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MacabroRating:
Release Date: 29 May, 2001 Retail Price: $29.98 OUR Price: $26.98 You SAVE: $3.00! |
Macabro Reviews
A tasty bit of horror
Lamberto Bava boasts impressive credentials in the world of Italian horror. His father Mario directed a number of seminal genre pictures, including "Black Sunday," "Twitch of the Death Nerve," and "Lisa and the Devil." Before he passed away in 1980, Mario Bava assisted his son in establishing his own directing credentials. Lamberto Bava went on to collaborate with Dario Argento on the gore classic "Demons." For one of his first films, "Macabro," Lamberto Bava reflected the influences of his famous father while striking out with his own ideas of what a scary film should look and feel like. His father lived long enough to see this film, telling his son that he could die a happy man knowing his boy had a knack for making movies. Some fans claim "Macabro" is a poor effort at horror, marred by a slow pace and an unrealistic ending. Personally, I found this movie to be one of the best Italian horror films I have seen in ages. It's scary, gory, and downright disturbing. That's not to say there aren't several problems with the movie, but kudos should go to Lamberto Bava for giving us this frightening picture.
Jane Baker (Bernice Stegers) lives a secret double life. Her public life includes duties as a housewife, mother, and loving wife. She's got two kids: a bizarre, sinister young daughter named Lucy (Veronica Zinny) and a baby boy. Her husband never seems to be around the house, so Jane, in an effort to spice up a boring existence, steps outside the marriage. The rendezvous at a boardinghouse with Fred (Roberto Posse) forms the core of her second, secret life. A few times a week Jane and Fred meet for a few hours of tranquility. One day Lucy Baker decides to check up on her mother after finding a phone number in a little black book. She dials the number, which just happens to be the room at the boardinghouse, and mockingly sneers at her mother. In an effort to get attention-we guess this is the case since Bava never gives us an adequate explanation-Lucy commits a horrible crime. Another phone call to the boardinghouse about this "accident" results in Jane and Fred racing through the streets of the city in an effort to get to the Baker house. The resulting car accident takes Fred's life.
Flash forward a year as Jane Baker strolls out the front doors of a hospital. The shock of losing two people she loved on the same day not surprisingly resulted in a nervous breakdown for this conflicted woman. Events a year ago have shattered the poor woman's life, increasing by degrees the sense of emptiness and boredom she has always felt. Jane has done something peculiar, however, by continuing to rent the room at the boardinghouse where her assignations with Fred took place. The woman who owned the house has since passed away, but her blind son Robert Duval (Stanko Molnar) now owns the building and is willing to allow Jane to stay there as a permanent resident. Baker spends her days lounging around the room or drifting through town, a depressed woman with an aimless life. Occasionally, Lucy comes over and fires off veiled insults, and there's a bit of excitement as Jane sporadically exploits Duval's physical interest in her, but life is still dreary nonetheless. Oh, one thing does ease Baker's malaise. From time to time, she unlocks a freezer in the kitchen, takes something out of it, and is happy minutes later. What the object is and what Jane Baker does with it is truly merits the title "Macabro." The conclusion, with its horrifying revelations, is a shocker.
I really got a kick out of this movie. The pace of the film, a pace that moves very slowly but deliberately, hits just the right stride in building tension. I generally enjoyed the characters as well. Lucy is a frightening child, and the actress who plays her nails down the eerie traits of the character quite well. Jane Baker is outright odd, a strange duck who, as played by Bernice Stegers, excellently conveys both emotional detachment and over the top madness. Even the Robert Duval character is interesting. Here's a guy who can't see a thing but still figures out what's going on in the house, much to his everlasting detriment. The atmosphere of the movie helps, too. "Macabro" takes place in New Orleans, an environment suggested mostly by the languid, moody jazz score. What doesn't work as well is the sudden shift to the supernatural during the shock conclusion and the dubbed voices of Jane Baker and Lucy. The daughter, sometimes amusing but more often hard on the ear, has a southern accent so over the top that she sounds like Scarlett O'Hara. The voiceovers often tend to act as a distraction to what's going on in the movie. Despite these slight problems, Bava's film is massively disturbing even as it entertains.
Extras on the DVD include a trailer, an eight-minute interview with Lamberto Bava, and a biography of the director. A couple of caveats about these extras are in order. One, the trailer includes gives away too much of the plot, so be careful about watching it before you see the film. Second, Bava tells the story about his father saying this movie would allow him to pass on a happy man. The son claims that his father did say it, but that he had a rather morbid sense of humor and probably meant it as a joke. This humorous anecdote aside, "Macabro" is a great film, full of suspense, a bit of gore, and shocking scenes. It's a must have for fans of Italian horror, and a must see for aficionados of horror in general.
Ahead of the competion.
Lamberto Bava is best remembered for the comic strip gore of his DEMONS films, but this chilling low-budgeter is his real masterpiece. Definitely adult in tone, it places the emphasis on atmosphere and character development. There are no flashy pyro-technics, and the story unfolds as a disturbing study in sexual obsession, necrophilia and jealousy. Commendably, Bava doesn't let the film slide into bad taste eroticism, even when the central character's secret is revealed. The performances - particularly from British actress Bernice Stegers - are good, cutting through the Southern drawls of the English language dub. Picture quality is impressive, enhancing the film's excellent use of muted colours and lighting. However, Bava's recollections in the featured interview are a bit confused: child actress Veronica Zinny is the sister of DEMONS star Karl Zinny, not Urbano Barberini. If you like your horror films morbid, sickly and creepily compelling,this under-appreciated classic is an essential addition to your collection.
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