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This cruddy, late-80s, Italian supernatural/demonic horror sees horror icon Donald Pleasance slumming it as archaeologist Professor Lasky, who, as the result of tremors caused by subway drilling under Rome, discovers a pre-Christian tomb full of pagan carvings, including an inscription which warns that "evil will come". And come it most certainly does, in the form of an ancient demon that proceeds to attack those involved in the excavation.

Italian horror films of the 80s often displayed little regard for logic, but made up for their general incoherence with a sense of style, enthusiastic gore, and—if possible—some nudity from a good looking babe or two. This one tries on all three counts, but fails spectacularly on the first two, director Marcello Avallone's overuse of his smoke and wind machines hardly qualifying as stylish, while the splatter, most of which is saved for the film's closing moments, is frustratingly brief (blink and you'll miss it). Thankfully, Trine Michelsen as Alice, sexy girlfriend of archaeologist Marcus, is on hand for the gratuitous T&A, obligingly stripping off a couple of times in order to keep the viewer awake.

The bulk of Specters, however, consists of lots of dreary dialogue and numerous supposedly scary scenes that rarely amount to much (with the best moment being blatantly ripped off from A Nightmare on Elm Street); as such, the film proves extremely tedious and delivers little in the way of genuine frights. The demon (created by Italian FX expert Sergio Stivaletti) remains hidden until the final moments, and, to be honest, isn't really worth the wait.

3.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 4 for the hilariously bad computer graphics used to track Marcus as he explores the tomb, and Alice's hub-cap sized earrings.

This disastrous Italian horror brings the late great Donald Pleasence along for the ride and surely didn't do his career any favours.

With not only a low rating but barely 250 ratings on IMDB this clearly fell into obscurity and I can see why.

Italian horror during the 80's was generally fantastic, this was a rare miss and quite a big one at that.

It tells the story of a crew investigating unexplored catacombs and the ancient demonic evil that they unleash.

With a messy plot, shoddy audio and camera work and a forgettable cast this is pretty bad stuff saved to a degree thanks to Pleasence and an interesting setting.

If you seek Italian horror look elsewhere.

The Good:

Donald Pleasence

Neat setting

The Bad:

Poor sound editing

Donald Pleasence looks like a big fish in a small pond here

Awful ending

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Donald Pleasence must have been short on cash

I wonder if, back when he was wowing audiences with great performances in films such as Cul-de-sac and The Flesh and the Fiends, Donald Pleasance ever thought he'd be starring in dross like this? Anyway, I have to say that I wasn't surprised to find that Specters is basically the film I thought it would be; namely, a poor Demons-style trashy eighties horror flick with little in the way of redeeming features. The plot is just common horror fare and features a bunch of researchers digging into places they shouldn't be digging and revealing a load of ancient catacombs that warn of impending doom. Naturally, the evil is unleashed. At the very least from this, I was expecting some decent gore; but all we actually get is cheesy crap which is matched by the trashy atmosphere and typically cheesy eighties soundtrack. The plot is a complete mess and I found it very easy to get bored. Donald Pleasance was obviously bored too, and that's not surprising considering the talent of the people he's working with; naturally, Specters features some awesomely terrible acting. It all boils down to a typically pointless ending and overall, this is one of the few films that is bettered by the lamentable 'Demons 2'!

I'm guessing you've got like late-era Italian films to enjoy this, but I liked this film a lot more than anyone that's reviewed this film here.

Why? For all the reasons listed as negatives elsewhere, that's why! Sure, the plot doesn't make much sense, and barely exists. Sure, there's bad eighties hair, bad eighties music, and bad eighties everything else, but come on, these are good points! I had a good laugh with this one. I loved the way the first guy they sent down the tomb had to crawl for ages to get to it, but by the time Donald Pleasance et al got down there, it was as easy as walking into your back garden! Brilliant.

It's suspenseful in places, with a good atmosphere and setting. I've been down to the catacombs in Rome and they really do warn you not to wander off. I thought that was because they were so large, but after watching this film, I guess it was to stop me falling foul of a demon.

Good stuff, if you know what to expect.

Poor Donald Pleasence! He's been in a lot of really awful films, and this is one of the worst. He was known for putting in good performances even when handed a bad script, but in this disaster, he doesn't even try. In addition to the apathy of the cast, the scriptwriter obviously didn't care too much since this film makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. There are fissures bursting open at random, men running around in Creature from the Black Lagoon costumes, a gratuitous song, a mysterious dagger, lots of tunnels, but no logic.

