutton
• Joe Anderson .... Russell Clank
• Danielle Panabaker .... Becca Darling
• Christie Lynn Smith .... Deardra Farnum
• Brett Rickaby .... Bill Farnum
• Preston Bailey .... Nicholas
• John Aylward .... Mayor Hobbs
• Joe Reegan .... Pvt. Billy Babcock
• Glenn Morshower .... Intelligence Officer

Trama:
As a toxin begins to turn the residents of Ogden Marsh, Iowa into violent psychopaths, sheriff David Dutton tries to make sense of the situation while he, his wife, and two other unaffected townspeople band together in a fight for survival.

Trivia random: "We'll Meet Again," the Johnny Cash song the film opens with is from the same album that provided "The Man Comes Around," which was used to open for the remake of Dawn of the Dead (2004). The album is American IV - the last one released before Cash died. "The Man Comes Around" and "We'll Meet Again" are the opening and closing tracks, respectively. Link this trivia
Citazione random: David Dutton: Don't ask me why I can't leave without my wife and I won't ask you why you can.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Romero, George A. (I)

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Nome di battesimo: Romero, George Andrew
Data di nascita: 4 February 1940
Altezza: 6' 5" (1.96 m)
Coniuge: Christine Forrest::(1981 - present), Nancy Romero::(1971 - 1978) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Deadtime Stories 2 (2010) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• The Crazies (2010) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Deadtime Stories (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Into the Dark: Exploring the Horror Film (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Survival of the Dead (2009) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• Day of the Dead (2008) .... (motion picture "Day of the Dead") [scrittore]
• Dead Eyes Open (2008) .... Scientist [attore]
• One for the Fire: The Legacy of 'Night of the Living Dead' (2008) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Diary of the Dead (2007) .... (written by) [scrittore]
• Il pianto della statua (2007) .... (short story "Passion and Extasy") [scrittore]

Biografia:
George A. Romero never set out to become a Hollywood figure; however, by all indications, he was very successful. The director of the groundbreaking "Dead" pentalogy was born February 4, 1940, in New York City. He grew up there until attending the renowned Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he began shooting mostly short films and commercials. He and his friends formed "Image Ten Productions" in the late 1960s and they all chipped in roughly US$10,000 a piece to produce what became one of the most celebrated American horror films of all time: Night of the Living Dead (1968). Shot in black-and-white on a budget of just over US$100,000, Romero's vision, combined with a solid script written by him and his "Image" co-founder John A. Russo (along with what was then considered an excess of gore) enabled the film to earn back far more than what it cost, became a cult classic by the early 1970s and was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress of the United States in 1999. Romero's next films were a little more low-key and less seen including There's Always Vanilla (1971), The Crazies (1973), Hungry Wives (1972) (where he met his future wife Christine Forrest) and Martin (1977). Though not as acclaimed as Night of the Living Dead (1968), or some of his later work, these films had his signature social commentary while dealing with issues, usually horror-related, at the microscopic level. Like almost all of his films, they were shot in, or around, Romero's favorite city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1978, Romero returned to the zombie genre with the one film of his that would top the success of Night of the Living Dead (1968): Dawn of the Dead (1978). He managed to divorce the franchise from Image Ten, which screwed up the copyright on the original and allowed the film to enter into public domain, with the result that Romero and his original investors were not entitled to any profits from the film's video releases. Shooting in the Monroeville, Pennsylvania, Mall during late-night hours, Romero told the tale of four people who escape a zombie outbreak and lock themselves up inside what they think is paradise before the solitude makes them victims of their own, and a biker gang's, greed. Shot on a budget of just $1.5 million, the film earned over US$40 million worldwide and was named one of the top cult films by Entertainment Weekly magazine in 2003. The film also marked Romero's first work with brilliant make-up and effects artist Tom Savini. After 1978, Romero and Savini teamed up many times. Dawn of the Dead (1978)'s success led to bigger budgets and better casts for the filmmaker. First was Knightriders (1981), where he first worked with an up-and-coming Ed Harris. Then came perhaps his most Hollywood-like film, Creepshow (1982), which marked the first, but not the last, time Romero adapted a work by famed horror novelist Stephen King. With many major stars and big-studio distribution, Creepshow (1982) was a moderate success and spawned a sequel, which was also written by Romero. The decline of Romero's career came in the late 1980s. His last widely-released film was the next "Dead" film, Day of the Dead (1985). Derided by critics, it did not take in much at the box office, either. His latest two efforts were The Dark Half (1993), (another Stephen King adaptation) and Bruiser (2000). Even the Romero-penned, Tom Savini-directed remake of Romero's first film, Night of the Living Dead (1990), was a box-office failure. Pigeon-holed solely as a horror director and his recent films no longer achieving the success of his earlier "Dead" films, Romero has not worked much since, much to the chagrin of his following. In 2005, 19 years after Day of the Dead (1985), with major-studio distribution, he returned to his most famous series and horror sub-genre he created with Land of the Dead (2005), a further exploration of the destruction of modern society by the undead, that received both excellent and indifferent reviews and even topped the United States box-office in its first week of release. He still resides in Pittsburgh.

