Euro Cult

Not a bad WIP film and Franco's trademark zooming is kept to the minimum. Not great but not bad either.

The Beast is an adept title for this curious piece of Eurosleaze which opens with several shots of copulating horses and close-ups of their "throbbing" genitalia. The perversity level is then ratcheted up during the film with memorable scenes including a female masturbation sequence that brings a new meaning to the term "green fingers" and an unbelievably twisted beast-woman "romp".

The film caused quite a stir on its release and it's not difficult to see why given its content. Some will no doubt bin this within the first 10 minutes but if you are someone who likes to explore cinema on the fringes then this is certainly worth a look.

Some awful dialogue and a woolly plot is compensated by superb visuals and a mean Gothic streak. Recommended.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musconte) is an American writer living in Italy with his girlfriend (Suzy Kendall) and one evening he witnesses an attempted murder of a young woman (Eva Renzi) by a figure clad in black raincoat. Pressed by the police to recollect the details of the attack, he goes over the scene in his head and is aware that something was not quite right but is unable to put his finger on it. Determined to uncover the attacker's identity, and the possible links with other murders in the area, he decides to do a little investigation work himself. As he begins to dig deeper the risks become greater and he soon finds himself the centre of the killer's attention.

Dario Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage not only provided the template for countless other "Giallo" films during the period but also received praise from the master of suspense himself, Alfred Hitchcock. Not bad for a debut feature. To be fair Argento surrounded himself with highly talented people and this is reflected in Vittorio Storaro's stunningly vivid cinematography and Ennio Morricone's frantic, jazz inflected score. Brimming with colour and stylised framing, The Bird is far more restrained than later Argento works like Suspiria and Deep Red but this still showcases his undoubted visual talents.

Unlike the majority of Gialli titles, The Bird is pretty strong in the plot department although one would be advised not to dwell too much on the details. The requisite red herrings and curveballs are effective and aid rather than hinder the tension ratcheted up by Argento. Performances are functionary for the most part but Dalmas manages to hold his own and scream queen Kendall gets to give those wonderful lungs another vigorous workout.

Influenced by suspense of Hitchcock and the atmospheric, black-gloved killers of Mario Bava, Argento melds the two together to give a truly individual piece of work that is both stylish and visceral in equal measures. Fans of Giallo will no doubt have already seen this one but for those looking for an entry point into this sleek and sleazy world, then this is a good a starting point as any. Highly recommended.

For those who love the smell of S&M in the morning....

"Meantime, lest you thoughtlessly eject me I shall explain the tidal mechanism". This is just one fantastically bizarre quotes relating to sex that can be found in Borowczyk's heady brew of art-house pretension and softcore sleaze. Split into four short stories, the film dips into various tales of "immoral" activities, each given a dose of the Polish director's perversity.

The first tale involves a young woman performing fellatio on her cousin whilst he watches the tide come in (and this is way the aforementioned quote is delivered). Next up we find a young woman getting a little over friendly with a cucumber and this is followed by a tale of a Countess who invites young maidens to cavort naked in her castle (I won't divulge anymore). The final segment is basically a thinly veiled attack on organised religion (mainly Catholicism).

Although the copious amounts of full-frontal nudity will distract some viewers, the film does showcase Borowczyk's undoubted skills in this visual department. His continual framing of apparently irrelevant items and use of bright colour schemes are evocative of Jess Franco but with more grace and style. the acting is non-discript

Dead people come back alive due to man's ill-advised dabbling with the natural environment. Despite the comically bad dubbing and indifferent pacing, the restrained splashes of gore and the pitch perfect atmosphere make this an entertaining watch.

Released prisoner Corey (delon) teams up with an escaped convict and ex-cop in order to pull off a daring jewellery heist. Unfortunately hot on their heels is the highly experienced Mattei (Bourvil), a man determined to rein them in.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville, this is a European crime flick that wears its American influences proudly on its sleeve. Building on this cinematic foundation of early Hollywood gangster chic, Melville drives things along at a decent pace allowing for the steady character development to be punctuated with bursts of action. The film's centrepiece though is the highly engrossing heist scene which is on par with Rififi.

Delon once again produces the acting goods but I found the less experienced Bouvril to be rather wooden (he used to be a singer). At a running time of 140 minutes the film had a tendency to drag a little in places but overall this was a highly enjoyable film that I'd certainly recommend to Euro Crime and Film Noir fans

Not Martino's strongest film but there's enough sleaze for Euro Cult fans to chew on.

I have never really understood the appeal of slasher type films where the whole source of entertainment is that the next death is more bloodier than the first. Plot and pretty much everything else is left at the front gate but if you are a fan of this sort of film then you'll get a kick at watching one of the genre's early protagonists.

"Naked girls and lots of blood, that's what Vampyres is about," - And that's what Larraz delivers...

It took me a couple of viewings to get into this film but once I got past the excessive zooming I actually enjoyed the film.

Not entirely sure what Soavi was hoping to achieve with this horror/comedy cross-over but it's a fun piece nonetheless. The stunning Anna Falchi doesn't do the film any harm either...