15/10/2012: City of the Living Dead [1980]

The month of October is almost over and Halloween is fast approaching. As always this means that I watch even more horror movies than usual, bringing out some old favourites and discovering new ones. This October has definitely been one full of Lucio Fulci, with City of the Living Dead marking the third movie of his I've seen just over the last couple months. The more I see, the more I love his work, and City of the Living Dead has me craving more.

07/09/2012: Zombi 2 [1979]

Zombi 2 is the film that put Italian horror master Lucio Fulci on the map, widely regarded as his greatest film, Zombi 2 went far beyond being just an attempt to cash in on the success of Dawn of the Dead and made the man a well known horror icon. In honour of everyone's favourite holiday, Shark Week, and the start of my month or two dedicated to watching the filmography of Fulci, I decided to end the one and start the other with the only movie to contain a zombie shark fight. I'd say it is rather fitting.

14/07/2012: Salon Kitty [1976]

Last night I decided it was time to dive back into the world of Naziploitation once again with Salon Kitty. As always, any naziploitation film is rife with controversy but this one is actually grounded on some interesting historical facts. While sure all the excess of sex, nudity and Nazism is bound to ruffle some feathers, it is interesting to see a film that doesn’t exactly draw to many lines, and is in fact an Italian production. Overall, for a film I can’t compare with anything else, I would say Salon Kitty is quite an interesting watch.

05/01/2012: Atom Age Vampire (Seddok, l'erede di Satana) 1960

When man discovered they could split the atom, the atom age was born. Scientists quickly harnessed it deadly potential in the atom bomb. Prof. Alberto Levin however saw the atom as a tool which could be used to heal the disfigured. However, while he is eventually successful he has i the process turned himself into a monster, an atom age vampire.

This is where I question the title. I believe the movie is a Dr. Frankenstein and Mr. Hyde type story, complete with a drunken, green thumb of an Egor. There is really no vampires in the movie, Prof. Levin is more of a Dr. Frankenstein, who turns himself into a monster while searching for love. The monster becomes his Mr. Hyde, first transforming via a potion and then overtaking him. The plotline does infact play out strongly along these classic lines, perhaps taking the Dr. Van Helsing from Dracula.

The movie is originally Italian, although the english version is fine, although apparently is not accurately translated. This movie is nothing truly original, but the black and white still hold up. It's interesting to see that, without the ability to just CGI in a bunch of things to look at how much dialogue there is. The acting is not bad, and the special effects are well done for its time. A good movie if you like the classic italian horror genre, or just want a laugh.

Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054285/