Trivia random: When discussing his influences, he has that the Universal horror classic made a strong impression on him and his favorite horror film as a child was The Thing from Another World (1951). However, the film he said made him want to be a director was The Red Shoes (1948). While discussing the directors who made a strong impression on him, he said that Orson Welles and Howard Hawks were his favorites, surpassing Alfred Hitchcock.
Citazione random: "Just because I'm showing somebody being disemboweled doesn't mean I have to get heavy and put a message round it."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Crazies, The (1973)

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Regista: George A. Romero
Scrittore: Paul McCollough, George A. Romero
Genere: Action, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Valutazione: 6.1/10 (3495 voti)
Durata: 103 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Lane Carroll .... Judy
• Will MacMillan .... David (as W.G. McMillan)
• Harold Wayne Jones .... Clank
• Lloyd Hollar .... Col. Peckem
• Lynn Lowry .... Kathy
• Richard Liberty .... Artie
• Richard France .... Dr. Watts
• Harry Spillman .... Maj. Ryder
• Will Disney .... Dr. Brookmyre
• Edith Bell .... Lab. Technician

Trama:
A biological weapon gone awry is only the start of problems in the little town of Evan's City, Pennsylvania. Bouts of insanity in the populace are leading to murder and rioting, until the US Army turns up - and things really start going to hell.

Trivia random: A lot of the audio mixing in The Crazies, particularly the voices of soldiers and extras and specific sound effects, were completed in post-production in the basement of Romero's Latent Image Studio. Link this trivia
Citazione random: Army Doctor: Okay, Colonel Peckem, last test is negative. You're all clean, virus free. We can sign you out. The helicopter will be arriving in a few minutes.
Col. Peckem: Any news from Deitrich?
Army Doctor: They're sending a new man from the Trixie project to take over as Dr. Watts' replacement. He should be here in the morning. If only we knew what Watts was working on. We checked the slides he left behind in his microscope and his notes, but we can't make heads or tails out of any of it. He was onto something, we know that. We'll dope it out sooner or later.
Col. Peckem: [sighs] Sooner or later.
Army Doctor: I understand that they found a Reeces monkey at Deitrich, immune. We'll fund a human subject sooner or later.
Col. Peckem: Yeah... sooner or later.
[a soldier arrives with David, whom is not showing symptoms]
Soldier: Hey, you want an immunity check on this one, Doc?
Army Doctor: [to the soldier] Are you kidding me? Put him with the others!
[both Peckem and David make eye contact with each other, in which David smirks and he is taken away by the soldier, as Colonel Peckem also walks away towards the landing zone area]

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

non aprite quel custode

Errare è umano, perseverare è diabolico. E poi c'è quel ripetuto, fastidioso ed ossessivo desiderio di insistere a battere un ferro già freddo da decenni che è un po' il marchio di fabbrica di Tobe Hooper. E questa è una cosa dal quale lo stesso diavolo si guarda bene.

