This undeservedly forgotten thriller deals with two estranged and significantly different sisters. Anna (Marina Suma) is a hard-working saxophone player on the verge of a break-through, while her sister Elisabeth (Barbara Cupisti) is a drug user in constant money trouble – something which has seriously strained the relationship between the two sisters.

Elisabeth isn’t just using drugs – she’s also a courier; transporting drugs hidden inside raincoats. After receiving a phone call with instructions on where to pick up her next raincoat, Elisabeth tries to phone Anna but only gets the answering machine. She leaves a message on the machine; pleading with her sister that she urgently needs to talk to her. It isn’t because she needs to borrow money this time, Elisabeth insists, but because she is going to disappear for a while.

Unable to get hold of Anna, Elisabeth goes to pick up the raincoat with drugs but rather than delivering it at the appointed place, she instead leaves the drugs with a strange, unseen woman with a cane. Elisabeth also hides a mysterious book in a shed on the unseen woman’s property before going to her regular hangout place, a bizarre nightclub called Dark Bar, where she is to meet her boyfriend Marco (Richard Hatch). But before she has the chance to meet with Marco, Elisabeth is brutally shot to death in the club’s bathroom by a man dressed in a dark coat and a hat. The killer takes Elisabeth’s bag with the raincoat and locks her corpse in a stall before taking off. But when the killer and his thugs search through the raincoat, they find that both the drugs and Elisabeth’s mysterious book are missing.

In the meantime, Anna returns home after performing at a jazz club and hears the messages Elisabeth has left on her machine. The next day she reluctantly heads to Elisabeth’s apartment and gets worried when she finds the door open the place ramshackled. Listening through Elisabeth’s answering machine, Anna hears some alarming messages; including one from Elisabeth’s friend Stephanie (Patrizia Bettini) with a warning not to come, and several messages from Marco wondering why Elisabeth never met him at the Dark Bar like she was supposed to. Growingly concerned, Anna seeks out Marco to help find her missing sister but unbeknownst to her, Anna herself is in terrible danger as the ruthless killers believe that she is in possession of the stuff Elisabeth has hidden…

A former assistant director on such trashy gems as the porno-giallo PLAY MOTEL (1979), Stelio Fiorenza made his directorial debut with DARK BAR, which he both wrote and directed (from his own story) under the hilarious anglicized pseudonym “Stanley Florency”. Unfortunately, the film apparently didn’t see much distribution outside of Italy and has languished in complete obscurity for years. Which is a terrible shame as this is actually a pretty enjoyable thriller that compares favorably to a lot of the stuff coming out of Italy during the late 1980s. Stelio Fiorenza shows a lot of promise as a director, so it’s highly regrettable that DARK BAR remains his sole feature film effort to date.

Admittedly, the story itself is not particularly fresh or original but it’s told well, and the film is engaging and suspenseful. The first third is particularly effective; setting up the plot and its likeable characters quite well and building up some good excitement as Anna is unknowingly drawn into danger. The final act is probably the weakest, with the mystery being resolved in a climax that isn’t as engaging or satisfactory as it ought to have been. Overall, though, the film holds up pretty well throughout the majority of its running time.

Even though there are some mystery aspects present, DARK BAR probably doesn’t qualify as a real giallo but it does have some traits in common with such late 80s gialli as OBSESSION: A TASTE FOR FEAR (1987) and TOO BEAUTIFUL TO DIE (1988) – mainly its often bizarre styles and fashions. There’s Elisabeth’s phone, which is shaped like a stiletto heel shoe; the screaming red wig that Anna suddenly dons for no good reason; not to mention the bizarre clubbers at the Dark Bar, who all wear punk make-up and weird outfits. There’s a strange eye-motif present throughout the club too: a bald woman clubber has a large eye painted on her shaved head, Elisabeth’s dress is adorned with a bunch of spangles that look like eyes, and all drinks at the Dark Bar are served with ice cubes made to resemble eyeballs.

Technical credits are very solid. Fiorenza shows an impressive eye for visuals and stylish compositions, and Tonino Delli Colli’s cinematography is a great asset for the production. Carlo Siliotto’s musical score earns special points too; shifting from atmospheric jazz music to suspense cues that set the right mood and heightens the tension. The soundtrack also includes an amazingly catchy jazz song named “Dark Haven” (written by Siliotto and Fiorenza, and sung by Karen Jones) that is repeated numerous times. This song fits the mood and atmosphere of the film perfectly and is likely to stay in your head for days afterwards.

The cast is pretty interesting and includes a couple of names that should be familiar to fans of Italian genre cinema – particularly Barbara Cupisti, who many will remember fondly for her leading roles for then-boyfriend Michele Soavi in his excellent slasher STAGEFRIGHT (1987) and not quite as impressive THE CHURCH (1989). Looking really chic and elegant with short hair and a black leather coat, Cupisti’s role is fairly small – with her being killed off less than 15 minutes into the film – but she nevertheless does an impressive job with what little screen time she gets. She manages to convey Elisabeth as a believable character that is troubled and mixed up with bad business but who is ultimately a sympathetic figure. Because Cupisti turns Elisabeth into someone we care for, her brutal fate in the bathroom stall makes that much more of an impact.

Leading lady Marina Suma, known from the crime/action flick SICILIAN CONNECTION and the so-so thriller SWEETS FROM A STRANGER (both 1987), also performs well in the role of Anna; being both likeable, spunky and resourceful heroine. But American actor Richard Hatch – known as Apollo from the original “Battlestar Galactica” series (1978-79) and who also did the Vietnam War films LEATHERNECKS and THE LAST PLATOON (both 1988) in Italy around the same time as this film – isn’t particularly memorable as the male lead. Not because he gives a bad performance but more because he gets very, very little to do. He’s basically just along for the ride as it is Anna who does most of the work.

A few familiar faces show up in supporting roles too: Barbara Cupisti’s lesser-known sister, Olivia, plays a Tarot-reading chick; Lea Martino from the Lamberto Bava flicks YOU’LL DIE AT MIDNIGHT (1986) and GRAVEYARD DISTURBANCE (1987) is one of Cupisti’s friends; and the always enjoyable and frequently uncredited black actor James E.R. Sampson, who was the friendly stagehand in STAGEFRIGHT and the crazy voodoo priest in AFTER DEATH (1988) among others, appears as a cleaner working at the Dark Bar.

Sadly, the only English-language version of DARK BAR in circulation appears to be the Greek VHS, which looks okay but is a little too dark. Hopefully a better version will be made available so that more people can enjoy this film. DARK BAR isn’t a spectacular or outstanding effort but it’s a surprisingly enjoyable and nice little thriller. Well worth checking out!

3/5 BITCH SLAPS

2008 @ CINEMA NOCTURNA