Well, what do you know, they do make horror movies in Italy that do not appeal to me after all. The Italians were the undeniable masters when it comes to horror, especially during the seventies and eighties, but obviously not all films can be winners. Just like "Manhattan Baby" and "Zeder", which more or less revolve on similar themes, "Specters" is an incredibly incoherent and painfully tedious film.

The basic premise holds a lot of potential, for sure, but director Marcello Avallone - as well as his three (!) fellow writers - couldn't turn it into a compelling script. Several of the story lines are underdeveloped, the film wastes far too much time on irrelevant sub plots and insignificant supportive characters, the evil's true nature remains a mystery even after the film has ended, the lead roles aren't convincing, and the production incomprehensibly doesn't take full usage of the marvelous filming locations and scenery! Here they are shooting a film in one of the most beautiful cities in the world, below ground as well as on the surface, but all we get to see are pitiable images of some lame ruins.

There's something evil lurking under the city of Rome... The acclaimed archaeologist Prof. Lasky and his crew have been searching for a 19 centuries old tomb for many months now, but it seems that the nearby subway construction works have finally exposed the entry. The discovery might not be such a triumph after all, since the occupant of the sarcophagus - a bizarre type of feline monster - is awakened and promptly goes on a rampage. Well, at least I think it goes on a rampage, because that's the point where the "Specters" really stops making sense.

Many sequences, like the "Nightmare on Elm Street" similar suck-into-the-bed death scene, are played like they are hallucinations whereas other ones, like the head crushing sequence, are reality? There clearly is some sort of (spiritual?) link between the monster and one of the archaeologist's girlfriend (played by the former Miss Denmark Trine Michelsen who recently passed away as a result of bone cancer) but that story aspect is never at one point clarified. You get used to that, though. What's the deal with the blind tour guide in the catacombs? What inflicted the veto between Prof. Lasky and the exaggeratedly gay-behaving elderly antique dealer? Why does literally everybody in this film insist on having extended conversations with themselves? Why isn't the couple from the beginning of the film mentioned anymore?

Never mind all that, it's a silly and lackluster film; - let's jut keep it at that. As usual with the productions he was involved in, special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti delivers the finest piece of work. The budget was clearly minimal, but he nevertheless still managed to provide some pretty cool and engrossing effects. The always reliable Donald Pleasance, who regularly appeared in Spaghetti horror at that time ("Phantom of Death", "Nothing Underneath", "Nosferatu in Venice", "Phenomena"...) is on auto-pilot, but he always remains a joy to behold.

There is never any mention of a "specter" in this film. The creature we finally do see (other than Universal's Gill Man) is an ugly beast not unlike the She Creature. If it weren't for the ridiculous horror clichées, this film might have worked, as the set design is fascinating and some scenes are actually suspenseful, and the archaelogical dig is exciting. Unfortunately, a lot of it deals with stupid teenagers, gratuitous pop songs, sex, and topless scenes, and predictable junk make much of the film annoying. When wine bottles start spraying and catacombs are collapsing, it's interesting, but it has the cliché horror it's not really ending, no one survives by the main fornicating couple, and girls panicking from little mice. The blind man's beating heart getting ripped out is the ultimate in gratuity, since it lacks all the significance of Evan pulling out his own heart in Michele Soavi's _La Chiesa_. It could have been better than _Demoni_, but at least it's not worse, nor as disgusting.

I saw this one back in the early 90's. I vaguely remember thinking it wasn't very good. But since there was a time when I first saw Fulci's CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD and just dismissed it as B-movie rubbish (Hey now, don't give me that look -- what did I know back then?), I decided to give the Italian SPECTERS another try. Turns out I was right the first time: It's not very good.

Man, this movie had so much potential: Catacombs setting and ancient mythology about demonic mumbo-jumbo, some cool death scenes, Sergio Stivaletti doing the make-up and monster-FXs, Donald Pleasance, a sporadically present ominous drone-like soundtrack, obligatory sex-scene (boobies!) with the blond leading lady,... And the movie even has a cool title.

But it's a hot-damn friggin' total mess of a movie! Practically nothing makes the slightest bit of sense in this one. None of the cool ideas are properly worked out. People just shift from one location to another without explanation. Donald Pleasance had no business in this film, except for playing a tired, old professor mumbling about stuff that nobody's able to follow anyway. Even the frozen shock ending is totally torn from the loo (sorry, that's a Belgian expression in which "loo" is British English for "toilet").

