Macabro

It's not Fulci's The Beyond but Macabre is a solid old fashioned horror flick where pretty much everyone is wacko, which is one hundred percent accurate for the deep South.

I wouldn't say this flick frightened me but it is genuinely creepy, not to mention completely gross towards the end. Macabre lives up to its name and fortunately, unlike Lamberto's second project, this film has many of the stylistic elements of Italian films from the 1970s. I definitely would not call this a giallo, though.

The girl who plays Lucy is legitimately hateable and that's no small feat for a child actress. I also genuinely felt for poor Robert.

When it is indicated that a movie is based on a true story I always am very hesitant to watch such a movie. True stories can be more shocking but most of the time it often is exaggerated. So I always try to ignore the true story angle in order to enhance the viewing experience. "Macabro" is in fact a very simple story with only one mystery. While it has the illusion of being so much more there is no depth at all. The background on the characters is very minimal and in this case much needed to intensify our empathy towards them. Without it most of the main characters seem a bit off. The buildup in tension is decent. The problem is the mystery itself. It just isn't compelling enough to sit through 90 minutes. I agree with the comments given on this board that it would have suited more as a 30 minute episode part of an anthology film or series like "Tales of the unexpected","Twilight Zone" or something similar. The ending is pretty interesting to say the least but hardly surprising although it was intended to. And it can be debated if it was necessary to end like this. I am not out on that one. "Macabro" isn't your typical giallo and will therefore disappoint many fans of this genre. But overall this movie can be entertaining.

You gotta admit, the idea is ingeniously twisted in its simplicity...

Jane (Bernice Stegers), an adulterous New Orleans housewife, is involved in a car crash that decapitates her lover. One year later, she is discharged from a mental hospital and returns to her lover's former residence, where she is lusted after by blind caretaker Robert (Stanko Molnar) and plagued by visits from her Greyhound-faced daughter Lucy (Veronica Zinny).

Questions arise: What is the explanation for those lustful, lovemaking noises coming from the upstairs apartment? Why is Jane so protective of her freezer? Will Robert ever get a chance to tap that action? Will Lucy ever shut the f*ck up? With strong location shooting in New Orleans and an accompanying jazzy score, you can practically feel the sweltering menace in the air.

True to its title, "Macabre" is generally restrained in tone, instead opting to create a very effective mood of overall bizarro. At its best, it has the feel of a polished anthology entry (such material would be right at home on "The Twilight Zone" or even "Masters of Horror"); at its worst, it feels overlong and silly. The third-act twist, while pretty predictable, works because the cast is so ravenously committed to the material. As a result, "Macabre" is a finely polished debut from Lamberto Bava (son of Mario), suspenseful and mysterious (in a supernatural kind of way), but just too overdrawn.

I love eccentric Italian horror. Not much thought to restraint or good taste, or even simple logic, just go-for-the -jugular, style over substance that after countless years of bland Western movies is very endearing. The maestros of these forgotten pics (the talented or really ballsy ones anyway) offered visionary set pieces that really stood out from the original mainstream flicks they imitated. The first Italian director I discovered was Lucio Fulci, stumbling on a fuzzy, out-of-print videotape of GATES OF HELL which I took away to digest (in the children's ward of my local hospital no less...).

Having read of the insane moments of the director's oeuvre, I eagerly anticipated the grisly highlights (and for anyone whose seen it, they'll have no doubt I wasn't disappointed by the vomitorium on display).I will always treasure Lucio's Gothic cheese operas as the crimson cream of this crop, but that doesn't rule out the other directors who tried their hand concocting bizarre, gaudy delights. I mean, where else can you find such a cavalier attitude towards the wholesome subjects of multiple child murder, necrophilia and cannibalism?

Lamberto Bava, Son of Mario, helms this quirky descent into madness, and it works nicely if somewhat restrained in the excess department. Perhaps that makes it ideal for beginners not wishing to jettison their stomachs over something stronger like GATES and it's brethren. After the double tragedy of the year previous, Jane, divorced mother of now one rents a room in decaying manor owned by a blind handyman. However, all is not as it seems (when is it ever) and before he knows it, the hapless young man is pulled into a perverse family melodrama.

The pace of MACABRE is slow and the plot lacks thrust, but as a more free-flowing attempt at establishing a certain mood instead of a tightly plotted cliff hanger, it mostly works. The lack of goings-on makes it that much more impactive when something nasty does rear its ugly head. In fact, its pretty easy to see how this could've started out as an elaborate sick joke.The opening 10 minutes have an eerie mundane-ness like the calm before a storm. It's somewhat overlong at an hour an a half and some tighter editing could have reduced the padding. There seems to be an awful lot of the characters simply plodding along with their daily routines. Plus the dubbing is eye-gougingly irritating, sadly par for course for a lot of these foreign efforts. Noticeable as well is the setting of New Orleans, which American or not, still feels like Italian soil. Not quite a bad thing, it's interesting to see how a director interprets an alien land. The movie relies too heavily on its surprise ending and I could see that definitely diminishing the enjoyment upon repeat viewings, but overall Bava's debut is a respectable, little grand-guignol flick in the tradition of his legendary daddy, barring the out-of-left-field shock ending which, in light of the very worldly conflict of the preceding 90 minutes, lacks any real bite.

For a debut film, "Macabre" is really impressive! After so much work with his father and with Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava really nailed down the horror genre with his first effort. The ending is so wicked. I'll never forget it! I also like the setting. In my opinion, it's hard to beat New Orleans for a horror movie setting. The city somehow just gives off the scary vibes. The acting is above par for Italian horror films of the early 80's, but it's still a little cheesy.

That having been said, "Macabre" moves excruciatingly slow in parts. I'm talking three minutes for one of the characters to open a door. It's tough to stay focused. But, if you can, the ending is pretty rad.

I've seen this for sale with another Lamberto Bava film, "A Blade in the Dark." I'd recommend getting it that way. I think it's actually cheaper than buying it solo like I did.

7 out of 10, kids.