DarioArgento

[Written by HS staffer Luke Mullen, who isn't in our system but will be soon.]

Horror Squad's own Alison Nastasi alerted eager horror fans to the impending release of a Blu-ray edition of Suspiria first announced way back in November. The new disc was released about a month ago and is currently available in the UK courtesy of Cine-Excess, a new arm of Nouveaux Pictures. I ordered a copy the day it came out and have been looking forward to really digging into it to see what it has to offer. I should mention up front that this Blu-ray disc is region B locked, meaning that it will NOT play in a US PS3 or other standalone Blu-ray players. It will ONLY play in region B machines, which are used in Europe, and in region-free players.

I'm not going to summarize Suspiria, or really talk about the film itself much at all. If you're reading Horror Squad, I would hope you've heard of it even if you may not have seen it. If by some chance you've been living under a rock for the last 30 or so years, though, Suspiria is an Italian horror film set in Germany and filmed in English directed by Dario Argento, a member of the holy trinity of Italian horror masters alongside Mario Bava and Lucio Fulci. Suspiria is easily one of Argento's best, and if you haven't seen it, you really should take the time to check it out.

What follows is a fairly in-depth look at the Blu-ray, feel free to skip to the end for a more succinct summary with less technical jargon.

Chiller Theatre is hosting the Italian Invasion II in Parsippany, NJ for the April 16-18 horror convention and have lined up a trio of directors who Italian horror enthusiasts will be foaming at the mouth to see. Ruggero Deodato (Cannibal Holocaust), Sergio Martino (Torso) and Lamberto Bava (Demons) will all be appearing at the fiendish gathering along with a slew of other horror greats.

Joining the directors will be actors Francesca Ciardi and Carl Gabriel Yorke (Cannibal Holocaust), Geretta Geretta (Demons) and Irene Miracle (Inferno). You won't find the splatterific trio of helmers together very often so this is a rare treat for fans of the genre -- making this an event you won't want to miss.

I recently had the opportunity to interview Demons actress Geretta Geretta, who played a netherworldly creature set loose in a movie theater in Lamberto Bava's cult classic. Get to know her better after the jump.

There's a new generation of giallo filmmakers who are continuing to expand upon the genre's presence, in Italy and beyond. Giallo is ever growing and evolving but has always been a hybrid of genres, most notably, horror, thriller and detective story. Stylish and seductive, giallo is an elaborate and symbolic exploration into a world of dreams and nightmares and one filmmaker, Davide Melini, hopes to carry on the genre's tradition in his own unique way with his latest film, The Sweet Hand of the White Rose. This project comes not long after a successful short, The Puzzle. There's more on that after the jump.

"You Cannot Run from Fate," reads the tagline on the new one sheet for White Rose and from the look of things so far it doesn't seem like I'd want to. The film was written, directed and produced by Melini over the course of about a year and stars Carlos Bahos, Natasha Machuca and Leocricia Sabán. When Mark (Bahos) and his girlfriend (Sabán) get into a heated argument he takes off in his car not realizing that he will soon make a mistake that will change his life forever. The former Assistant Director for giallo legend, Dario Argento, shot the 16 minute film in Spain on a budget of only 2000 Euros (about $2,700).

Hit the jump for The Sweet Hand of the White Rose trailer, the full length short film The Puzzle, and my review.

Image Entertainment has acquired rights to John Michael Elfers' feature debut, Finale, which is being described as an homage to Dario Argento's Suspiria. Skeptical anyone?

In Finale, a family struggles to come to grips with the bizarre circumstances surrounding the death of their oldest son. Black paint was found covering every mirror in the house, a trap was set in his bedroom and a strange woman from his past haunts the cemetery where he is buried. The boy's mother, Helen, starts to investigate into his past, but her quest for information threatens to ruin the life of her daughter and her own sanity.

Image is planning a May release for Finale, which was sold by former distributor, Jinga, who have just added the Italian horror film, Shadow, to their slate. The film stars Jake Muxworthy, Karina Testa, Chris Coppola and Nuot Arquint. Federico Zampaglione directs the story about an American Iraq War vet who escapes his battle weary past in the Alps. After learning about the myth surrounding a Nazi experiment camp from a mysterious woman, he is no sooner trapped by hunters who plunge the former soldier into a living nightmare.

Lots of surreal nightmare worlds and intrigue. You game?

A lot of American horror fans were jealous last month when European viewers got a spiffy new Blu-ray version of Dario Argento's Suspiria. I was one of them. If ever there was a film that screamed to be seen in the Blu-ray format, it's Suspiria--those colors, those scene compositions...they'd be absolutely gorgeous.

The good news is, it looks as though we're about to have our wish fulfilled. FEARnet posted a story last night, with a link to a fascinating article in American Cinematographer talking with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli about the process of coming up with the film's striking visual look. The lengthy piece alone would be newsworthy, but as FEARnet points out, there's an exciting tidbit buried in the middle of the piece that hints at a brand spanking new Blu-ray version of what is arguably Argento's greatest film.

"Tovoli recently revisited Suspiria at Technicolor Rome to supervise a new HD transfer, which will result in a Blu-ray release this spring."

The cinematographer assures us that every effort has been made to maintain the visual look of the original film, but warns that even the best digitally mastered film will never compare to the original.

I can live with that, personally, because Suspiria on Blu-ray should still look better than any other version of the film currently available. There's no official word on this new version coming out in America, but c'mon--if there's a Blu-ray of Suspiria with a completely re-mastered digital transfer, it's almost assuredly going to make its way to the States at some point. Maybe this will be the disc that finally convinces me to break down and buy a Blu-ray player...