Si fa davvero fatica a credere che nel 2006 si facciano ancora film con Il Custode (Mortuary).

Mamma, figliolo adolescente e bimbetta si trasferiscono in una fetida catepecchia con annessa camera mortuaria e vista sul cimitero.
Ahiloro in una delle cripte trova alloggio il figlio deforme dei precedenti inquilini, il cui unico sollazzo consiste nell'andare in giro vestito di stracci a spaventare la gente e, di tanto in tanto, rapirla onde sacrificarla al mostro-blob/mega-ameba-dentata che vive nel sottosuolo. Detto mostro, annusa l'odore di sangue e liquami vari che colano dai tavoli mortuari e tramite le tubature (miii, che cosa origgginale! ) si fa strada fino ai cadaveri che fa rivivere in allegri zombie da compagnia. Zombie scarsamente educati, dato che vomitano melma nera in bocca ai viventi, contaminandoli.
Se qualcuno avesse dei dubbi, quando tutto sembra perduto arriva la solita casuale scoperta dell'Improbabile Sostanza Che Vaporizza Gli Zombi Ed I Mostri Del Sottosuolo^® (presto disponibile nei migliori negozi di prodotti per la casa).

Dolorosissimo. Non so come altro definirlo.
Da segnalare anche le fastidiose musiche e gli effetti speciali che sarebbero stati considerati laidi già negli anni '70.
Ringraziamo lo zio Tobe per non aver neanche lontanamente azzeccato un film dai tempi di Poltergeist e lo supplichiamo di continuare così!

Voto: 1.
Trashometro^® 10/10: (questo farà male)
Tags: horror, cimitero, cripta, mostro, melma, zombie, trash, Tobe Hooper, cagata pazzesca.

Hooper, Tobe

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Data di nascita: 25 January 1943

Ultimi lavori:

• "Ghosts" (2006) (mini) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Untitled Tobe Hooper Project (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Mortuary (2005/I) .... [regista]
• Toolbox Murders (2004) .... [regista]
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) .... (co-producer) [produttore]
• Toolbox Murders: As It Was (2003) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Shadow Realm (2002) (TV) .... (segment "The Maze") [regista]
• "Taken" (2002/I) (mini) .... (episode "Beyond the Sky") [regista]
• Crocodile (2000/I) .... [regista]
• The Apartment Complex (1999) (TV) .... [regista]

Biografia:
Honored with many awards for his films and achievement in the horror genre, Tobe Hooper is truly one of the "Masters of Horror" (2005). Before becoming a filmmaker, Hooper--a native of Austin, Texas--spent the 1960s as a college teacher and documentary cameraman. He organized a small cast of teachers and students and made The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974). It changed the horror film industry and became an instant classic. Even today it remains on virtually every list of top horror films of all time. Hooper based it upon the real-life case of Ed Gein, a cannibalistic killer responsible for the grisly murders of several people in the 1950s (although in Wisconsin, not Texas). Hooper's success with "Chainsaw" landed him in Hollywood. Rex Reed said, "It's the scariest film I have ever seen." Leonard Maltin wrote, "While not nearly as gory as its title suggests, Massacre is a genuinely terrifying film made even more unsettling by its twisted but undeniably hilarious black comedy." It is in the Permanent Collection of the Museum of Modern Art, and was officially selected at the Cannes Film Festival of 1975 for Directors Fortnight.Hooper rejoined the cast of "Chainsaw" for Eaten Alive (1977), which starred Mel Ferrer, William Finley, Carolyn Jones, and Marilyn Burns. The film received the first Saturn Award. Also in the film, making his debut, was Robert Englund. Hooper's success continued with his adaption of Stephen King's 1979 mini series Salem's Lot (1979) (TV). In 1981 Hooper directed The Funhouse (1981) for Universal Pictures. Then, in 1982, Steven Spielberg enlisted him to direct the successful haunted-house shocker Poltergeist (1982) for MGM. During the mid-'80s Hooper directed several films and television projects, including Lifeforce (1985) with Patrick Stewart for TriStar; episodes of "Amazing Stories" (1985), "The Equalizer" (1985), "Freddy's Nightmares" (1988) and "Tales from the Crypt" (1989) with Whoopi Goldberg; Invaders from Mars (1986), and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) with Dennis Hopper.In the 1990s Hooper continued working in both both film and television: I'm Dangerous Tonight (1990) (TV), "Nowhere Man" (1995), "Dark Skies" (1996), "Perversions of Science" (1997) with Jamie Kennedy and Jason Lee, The Apartment Complex (1999) (TV) with Amanda Plummer for Showtime, Night Terrors (1993), and The Mangler (1995) for New Line.In the new century Hooper's career continued to grow stronger with "Night Visions" (2001), Shadow Realm (2002) (TV), and the pilot episode for Steven Spielberg's award-winning miniseries "Taken" (2002/I) (mini). In 2004 Hooper co-produced the successful remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) for New Line. In 2005 he started his own low-budget horror franchise, TH Nightmare; has Toolbox Murders (2004) with Angela Bettis, released through Lions Gate; is in post-production on Mortuary (2005/I); is in pre-production on "Zombies"; and will produce and direct "Ghosts" (2006) (mini), a mini-series for A

