Director: Pupi Avati
Year: 1977
Country: Italy
Alternate Titles: Tutti defunti... tranne i morti
Genre: Giallo; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Forced to sell unusable manuscripts, a struggling writer is tasked with visiting a strange family at their remote mansion in the countryside, which soon places him alongside the eccentric family as the source of a series of grisly slayings that strike the residents while they're gathered there, and he must stop the killings.
Review:
Overall, this was a generally likable if somewhat flawed comic giallo parody. Among the better factors with this one is the rather effective and generally engaging Gothic horror elements from its main setup that provide this with the kind of old-school charm present. The initial setup of the main guy traveling through the countryside trying to sell off a pair of manuscripts that the family believes contain information about their future and going along with the assumption since he needs the sales anyway creates a fun way to bring him out to the remote house, where it’s soon revealed to be in the process of preparing for a funeral. With their patriarch killed and everyone looking for their own way to grieve, this allows him to stay while everyone is trying to get reacquainted and catch up so they don’t let their old insecurities and quirks upset anyone.
As well, this also allows the film to get everyone on the same page in the type of scenario where family members gather at a remote house and get bumped off one by one. This presentation of a group of eccentric and quirky members of the family getting brought into a scenario that’s rife with intriguing aspects here, with the familiar setup of the storyline meaning that the series of quick-shot introductions to the family are good enough to settle who’s who and meaning it can move on to the whole thing taking place in an appropriately Gothic setting. The cramped locations, long hallways, elaborate decorations, and expected furnishings come together to be immensely chilling and creepy, especially when the idea of them finding out they’re trapped inside during a raging thunderstorm with the killer running around killing them off one by one, and overall give the cheesy setup the appropriate kind of setup.
Where this one lives or falls, though, is in the mixing of comedy and giallo, as this contains a lot to like and just as much to dislike in each facet. The idea of the gothic setting being used to bring about the kind of fun, straightforward genre setups and payoffs is a great one, allowing this to play up the traditional element of the black-dressed, whispering killer going around bumping off the family one by one. With the comedy added into the scenarios involving an attempt on one victim who’s so indebted to carrying on with her day they don’t see the daggers flying towards them, another is taken out by being stabbed, which only turns into an incredulous sense of disbelief in their being the next target for the killer, and a hilarious setpiece involving an attempt at poisoning their drink all going to plan.
However, while these gags work, not all of them are as funny as intended. With the grounded tone at play with its period setting, yet an over-the-top sense of whimsy applied to the killings and general setups of everything, there’s a huge disconnect between what’s going on and what type of tone it attempts here. There’s a generally absurd sense of dynamics at play here involving scenes where someone is killed by having dynamite shoved in their mouth, another is found dead inside of a freezer, and another has their hair dryer explode in their face when these are attempted to be taken as a realistic sense, especially with the kooky family also coming into play since they all have their own bizarre character trait that’s all played for laughs more than anything. This is handled well enough to be likable for what it is, even though the change in pace compared to some of the other efforts in the genre might be somewhat difficult to get into.
Overview: ****/5
A really fun if somewhat flawed comedic giallo, there’s a lot to like here that helps to hold this one up over a few minor detrimental issues that are present here holding it down. Those with an appreciation for this kind of genre fare, who appreciate this era of the genre, or who are fans of the creative crew will have the most to like here, while most others out there should heed caution.
This review is part of our ongoing series of reviews for Italian Horror Month, every November on the site:
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