L'arcano incantatore

An excellent horror movie, in my opinion, thanks to a lesson that appears to have been forgotten by Hollywood. There's no blood, no gore, and preciously few special effects.

There's just a tight plot and three people in front of that deep mystery which is death. Obscure forces are at work around the main characters, but are they real or just in the characters' minds? Even in the final climax the viewer is left with this unanswered question for the viewer to ponder - as a good movie should do.

Settled in Italy during the 16th century. This a very good movie. If it has one defect, it's the end, that left me unsatisfied, even if as we all know most of the mysteries unveiled lose their power.

But there is one thing that is worth: the atmosphere, that is really Gothic. The characters are isolated in a forgotten manor, they move slowly, talk slowly, and web you in an enticement of stillness. The only rumors are the constant blowing of the wind and the screech of dust under their feet. (Audio is of the essence for this movie.)

In conclusion, this is worth renting the tape, provided you see it in silent and darkness.

Beautifully filmed and well-acted. But it feels unfinished.

The highlights here are the wonderful cinematography and spooky atmosphere and the acting. Stefano Dionisi is really great as the young, likeable protagonist who tries to do right but is in over his head.

I was also impressed with the score. It was reminiscent of Richard Band's scores from the 1980s. Creepy stuff.

However, I was disappointed by the story. It had a good build and good tension, but it felt like it never really arrives anywhere. There are too many unresolved strands that end in darkness. I'm not someone that needs to be spoon-fed, but this felt unfinished to me.

This lesser-known Avati wade into the fantastical is nonetheless highly accomplished, even if you handle that the supernatural elements don't really kick in until halfway through, and then not in a terribly flamboyant way. A disgraced young seminary student is dispatched to the remote castle of an aristocratic hermit rumored to be dabbling in occult matters. (And some locals have disappeared, adding fuel to the rumors.) Needless to say, the new helpmate eventually discovers this is true.

It's a slow but genuinely sinister tale that is very well put across by the two lead actors and Avati's great care with the visual presentation--this is hardly an extravagant production, but the modestly scaled period production design, the compositions and camera movement convey much more atmosphere than many a more expensive, FX-laden enterprise. There's probably not enough "payoff" for those who want conventional horror content in terms of kills and gore, but this is an admirably restrained exercise in supernatural creepiness that never goes slack.

From the opening credits of the movie, Avati clearly uses all of his skills to make sure that "L'arcano incantatore" or "Arcane Sorcerer" or "The Mysterious Enchanter" looks and feels like an old, classic horror movie and he completely succeeds. The movie is beautifully shot with maximum care for it's atmosphere. It is a very slow movie that takes it's time to tell you a story. While not a lot of things happen, the movie still manages to be interesting and I think that the fact it doesn't show a lot is it's biggest strength and when it tries to show something, it often fails to produce the effect it wanted to. While I personally think the movie could have had a lot more satisfying conclusion and approached it's own "showing something scary" parts better, it's still an effective and entertaining horror movie made with passion and care, clearly providing an example what good style can do for a movie. Avati really tried to make a good horror movie and it payed off. I give it 7/10! I recommend it everyone. Just keep in mind that you won't find a fast thriller here. This one is a slow burner.