If you're familiar with my giallo column, then I probably don't need to tell you how ridiculously excited I am for the French neo-giallo film, Amer. Director team Bruno Forzani and Helene Cattet had a successful festival run, winning five awards, and are releasing three clips from the film for French TV to promote the theatrical release. The first clip was premiered exclusively by Bloody-Disgusting and you can watch it here after the jump. I'm desperate to find out more about a US theatrical date but that info seems to be hiding as soundly as the killer in Amer's clip.

Stylistic associations between Amer and the Italian thrillers of the 70's are obvious so far: lurid lighting, a nefarious black-gloved figure, wicked score and intense cuts focusing on the eyes. This particular clip is reminiscent of a wonderful scene in Dario Argento's Suspiria, which is sadly being remade by David Gordon Green and set to start shooting this year. In Argento's film, a young American ballet dancer, Suzy Banyon (Jessica Harper), arrives at a prestigious European dance academy and eventually discovers that the school is merely a front for something far more sinister. Suzy befriends fellow dancer Sara (Stefania Casini) who becomes hunted by a killer. Sara tries to escape and locks herself in a room and is tormented by the slow reveal of a gleaming knife blade through the crack in the door as it methodically toys with the latch to open it. The scene is slow, deliberate and terrifying--only to be followed by Sara escaping the room through a small window and landing in a mass of razor wire. The film teeters on dream and reality and it looks like Amer may be following suit. If a creepy, taxidermied paw-like thing reaching through a door to open it doesn't jostle you, then you have no soul.

Click on to read the film's description and watch the trailer.

Clips of seventies era go-go psychedelia juxtaposed with a naked, beating heart. Our swingin' hero, Roberto, is stalked by a mysterious figure in dark glasses. Within minutes of the opening, Roberto accidentally murders him. From on high, in some decaying theater, a masked predator captures it all on film. Before long, Roberto is wandering through a lazy miasma of sex, blood, and blackmail in the slow motion nightmare of Dario Argento's Four Flies on Grey Velvet.

This is indeed 180 proof, distilled giallo. I have to admit, my education in the genre is lacking. I've seen a handful, but far from most, of the big hitters - Twitch of the Death Nerve, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, etc. If you'll allow me a bit of heresy - something that may well get me excommunicated from Horrorsquad - I've never really appreciated them. Giallo just hasn't done it for me. Much of it seems like a thriller without the thrills, specifically with Argento. Sure, there are all manner of horrible murders and spooky goings-on, but it never has really grabbed me. While Four Flies... may not be the best of the breed, it certainly is a manifestation of everything I've come to expect from Italy circa 1971.

My friends on the other side of the pond often feel unlucky when theatrical releases for highly anticipated films take their sweet time. But now they can feel lucky about one thing. Dario Argento's classic film, Suspiria, will get a UK Blu-ray release January 18, 2010. This exciting news comes courtesy of Nouveaux Pictures and Cine-Excess, who also recently acquired rights to part of Roger Corman's film catalog. The new high def transfer will also be available on DVD.

Special features on the disc include:

--Audio commentary by leading Dario Argento experts Alan Jones and Kim Newman.

--Fear at 400 Degrees: The Cine-Excess of Suspiria--a documentary featuring director Dario Argento and composer Claudio Simonetti

--Suspiria Perspectives--featuring Claudio Simonetti, Norman J. Warren and Patricia McCormack

No audio/video specifications and region coding is known at this time.

In Suspiria, a young American ballet dancer, Suzy Banyon, arrives at a prestigious European dance academy run by the mysterious Madame Blanc and Miss Tanner. After a series of bizarre occurrences, Suzy eventually discovers that the school is merely a front for something far more sinister. The film is the first in the Three Mothers trilogy and is generally regarded as his best work. Don't cut me for saying that Deep Red fans--for me they're both amazing.

With the Suspiria remake set to start shooting in 2010, I'm hoping someone will release a US Blu-ray version around the same time to remind director David Gordon Green why he should stick to films like George Washington and Pineapple Express.

Encounters of the Spooky Kind, directed by Sammo Hung, 1980
Even though I am slightly obsessed with Takashi Miike, my experience with Asian horror has been somewhat limited and often disappointing. I was pleasantly surprised to come across Encounters of the Spooky Kind which was my favorite film of the three mentioned in this post. This film is a near perfect blend of horror, comedy and kung fu--a seriously fun combination. Director Sammo Hung is credited as one of the directors who spearheaded the Hong Kong New Wave genre in the 80's. He also started the vampire-like (more zombie, really) Jiang Shi genre which consists of reanimated corpses that hop (literally) around and cause trouble. Hung also stars in the lead role of Bold Cheung and his performance is brilliant mix of physical comedy and goofball appeal.

In Encounters of the Spooky Kind, Bold Cheung suspects his wife of having an affair but what he doesn't suspect is that the other man is Master Tam , a powerful government official. When Tam is almost caught in Cheung's bed, he decides having Cheung around is too risky and hires a nasty Taoist priest to kill him. Meanwhile the cocky and bold Cheung accepts a bet to spend the night at a temple where he encounters strange, undead creatures and battles the evil magic being thwarted against him at every turn by the men set out to kill him.

Encounters is heavier on the horror elements and comedy than it is on the kung fu but that just made the fight scenes more worth it for me. Though the pace lags in part, stick with it because this highly entertaining, kick-butt-combo of a film has enough laughs and charm to make it a commendable addition to your horror queue.