The Well (2023) by Federico Zampaglione

Director: Federico Zampaglione

Year: 2023

Country: Italy

Alternate Titles: N/A

Genre: Supernatural

Plot:

Arriving in a small town in Italy, a woman brought in to restore a damaged painting before a prestigious auction finds that a special significance in the painting might be the key to unlocking the truth behind a centuries-old curse affecting the house and races to stop it from happening.

Review:

This was a rather fun and enjoyable genre effort. One of the better elements here is the rather strong and intriguing setup that allows for a highly involved storyline to take place. Going with the overly familiar route of a stranger summoned to a place where a creepy legend is residing and getting mixed up in the shenanigans at work allows this one to go for a rather enjoyable time as the pieces start getting revealed as to what’s going on with her arriving at the house to begin restoring the artwork in question. As more and more get repealed during the restoration and what it all means with these elements making more sense through the dreams and hallucinations she has, this begins unraveling involving ancient curses, a returning supernatural evil, and the denizens that are cursed to remain tied to the property which is what she’s stumbled onto. Tied together with the secondary storyline involving the figures she met earlier who are kidnapped and held captive in the underground cell with the monstrous killer that provides some unsettling work throughout here.

With this setup in play, the later hallucinations here involving the work on the painting as the whole thing continues getting more detailed over time, the different stories she hears from the residents of the estate about the true nature of what went on, and how everything comes together with the captives in the basement comes into a genuinely thrilling experience. Taking everything together with how the curse is involved and what the sacrificial victims are meant adds a fantastic depth and urgency to the finale where the fruits of her efforts are revealed and the different figures around her try to ensure everything happens as the figures responsible for the curse to start to try to gruesomely take out those around her including the captives in what are some fantastic scenes as she races through the underground lair to take down these figures and rescue her trapped friends still inside.

With this all taking place in a spectacularly Gothic-style setting with the mansion house where she’s working coming complete with the requisite hidden passageways, secrets in the walls, and the gruesome remains of their experiences living in the cellar, the strong story here has a gripping atmosphere to match the setup. The grimy basement setup and holding cells are exceptionally well done to match the aesthetic, and the creatures involved here have a lot to like when they get involved with the deformed appearance, gruesome strength, and just inhuman dimensions leaving a strong visual as they unleash outright gruesome outcomes as the messy practical effects for the multitude of deaths here make for a wholly fun time overall. The lone drawback is that the finale feels incredibly rushed and over before it really starts with how quickly it’s all resolved but it’s the one lone drawback on display.

Overview: *****/5

A fantastic genre effort without much going wrong, there’s quite a lot to like with this one that it manages to offer up an immensely likable and thrilling effort without too many flaws. Those who are intrigued by this kind of feature, curious about it in general, or are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like while there isn’t much to dislike in this one.