Posts by Rob Wrigley

One cannot help but feel disappointment on viewing Michele Soavi's second film, the 1988 film The Church (aka La Chiesa, Demons 3: Demon Cathedral). Produced by Soavi mentor Dario Argento, and written by the director, Argento, and Lamberto Bava, it promisese much. Despite its striking visuals, flashes of gore, and violent vignettes, it seems a let down compared to the rest of his work.(read more...)

There's a phrase they use down south, "too clever by a half" that may well describe Michael Haneke, director and writer of the Austrian thriller Funny Games. The film starts out as a tough, grueling tale of home invasion. It has a moment of grief as its centerpiece that is as heartbreaking as anything ever filmed. Then it throws a curve ball at the audience that unravels everything into a ball of hypocrisy.(read more...)

Deep Red (AKA Profundo Rosso), Dario Argento's 1975 uber-giallo is, more than any other film, the cornerstone of the director's work. Written with the help of Bernardino Zapponi, shot in vivid, hyper-real color, and scored with ear-rattling rock-and-roll, it is a thriller like none before and few since.(read more...)

One of the most depressing aspects of the Slasher films of the 80's was its penchant for franchises. It was not enough to craft a scary film that could stand on its own. There also had to be a colorful killer and a vapid plot, both of which can be resurrected again and again is an endless series of sequels. While studios promoted these films as product, better, and more ambitious films languished without an ad-campaign or an audience. Case in point is Anguish (AKA Angustia), the 1986 film written and directed by Spain's Bigas Luna. Recently released on DVD by Anchor Bay, it is revealed to be an overlooked gem.(read more...)