Check out the review of Edgar Allan Poe's Black Cats - Two Adaptations by Sergio Martino and Lucio Fulci below:
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key
Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is definitely not a film for everyone. Its a twisted little murder mystery that is a rather rough film that was smoothed over slightly thanks to good acting, great music, and solid direction. However, the story contains many elements that are not very logical. The film sets out to be a great murder mystery based on the 'The Black Cat" story from Edgar Allan Poe. Unfortunately in order to throw people off on who the killer might be a lot of not entirely logical events happen. In particular, the ending twist creates a very muddy reasoning for prior events. Despite all of its faults, the greatest achievement of this film is its uniquely sleazy, tense, and other worldly feel and atmosphere that maintains throughout the film.
Your Vice is the type of film that can be difficult to watch because it generally lacks any respectable or likable characters. The male lead of the film is a rather horrible and despicable person who throughout the runtime is viciously abusive to his wife and sexually predatory towards other woman. So it is difficult to watch his exploits because they seem unnecessary to the story of the film for most of the film. As well, the way in which the events unfold the film doesn't directly place the male character in bad light for his horrendous actions. As such it gives off the appearance that his actions are ok. Fortunately the ending of the film partially rectifies this problem. As such the film is a little outdated and might not have too wide of an appeal. It feels very much of its time.
Despite some story and character difficulties, the film is technically very well done. One well done aspect is the mood of the film, which maintains a feel of dread throughout most of the runtime. Another positive aspect is that it appears to be a more enjoyable viewing experience after repeated watches because once you know the full story some of the lesser aspects make a tiny bit more sense when viewing. As such the positive elements of the film stand out more resulting in a more enjoyable viewing.
Ultimately, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key is a decent film that despite some of its genuine artistic merits, has some problems that drag down the film. Specifically, some illogical actions taken in order for the story to support multiple false ends in determining who the killer is. Some of the bright spots of the film are the general mood and atmosphere that is maintained throughout the runtime. Overall the film will likely appeal to fans of this particular genre but have far less appeal to fans outside of the genre.
Special Features:
-Through the Keyhole - A brand new interview with director Sergio Martino: The interview with the director discusses the film's production, how the director's appreciation of the film has changed and grown over the years, and the director's other films. In particular, the director discusses his film Torso and describes it as one of his best films that is still satisfying to this day. Overall a strong interview with the director.
-Unveiling the Vice - making-of retrospective featuring interviews with Sergio Martino, star Edwige Fenech, and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi: An older feature that is more focused on this film but also discusses other films that the interviewees were involved with. The most informative information comes from Ernesto Gastaldi as he discusses his involvement and intentions. it is the most informative because all the other interviewed are showcased in other special features so not too much differing information is divulged here.
-Dolls of Flesh and Blood: The Gialli of Sergio Martino - a visual essay by Michael Mckenzie exploring the director's unique contributions to the giallo genre: A very interesting talk about Giallo films in general and Sergio Martino's Gialli specifically. Very informative for people who might not be too familiar with the Giallo genre or Martino's Giallo output. This piece discusses all five of Martino's Gialli,
-The Strange Vices of Ms. Fenech - film historian Justin Harries on the Your Vice actress' prolific career: A slightly different type of feature with the speaker on screen and shot with a fish eye lens. It can be a little distracted but overall not too bad once you get used to it. The overview of Fenech's career is very well done and is broken done in different phases, including her Giallo phase.
-Eli Roth on Your Vice and the genius of Martino: A solid appreciation feature on the film and Martino's other films. He discusses the film, Martino's other films, the culture of the time the films were made, and the types of influence Martino's films had on his own.
Black Cat
As a lesser Fulci film from the same period as his most well known and liked films, The Beyond and Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Black Cat is often overlooked. This is unfortunate as the film on its own, disregarding other surrounding factors, is quite a fun little film that deserves more credit that it is given. While it is not as good as the two previously noted films, The Black Cat does have some genuinely well done aspects that make it worthy of more recognition. The main attraction of the film is the mood. This film is not your typical Fulci gross-out, gore-filled horror film. Rather it is more of a throwback horror film that focuses more on mood and implied terror rather than extreme in your face violence.
The film is only loosely influenced by Poe's classic tale "The Black Cat". The influences are mainly limited to the black cat itself and the ending. In the film the black cat itself is the living manifestation of a characters anger and evil thoughts. As such, the mystery of the film revolves around the multiple murders occurring in the small village and who is the killer. Overall the story in the film is not all that great or logical but it is active enough in developing a strong mood that is felt throughout the runtime which makes up for some of its faults. For those fans that are not too found of the slowed paced classical horror, you might have some trouble getting through The Black Cat, as that is the backbone of the film with only the occasional quick scenes of violence and gore.
If Fulci was not the director it is possible that this film would have some more fans. The film itself is very solid but differs from the directors other well liked films of the period. With far less gruesome scenes, The Black Cat is a lot tamer than Fulci's more popular films. As such, audiences who are waiting for the more gruesome elements to show up will be disappointed. It should be noted that The Black Cat does have some good gore scenes but they are real short. Unlike his other work, Fulci did not linger on the scenes of carnage for very long in The Black Cat. In some ways it is a little disappointing but it is possible that longer scenes of gore in The Black Cat might have taken away from the atmosphere of film.
In the end The Black Cat is a film that is both benefited by and detracted by the presence of Lucio Fulci. It benefits from him in that the film is able to carry a strong mood through out the film along with a spooky atmosphere. All of which are traits that can be found in his other better and more liked films. His presence detracts from the film in that it brings about certain expectations from fans, especially when considering that during this time period of the director's career he made two most famous films, Zombie Flesh Eaters and The Beyond. Overall The Back Cat is a solid throwback horror film that focuses more on atmosphere than violence so adjust your expectations accordingly.
Special Features:
-Audio Commentary by filmmaker and Fangoria editor Chris Alexander: A decent commentary that is filled with some interesting information but the most of it is only tangentially related to the film. The individual doing the commentary even admits that they haven't seen the film in a lot time and never really had the opportunity to talk with anyone involved with the film about the film. As such the commentary can be good at times but the filler between interesting information can get a little annoying.
-Poe into Fulci: The Spirit of Perverseness - film historian Stephen Thrower on Fulci's Poe-tinged classic: An informative feature that details the film in relation to Fulci's other films of the same period, how relevant the Poe classic is or isn't to the film, and the reception of the film. Overall a lot of good information is passed on in this feature.
-In the Paw-Prints of The Black Cat - a look at the original Black Cat locations: A fun little feature that show the primary locations of the film in current time. It is interesting to see that the majority of the locations did not change.
-Frightened Dagmar - a career interview with actress Dagmar Lassander: This interview discusses the actresses career along with side behind the scenes tidbits on some films. Worth watching if you are a fan of the actress or if you recognize her from her many films she did.
-At Home with David Warbeck - an archive interview with The Black Cat star: This is a packed interview that discusses his whole career with some questions focusing on The Black Cat. Overall a very informative interview that discusses just about all of the films he was involved with. The only downside is that it looks like a video tapped interview meaning that the visual and audio quality are not that good.
-Original Theatrical Trailer
No comments:
Post a Comment