I sighed immensely after this second viewing... This could have been great 80's horror stuff. Yet, it might still be considered a worthwhile one-time-only viewing. Mainly for the noteworthy elements I mentioned in my second paragraph. Plus there's a scene that resembles (ok, use the word rip-off if you desire so) another scene from ALIEN a lot (think: when Skerritt goes searching for the alien in the air-ducts, with someone watching his moves on a monitor). And Johnny Depp's death-scene in A NIGHTMARE ON ELMS STREET clearly served as a major influence (again: rip-off) for a similar (much briefer) scene in SPECTERS too.

SFXs maestro Sergio Stivaletti does manage to convince again, for the most part. The "head crushing"-scene was nice (though they cut away just a second too soon). There's a gooey corpse popping up at some point. The one death-scene that starts off in the wine-cellar was well crafted. And even his demonic creature at the end seemed nifty. Though that one was hard to tell, as we're merely offered a few glimpses on it.

So in a way, this is typical 80's Italian horror of the supernatural kind. But it's about three times more incoherent than what we're used to from these guys. Then again, if you've managed to sit through Fulci's lesser supernatural efforts (ex: MANHATTAN BABY), then you'll do just fine sitting through SPETTRI too.

...and I mean that sincerely. I don't truly understand all the hate this film has received. It honestly puzzles me. I have found it much better than the low rating it has garnered here. Maybe I just have a soft spot for 80s horror (or a hard-on, whichever way you want to perceive it).

I won't discuss the plot. It's already been dissected on here, so there really is no need. I will say this however; it is not nearly as inept as some would have you believe. The film does move at a slow pace and it is cheesy. I'll give them that, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it is that lovable 80s charm that makes this film worth watching. I will also admit it could have used a good dose of gore, but the lack of it really doesn't hinder the film as a whole.

So if you're a fan of 80s horror, specifically Italian in this case, then give it a shot. It's not a bad way to pass 90 minutes. If, on the other hand, you aren't very fond of 80s horror, then by all means give it a pass. Your loss.

First of all I enjoyed Marcello Avallone's masterpiece "Maya" from 1989, because it was stylish,well-produced and gruesome."Specters" is his first acclaimed horror film. While a team of archaeologists lead by Donald Pleasence are digging through some ancient ruins the subway being built above causes some cave ins and new catacombs are found.This leads to the burial ground of a legendary demon who then rises to the occasion and starts dispatching his victims in gruesome ways."Specters" is obviously influenced by Lamberto Bava's "Demons".The plot is silly and offers many annoying sub-plots which lead absolutely nowhere.The photography is beautiful,but the action is slow and there is almost no gore.Only for Italian horror completists.A very generous 6 out of 10.

When I stumbled upon the 1987 movie "Spettri" (aka "Specters") by random chance here in 2024, of course I opted to sit down and watch it, since it was a horror movie. And it hardly mattered that I had never heard about the movie, as I am a big fan of all things horror. And truth be told, then there are some fair enough Italian horror movies from back in the 1980s, so why not give this movie a fair chance?

Writers Marcello Avallone, Andrea Purgatori, Dardano Sacchetti and Maurizio Tedesco put together an entertaining enough script. It was, though, rather stereotypical of the late 1980s horror cinema, for better or worse. But depending on your preference in horror movies, then it might be a good thing or a bad thing. Personally, I did enjoy the campy and cheesy late 1980s feel that permeated the entire movie. I made for some enjoyable retro-horror experience in my opinion.

I was rather surprised to see Trine Michelsen in the movie, as she was quite the thing back in my youth, and she died way too early. And I was also quite surprised to see the likes of Donald Pleasence in an Italian horror movie.

Campy and cheesy, sure, but still an enjoyable horror movies if you enjoy the late 1980s horror cinema. I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the 90 minutes that director Marcello Avallone's 1987 movie "Spettri" ran for.

My rating of "Spettri" lands on a five out of ten stars.

My review was written in May 1987 after a Cannes Film Festival Market screening.

"Specters" is a disappointing shaggy-dog Italian horror film, technically okay but not delivering any scares and hardly any action until the finale. Helmer Marcello Avallone gets the technical side right but has a lot of stylistic (and pacing/construction) lessons to learn from the maestros of horror.

Story is similar to Nigel Kneale's classic "Quatermass & the Pit" (a/k/a "5,000,000 Years to Earth"): work on the subways in Rome disrupts an archaeological dig nearly run by Professor Lasky (who else but Donald Pleasence), opening an ancient vault. It takes a full hour of red herrings until the monster shows up, a barely shown imitation of the tacked-on crfitter in Jacques Tourneur's "Night of the Demon".

Topnotch lenser Silvano Ippoliti provides some nice travelling shots through the catacombs but pic is all buildup and no delivery. Pleasence hams it up as the only cast member whose English language voice fits his mug.