Trivia random: He directed the music video "Dancing With Myself" by Billy Idol.
Citazione random: [on horror] "You've got to send a physical sensation through and not let them off the hook. I like to make it faster and faster and faster and pumping and banging until I get into you."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Mortuary (2005/I)

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Regista: Tobe Hooper
Scrittore: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch
Genere: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Valutazione: 4.2/10 (459 voti)
Durata: 94 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Dan Byrd .... Jonathan Doyle
• Denise Crosby .... Leslie Doyle
• Stephanie Patton .... Jamie Doyle
• Alexandra Adi .... Liz
• Rocky Marquette .... Grady
• Courtney Peldon .... Tina
• Bug Hall .... Cal
• Tarah Paige .... Sara
• Michael Shamus Wiles .... Sheriff Howell
• Adam Gierasch .... Mr. Barstow

Trama:
The Doyle family moves to rural California to start a new life; perhaps a strange choice because their new life takes on the form of running the long abandoned Fowler Brothers Funeral Home. The locals fear the place, and there are whispers around town that the land the home lies on is haunted. The Doyle family will soon discover that something lurks beneath the soil-something that raises rotten corpses from their long forgotten graves and feeds on death itself.

Trivia random: The quote carved on the vault's door "That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange eons even death may die." is from HP Lovecraft's short story The Call of Cthulhu.
Citazione random: Jonathan Doyle: A 26 hour car trip just went by.::Leslie Doyle: He speaks! What is that, 6 hours, a record for you?

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist: demoniache presenze

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Regista: Tobe Hooper
Scrittore: Steven Spielberg, Steven Spielberg
Genere: Horror, Thriller
Valutazione: 7.4/10 (14632 voti)
Durata: 114 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Craig T. Nelson .... Steve Freeling
• JoBeth Williams .... Diane Freeling (as Jobeth Williams)
• Beatrice Straight .... Dr. Lesh
• Dominique Dunne .... Dana Freeling
• Oliver Robins .... Robbie Freeling
• Heather O'Rourke .... Carol Anne Freeling
• Michael McManus .... Ben Tuthill
• Virginia Kiser .... Mrs. Tuthill
• Martin Casella .... Dr. Marty Casey (as Marty Casella)
• Richard Lawson .... Ryan

Trama:
A young family are visited by ghosts in their home. At first the ghosts appear friendly, moving objects around the house to the amusement of everyone, then they turn nasty and start to terrorise the family before they "kidnap" the youngest daughter.

Trivia random: Movie on the TV in an early bedroom scene is A Guy Named Joe (1943), a film about a pilot who returns to the world as a ghost. It was later remade by Steven Spielberg into Always (1989).
Citazione random: Diane: We were wondering if you had experienced any... disturbances?::Ben Tuthill: What kind of disturbances?::Diane: Oh, you know... dishes or furniture, moving around by themselves.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.