Il grattacielo della morte

.. But isn't!

What a confused and boring mess! Firstly, there seems no reason whatsoever for it to be set in Barcelona given the actors are all American or English!

The standard of acting on offer is quite dreadful, even Jenny Agutter sucks, big time!

Hard to believe that Freddie Francis directed this, what was he thinking?

The whole thing has a made for TV feel about it, feels really cheap.

The actual premise is good, and had it been dealt with more professionally, perhaps this would have been a decent film, but as it stands, it's not one I'd recommend at all. Doesn't even fall into the so bad it's good category.

Dennis Randall (Michael Moriarty), a security agent with slight psychic ability, is assigned to cover a strange series of accidents in a high rise in Barcelona. All of the mishaps seem to happen around Carolyn Page (Jenny Agutter), the building's architect. Sensing he needs to bring in the big guns, Randall recruits paranormal investigator Max Gold (Theodore Bikel) and psychic Sergie (Kevin McCarthy) to battle the vengeful spirit with the building.

Skyscrapers provide great settings and were all the rage for horror films in the 80s (THE LIFT, DEMONS 2, POLTERGEIST III), but this one is the lesser of the bunch. The film had a troubled production history as it was started by Freddie Francis but he left and it was finished by Ken Wiederhorn. The final directing credit goes to one Ken Barnett. The biggest problem with the film is that it drags you from point A to B at a snail's pace, long after you have figured out the mystery. If the film is worth seeing for anything, it is the performance by Moriarty (whose name is misspelled as "Moriarity" in the opening credits). He is clearly plastered in this and often looks like he is about to crack a smile with his loud delivery. In addition to this, Moriarty also starred in A RETURN TO SALEM'S LOT, IT'S ALIVE III and THE HANOI HILTON all in the same year. Now that is impressive.

A newly built office building in Spain is plagued by a series of fatal accidents seemingly caused by a murderous presence. British legend Freddie Francis was the original director on this film, but problems led to 'Shock Waves' director, Ken Weiderhorn, taking over. Neither wound up taking credit.

Larry Cohen regular, Michael Moriarty, stars as a company man investigating the deaths and Jenny Agutter is on hand as the building's chief architect. The once ravishing Carol Lynley has a nothing part as Agutter's assistant, and Kevin McCarthy shows up briefly. The most entertaining character is that of a paranormal investigator who Moriarty contacts midway through. Theodore Bikel livens up the dull precedings with a quirky portrayal of a man so desperate to make contact with something supernatural that he winds up talking to an air conditioner at one point.

Indeed, this is a dull effort overall. With directors and a cast like that, I was expecting something much better and far less pedestrian. The story doesn't have a lot of meat to it, but that doesn't mean they couldn't have done something special with what they did have. Alas, I guess the inspiration just wasn't there this time around.

The big reveal behind the haunting is as predictable as they come, and the climax feels like it would be more at home in a 'Tales from the Crypt' episode. 'Dark Tower' isn't an unwatchable mess, but it's something you could easily skip without feeling as if you missed out.

I'd been meaning to rent this for a while, and finally last night, I did, and I must say, I liked it.

Jenny Agutter ("American Werewolf in London") plays Carolyn Page, the head architect of a new skyskraper, towering over metropolitan Spain. Things are going well until a window-washer drops twenty-eight stories off the pulley, and lands on the top executive of the building. Michael Moriarity plays Dennis Randall, who is brought onto the case of the murders. Incidentally, he is also having an affair with Carolyn, who is haunted by her dead husband. In fact, so is the building, and as more people die, and Dr. Max Gold (Theodore Bikel) an exorcist, is brought in, the real secrets of the dark tower are slowly revealed, leading up to an exciting climax with a few unexpected twists.

Entertaining movie, with extremely effective music. If anything, see the movie for the music. It really envokes a feeling of dread, especially in the end chase scene. The movie plays well, and is well-acted. The ending has some surprising twists, and the only flaw was the somewhat silly looking demon. Other than that, a good movie, which gets quite tense towards the end, and has great music. Check it out.

It's a bit of a shame that the IMDb hasn't got a cover image of "Dark Tower" published yet. As usual, the VHS cover is much cooler than the movie actually is and it shows a crowd of people gathering around a skyscraper, shaped like an enormous coffin. The movie itself is painfully disappointing, especially if you take a closer look at the people who were involved in making it. The directors-duo Freddie Francis and Ken Wiedernhorn both have much better films on their repertoire. Francis made some great British horror classics in the 70's, like "The Creeping Flesh" and "Tales that Witness Madness", while Wiederhorn single-handedly was responsible for the only recommendable 'underwater-Nazi-zombie' flick ever made: the unique "Shock Waves". Some of the cast-members too have delivered better films. The male lead Michael Moriarty frequently works with Larry Cohen ("Q – the winged Serpent", "The Stuff") and Jenny Agutter will always be remembered for her starring in "American Werewolf in Londen". I avoid talking about the film's plot simply because there isn't much to say... It's pretty much a reworking of "Poltergeist" (which I didn't like, neither) in a skyscraper, with the restless spirit of a murdered person avenging himself on anyone who enters the building. Agutter plays the brilliant architect who seems to be the ghost's main target and Moriarty is the clairvoyant police officer who looks after her. The opening sequence is promising, with a guy falling 17 storeys down and crushing an extra pedestrian along the way! Unfortunately, the screenplay then turns into a boring mess without tension or surprises. Moriarty teams up with a couple of other paranormal investigators and they uncover some dark secrets. There's practically no gore, no humor and no feeling with the characters. Moriarty gives his lousiest performance ever and even Agutter's gorgeous eyes can't save this mediocre movie.