Dead Eyes

Luigi Cozzi's The Black Cat is a weird film! And it's not just the film itself, the release and marketing are a little strange too. The film was released as Demons 6 (apparently a fifth sequel to Lamberto Bava's 1985 original) and also as a second sequel to Dario Argento's masterpiece; thus making it Suspiria 3. The film actually does mention Suspiria and Dario Argento by name; but if it's any relation to the 1977 classic; then it can really only be considered a spin off because the film doesn't follow on from either Suspiria or the legitimate sequel Inferno. In style, the film much more closely resembles Lamberto Bava's film; although the 'Demons 6' title was clearly just to help the film sell. Anyway, the plot focuses on a horror movie production; and the film is to be based on a book called Suspiria de Profumis, which Dario Argento's film was also based on (apparently, there's enough material for 100 movies!). The film is to focus on a witch named Levana; but for some reason, the production causes the witch to come alive; and the lead actress is the only one who can stand in her way.

It has to be said, this film is a real mess. Things 'just happen' time and time again and I was left constantly scratching my head. How do you make a film about a witch going around killing people confusing? Well, I guess you'd have to ask Luigi Cozzi. The influence of Lamberto Bava's Demons is clear and obvious throughout; the gore is very similar to that featured in the earlier film and Cozzi has jam packed this film with cheesy eighties hair metal. Actually the atmosphere of the film is one of it's only saving graces; the director utilises a good colour scheme and the feel of The Black Cat is gritty and foreboding at times. The acting is typically weak; but while trying to work out what the hell is going on, most people probably wont notice. The witch featured is surely one of the most ridiculous things in the film. I have no idea how this production ever got to use Argento's name and call itself a sequel to Suspiria; but the fact that it did is surely blasphemy. Overall, this film is entertaining in an odd sort of way; but it's not a good film by any stretch of the imagination.

I am usually very "forgiving" when it comes to horror movies, to the point where I can acknowledge and value the general idea and overlook the narrative flaws. If the film as a whole is fun to watch, it has a well developed atmosphere and it features a decent amount of horror elements, I'm pretty much okay with it ... but the story has to make SOME sense, at least. Well, "The Black Cat" (or any of the many other titles that this movie has) is an example of a flick that is just frustrating to sit through. Director Luigi Cozzi may not entirely be at fault, perhaps the producers forcibly squeezed things into the movie for the sole purpose of shock value... or something. I have read many times that several directors end up unhappy with the final results of their films, because they were asked to add random creatures, murders or over-the-top sequences, even if they only add confusion to the story, just to make the film more marketable. I don't know the reasons behind this mess, but this is just a really confusing and convoluted film that had no business being that way, because it could have been told in a much simpler way. Actually, the first half an hour of the film is decent and it keeps it simple, but "The Black Cat" progressively becomes more and more random, to the point where inexplicable situations just happen constantly, and eventually, you just stop even trying to make any sense out of it (at least, I know I did). I can only assume that several random sequences and shots were probably added at the last minute because it was unused footage from a different film and they didn't want to let it go to waste. It's the only reasonable explanation I can come up with.

As for the photography, the director clearly took inspiration in Dario Argento's "Suspiria" and "Inferno" (both films are referenced here), but the strident color scheme ends up being a little bit over the top. Besides the artificial color palette, the use of CGI, which is very frequent during the second half of the film, cheapens the visuals considerably and it could have been a lot better without it.

A few creative deaths and stylish sequences don't save this film from being a big pile of randomness, so, skip this, unless you just want to have a good laugh. "The Black Cat" is just a frustrating experience and a waste of time.

I've just finished watching the late eighties Italian horror The Spider Labyrinth, which was a film devoid of cheese. This film, however, is like watching a slice of Gouda. But there's a place for films like this too, and I enjoyed it.

Some sort of sequel to Suspira/Inferno, it features some film makers getting together to make a film about Levanna, the Mother of Tears. Actress and new mother Ana is all set for the part, probably because her husband is the director, which makes script writer Dan's wife very jealous (and she's played by Caroline Munro, for the record).

Things start getting immediately weird when Ana starts having visions of a grape faced lady (you heard me) coming out of a mirror and attacking here. Seems that Levanna is real and wants to come back into our world, which involves Ana and her baby and that. You know the drill.

I though it was funny when Levanna started haunting Ana's fridge and then formed a vision of a fake repairman coming to fix it! That's just cruel. Also Bret Halsey's in this because perhaps Lucio Fulci had momentarily lost his phone number.

Anyway, the director guy and the screenwriter get in contact with some medium, who warns them off, and that's when Levanna goes nuts and starts wasting everybody, causing the medium's guts to explode out of her body, just like in Cozzi's Contamination! By this time there's also a little girl contacting Ana via a television to help her, but Levanna makes this TV explode and then spew up intestines (you heard me there too).

Things then start getting pretty unpredictable and VERY eighties, visually, but Cozzi may not be the best fan of reality, but he can sure pour on the madness and crazy set pieces. Whether or not this is a better sequel that Mother of Tears is up to you. Both are very cheesy and the later film was a lot gorier, but it also had Asia Argento in it and didn't really have the tone of Suspiria or Inferno, whereas this one is more similar in look and feel. That's up to you.

Luigi Cozzi sure had a thing for Caroline Munro, eh? In this film, you get to see her take a bath, wear lingerie, put varnish on her nails, have sex and get leggy while getting into a car. For the record, my favourite Munro moment is the musical number she does in Don't Open Til Christmas.

so we all know that the first two demons movies are pretty much as good as it's going to get. i am not going to lie to you after seeing all (seven?) 'demons' movies, I can truly say that the first two entires are masterpieces and the rest are an eclectic bastard lovechildish creative, bad, and completely crazy entries.

This movie is so awful in a good way. It's also pretty hard to track down (insert obvious reasons.) It's referred too as like 7 different titles, but the one I was watching was English dubbed audio with Japanese hard subtitles. The movie shamelessly poses as 'Suspiria 2' but at the same time also seems to acknowledge what they're doing is pretty awful so they throw in a lot of funny crazy effects to distract you from the plot that includes a grand total of 4-5 people and pacing that fluctuates between wayyyyy to slow and holy crap what just happened and why?

it's not as good as the first two demons movies, but if you like to chuckle at a truly goofy and poorly made movie, this movie is a gold nugget. There's so many unintentionally hilarious moments you can't capture unless you are truly trying to make a serious effort and it just unfolds like a pile of unsorted laundry. Pretty much anything you can think may or may not explode and smoke and leak green worms and intestines WILL AND SHALL. That part's never really explained but a lot of other things are.

Hilarious dated effects guaranteed to open your eyes wider than a syfy movie creature shot. I had a fun time with it :)

"i'm in the mirror. No - i'm in the rifridgerator , Wait - I'm back in the mirror *blarchhhhh*"

I have watched a lot of schlock and I really love 80s horror and the stuff coming out of Italy in the 70s and 80s. However, this film has no redeeming qualities, zilch. Most movies have at least 1 or 2 things going for them, be it the effects, the camera work or the atmosphere, but this movie just feels cheap, cheap, cheap.

Story sucks, the actors suck, the English dub sucks, the effects suck, the atmosphere sucks. Even a guy like Cozzi can do better, what were they thinking?