Director: Riccardo Freda
Year: 1981
Country: Italy/France
Alternate Titles: Follia Omicida; L'ossessione che uccide; Murder Syndrome; Fear; Satan's Altar; The Wailing
Genre: Giallo
Plot:
Needing to take a break, a troubled actor and his girlfriend decide to visit his mother at her house to regroup with her and the staff of his latest film, but when his older psychological issues come to the forefront stalling his progress a killer knocking them off one by one further hinders his purpose for being there.
Review:
There’s quite a lot to like with this one. One of the more impressive facets of this one is the highly involved and enjoyable storyline that gives everything a lot of depth. The initial setup of having the breakdown on the movie set and the need to visit his mother at her home is quite fun as this sets up several somewhat intriguing stories to follow. That their relationship is shown to border on the Oedipal once the backstory about how he became so troubled is revealed gives this a great start much like his girlfriend’s relationship with her comes about, and the interactions with the crew when they arrive to help him get through it have a real Gothic melodrama approach to things.
That provides the proper setup for the film to revel in equally appropriate Gothic imagery and atmosphere. The whole idea of the remote house in the middle of nowhere with questionable electricity and requiring the use of candelabras for exploring wind-swept hallways and billowing curtains are full-on hallmarks of the genre that is played nicely here. The main sequence, where an elaborate dream sequence involving a character chased by massive spiders into a candle-lit cave where the preparations of a Satanic cult perform a ritual on them is a pure throwback to the material from that period which cements the truly effective use of Gothic setpieces here.
The other really enjoyable factor here is the inclusion of the more traditional Giallo elements into this kind of story. The series of suspenseful stalking scenes usually found here is quite downplayed in favor of more overt shock ambushes where victims are attacked in a bathtub, a chase outside in the woods through a driving rainstorm and a fun rapid-fire sequence where several victims stumble upon the killer in random locations which allows them to get knocked off in graphic fashion as this gets pretty brutal with its kills. Alongside the solid narrative that provides some solid red herrings at a steady enough pace to remain interesting, there’s a lot to like with this one.
The film does have some minor issues present here. The main drawback is the unnecessarily overly complicated storyline that does well with mixing some elements together but also has too many factors involved. It’s not necessary to include a character with psychic powers and a Satanic ceremony into this kind of datura where they’re not needed and end up feeling awkwardly shoehorned into the story as there’s very little connection to the rest of the story. As well, the other drawback is the series of rather underwhelming special effects for so much of the gore or the flashback sequence which makes it quite cheesier than it really is, overall lowering this one slightly.
Overview: ****.5/5
A highly impressive and enjoyable genre effort, the mixing of Gothic tropes with Giallo touches and a great story make this an underrated pick on the whole. Those who are curious about the presentation, appreciate any of the features utilized here, or are fans of the creative crew will like this one while those who are turned off by the style should heed caution.
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