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Tragic Ceremony is certainly tragic. This 70s attempt at Satanic horror is lazy and meandering, in a bad way. A wealthy man, a pretty young woman who at first appears to be his date, and two hired men are sailing on a beautiful day. When they set up camp on the beach, it becomes obvious that the three men are actually all friends and that the lady is with one of the poorer fellows. Fair enough.

Even audio in Italian couldn't save this film. The lead actress has a terrible face, she always looks like she's upset, defiant, or pouting. She never reacts normally to any circumstance - being quietly rude to her hostess at the mansion, then switching to unnaturally calm after she's almost sacrificed to the devil.

But wait! That's only the middle of the movie!

The group tries to run away from the Satanists to find shelter, only to be kicked out by the rich guy's mom. When they flee to his father's cabin instead, the aforementioned rich guy suddenly appears dead in an antique armoire, and the immediate cause can only be that he's covered in green paint. Yikes.

A free-spirited quartet of young hippie-types (Jane (Camille Keaton), Joe (Maximo Valverde), Bill (Tony Isbert), and Fred (Giovanni Petrucci)) are on a pleasure trip when their terminally unreliable vehicle becomes virtually unusable on a stormy night. They take refuge in the villa owned by the Alexanders (Luigi Pistilli, Luciana Paluzzi), who have a sinister agenda planned for the night. When our protagonists interfere, they are subject to more terror than they can handle.

Rather slow to start, and awfully talky at times, "Tragic Ceremony" is a standard tale in some ways (complete with the use of the "old dark house" and "stormy night" tropes), and delivers no big surprises, but it walks an interesting line between suspense and spectacle. The four main characters are set up as basically engaging people who are easy enough to watch, and the supporting cast is strong. (The great Paul Muller turns up at the very end as a doctor whose job is to provide a final bit of exposition.) Keaton, the memorable star of the infamous exploitation-revenge-thriller "I Spit on Your Grave", is a compelling, striking beauty from whom you can't take your eyes. The music (by the talented Stelvio Cipriani) is good, as well as the location shooting. But what really makes sitting through this somewhat obscure Italian genre flick worth it is the massacre that occurs at approximately the midway point. You can tell that the filmmakers were pleased with their "sword cutting into a guy's head" effect (the FX were by Carlo Rambaldi): we see it a total of five times before the film is over!

Director Riccardo Freda apparently resented the job of guiding this particular film, but the results on screen are still pretty effective. At least it doesn't play out in a *completely* predictable way; the films' second half makes it worth sitting through the first half.

Six out of 10.

An early appearance by Camille Keaton gives Tragic Ceremony its main point of interest. It's not as good as What Have You Done to Soalnge?, but her role is substantial enough for fans to check it out.

Probably it ranks as the second-best of her Italian-era appearances. Her icy beauty and blank expression are suited to her largely passive role.

The plot falls into the Old Dark House genre, with four fashionable and well-off young people becoming stranded at a mansion on a stormy night. Sort of like a straight non-musical version of Rocky Horror.

Black magic and other supernatural events follow, with logic going out the window. The supernatural elements keep this from really being considered as classical giallo.

But there is a fair bit of detective work and violent crime, so some people still put under the giallo banner. It's not apparent in the costumes and locations, but the action is supposed to be in the UK as Scotland Yard is mentioned.

Overall, it is a bit of a generic mix of Gothic horror and police motifs that never reaches its full potential.

Riccardo Freda may have a good reputation; but since we now that many of his best films were, in fact, directed by the late great Mario Bava; it's clear that he wasn't one of Italy's most gifted filmmakers back in the seventies. This film pretty much proves that as despite the simplistic plot; it's a sprawling mess and overall, I'd even have to go as far as to say that Tragic Ceremony is WORSE than Freda's insipid Giallo effort, The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire. Freda apparently disowned this movie, and I certainly don't blame him! The plot simply follows a bunch of kids that run out of petrol in the middle of nowhere. They happen upon a house while searching for fuel; but it turns out to be a bad choice, as the owner is just about to conduct a satanic ceremony...ho hum. The film features a lead role for Camille Keaton, who would go on to star in the exploitation classic I Spit on Your Grave some years later, but fails to make an impression here despite acting alongside a cast of talentless performers. The film features one decent gore scene towards the end, but this really isn't enough considering that it takes eighty minutes of tedium to get there. I have a high tolerance for rubbish Italian films that don't make sense - but even I couldn't stand this one. Miss it, miss nothing!

I recently watched the Italian film 🇮🇹 Tragic Ceremony (1972) on Tubi. The story follows a group of privileged friends returning from a yacht trip, only to discover their cars are out of gas. Seeking shelter for the night, they find a remote mansion-unaware that they might not make it until morning...

Directed by Riccardo Freda (Witch's Curse), the film stars Camille Keaton (I Spit on Your Grave), Tony Isbert (The Rift), Luigi Pistilli (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), Luciana Paluzzi (Thunderball), and Máximo Valverde (Fresh Flesh).

This is an uneven but entertaining horror film. It has an engaging premise, beautiful leading ladies, a classic horror setup, and solid atmospheric settings. The horror makeup is wild but fun, featuring a memorable throat slash and some gruesome corpses. The last 15 minutes are especially strong, delivering a solid reveal and conclusion. My biggest complaint is that the background music doesn't always match the scenes, but it's a minor issue.

In conclusion, Tragic Ceremony is neither great nor essential, but it has enough to offer for the right audience. I'd rate it 5.5-6/10 and recommend it with the appropriate expectations.