Paganini Horror
- 1988
- 1h 22m
IMDb RATING
4.4/10
1.5K
YOUR RATING
When a female rock band uses an infamous old piece of sheet music to record their new album in an old mansion, they accidentally open a portal to hell.When a female rock band uses an infamous old piece of sheet music to record their new album in an old mansion, they accidentally open a portal to hell.When a female rock band uses an infamous old piece of sheet music to record their new album in an old mansion, they accidentally open a portal to hell.
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A mainly female rock band film their latest music video "Paganini Horror" at the former home of the famous composer but in doing so open a portal to Hell.I had been tempted to buy this on blu ray but instead opted to watch it online and I am glad that I did because this is an awful movie. