I love Lenzi's gialli offerings, or at least the one's I have experiences! I still need to see KNIFE OF ICE and A QUIET PLACE TO KILL. SPASMO and EYEBALL are some of my more favorite gialli viewings. Two very stylish yet, odd in nature but still very effective in the payoff!
It's been a long time since I first seen his SO SWEET... SO PERVERSE (1969), was that not just recently issued on DVD again??
I absolutely loved Freda's brilliant I VAMPRI! Now, what was the deal with Bava being uncredited for with this again? I know he had something to do with the overall direction, but what's the full story on that again?
Any opinions about this more recent giallo? I've heard some bad things but when I found it dirt cheap on eBay, I couldn't resist the temptation of picking it up. Figured I need to give some of the more recent horrer/thriller stuff a chance too. Still waiting for it to arrive and I'm not quite sure what to expect of it but at least it has a pretty good cast that includes famous transsexual Eva Robins from TENEBRAE (1982) and the good-looking Elisabetta Rocchietti, who has been cropping up in a lot of horror stuff like THE THREE FACES OF TERROR (2004), DO YOU LIKE HITCHCOCK? (2005) and THE LAST HOUSE IN THE WOODS (2006). Not to mention supporting roles by Florinda Bolkan and Franco Nero! Anyone here seen it?
Interesting looking film out of Italy with Irish/Spanish co-financiers. Directed by Italian SFX man Stefano Bessoni.
In the 1600s, long before the invention of photography, a scientist named Girolamo Fumagalli was obsessed with the idea of reproducing images. He discovered that by killing a victim and removing the victim's eyeballs, it was possible to reproduce on paper the last image imprinted on that person's retinas. He named this technique 'thanatography'. Today, the same kind of gruesome ritual and abominable crime recurs within the walls of an international school of cinema. -imdb.com
Also stars the daughter of Charlie Chapman, Geraldine Chaplin as well as her daughter Oona.
Well, it seems this is yet another Argento flick that is taking a beating in the review department. Even die hard fans are not too pleased with this outing. Anyhow, the PAL R2 DVD is now out via a Polish company that found it important to force the Polish subs!
Looks like this will be getting a UK release first via Arrow Films! I still haven't seen this, it was on my radar during last year's Midnight Madness during the Toronto Film Fest. The disc will be released March 15th..
I'd love to grab this, but for now I'm holding off on the Blu-Ray player for now, too unstable industry right now. Plus, the multi-region player are way too expensive!
CAST-REBECCA BALDING, CAMERON MITCHELL, BARBARA STEELE, AVERY SCHREIBER, STEVE DOUBT and BRAD REARDEN.
SOURCE-SCORPION DVD (NTSC REGION 0 / 87 MINS)
I must admit this interesting 80's slasher from director Denny Harris certainly has been hiding under the radar for years. This was one of those bulk viewings back in the day when we'd rent a pile of horror flicks that were new to another new format at the time, VHS. Yes, you remember those bulky plastic cases with bundles of viewing joys enclosed in them? Though, being a good almost 30 years since last sitting down to watch this odd flick, it was certainly a bright treat indeed catching up with this new DVD release from Scorpion. There was so much I had forgotten much about SILENT SCREAM, other then remembering really enjoying it and for it's classic cast of Barbara Steele, Cameron Mitchell and Avery Schreiber among others. There are things that really stand out, and there are those that were certainly almost new to me during this revisit. The fact that this was in fact an extremely low budgeted film for that time, though giving the look of the film itself and the cast for the most part, that really didn't show at all. Also, first learning that they in fact re-shot much of the original to better piece the whole feature together.
So why bother grabbing the DVD for a film that pretty much has gone unnoticed for almost 30 years, and not remembering much of it? Well, like mentioned already, the cast. How can you go wrong with the likes of Barbara Steele and Cameron Mitchell in the same film, that alone was enough for me to want to revisit this. The rest was just all added bonus. The story itself is a basic one following a group of college students, four in this, two of which finally finding a place to border during the school year. The house in question is an old creepy mansion sitting along the cliff side giving way to the beachside and ocean. The mansion itself owed by the Engel's family, holds a deep dark secret lurking inside it's walls.
Now, by today's standards in horror, SILENT SCREAM is pretty tamed in much of it's horror related presentation. From the low body count, to the gore and special effects. Of course now of this matters though, one must not forget this was also a low budgeted film in the first place. The real treat is the casting in which was brought together to pull this sucker off. TV actors mostly fill the main cast which includes the very slim and spunky young actor Rebecca Balding who plays our main character of Scotty Parker, fresh in town, dying to find that last minute residence for the school year. Steve Doubet who plays opposite to Rebecca as the eventual love interest. The there is the highly unusual character of Mason Engels who certainly has some issues, almost feeding you a red-herring of sorts. Though all of these main cast members have been strictly seem in various TV roles, they certainly do a great job hammering out this low budget offering. Completely believable and at times you really try to feel for their fate, though the same can't be said for the short outing of the character Peter Ransom, a spoiled preppy geek looking for a quick time with one of the other roomies, Doris only to have a quick exit more like it. Still, there is reason why, the role seemed completely miscast, so making it easy to cull the easy pickings. Yes, first kill!
The meat of the film comes via the short comings of the heavy hitters though, the vets if you will. The pairing of Cameron Mitchell and Avery Schreiber work perfectly. Bouncing off each other completely in synch as two police detectives covering the murders taking place around the Engel mansion. Always a delight to sit through a low budgeted effort starting the likes of Mitchell no matter how much of a role he has. Now, even bigger of an attraction to SILENT SCREAM is the the classic scream queen herself, Barbara Steele. What makes her role of Mason's deranged psycho killer of a sister, is that her role consists of no virtually no dialogue. No worries there though, with Steele's cold icy glares that pierce your skin with shivers are enough to enough her disjointed outing. Offered up only in small excerpts, there is still plenty to enough and fear. As the atmosphere is heightened when Steele enters the equation.
It was a complete delight to watch the recent DVD release from Scorpion of SILENT SCREAM on so many levels. To the wonderful job they did in bringing the film to the digital age and look. The print is both lush in look and sound, bringing to life and 80's slasher to a whole new generation of horror buffs. With all the great things surrounding the disc's main feature, the extras are as equally as abundant. There is a gold mine of features here, from the main offering of a 30's Years look back with SILENT SCREAM'S brother writing team Ken Wheat and Jim Wheat who are joined by the film's main actor Rebecca Balding. Who also offering an audio commentary for the DVD as well. Also, there is a look at the film's original script before the re-shoot with the Wheat Brothers. A look at the career of the Wheat Brothers. Though the pinnacle of the extras is the rare and very last audio interview with SILENT SCREAM'S director Denny Harris who died shortly after the interviews itself. Rounding out the rest of the extra goodies are the film's original trailer and TV spot.
So, if you are a fan of those classic low budget 80's slashers or horror flicks for that matter, this is certainly a gem for your collection.
SILENT SCREAM 
I must admit this interesting 80's slasher from director Denny Harris certainly has been hiding under the radar for years. This was one of those bulk viewings back in the day when we'd rent a pile of horror flicks that were new to another new format at the time, VHS. Yes, you remember those bulky plastic cases with bundles of viewing joys enclosed in them? Though, being a good almost 30 years since last sitting down to watch this odd flick, it was certainly a bright treat indeed catching up with this new DVD release from Scorpion. There was so much I had forgotten much about SILENT SCREAM, other then remembering really enjoying it and for it's classic cast of Barbara Steele, Cameron Mitchell and Avery Schreiber among others. There are things that really stand out, and there are those that were certainly almost new to me during this revisit. The fact that this was in fact an extremely low budgeted film for that time, though giving the look of the film itself and the cast for the most part, that really didn't show at all. Also, first learning that they in fact re-shot much of the original to better piece the whole feature together. 
effects. Of course now of this matters though, one must not forget this was also a low budgeted film in the first place. The real treat is the casting in which was brought together to pull this sucker off. TV actors mostly fill the main cast which includes the very slim and spunky young actor Rebecca Balding who plays our main character of Scotty Parker, fresh in town, dying to find that last minute residence for the school year. Steve Doubet who plays opposite to Rebecca as the eventual love interest. The there is the highly unusual character of Mason Engels who certainly has some issues, almost feeding you a red-herring of sorts. Though all of these main cast members have been strictly seem in various TV roles, they certainly do a great job hammering out this low budget offering. Completely believable and at times you really try to feel for their fate, though the same can't be said for the short outing of the character Peter Ransom, a spoiled preppy geek looking for a quick time with one of the other roomies, Doris only to have a quick exit more like it. Still, there is reason why, the role seemed completely miscast, so making it easy to cull the easy pickings. Yes, first kill! 
The meat of the film comes via the short comings of the heavy hitters though, the vets if you will. The pairing of Cameron Mitchell and Avery Schreiber work perfectly. Bouncing off each other completely in synch as two police detectives covering the murders taking place around the Engel mansion. Always a delight to sit through a low budgeted effort starting the likes of Mitchell no matter how much of a role he has. Now, even bigger of an attraction to SILENT SCREAM is the the classic scream queen herself, Barbara Steele. What makes her role of Mason's deranged psycho killer of a sister, is that her role consists of no virtually no dialogue. No worries there though, with Steele's cold icy glares that pierce your skin with shivers are enough to enough her disjointed outing. Offered up only in small excerpts, there is still plenty to enough and fear. As the atmosphere is heightened when Steele enters the equation. 
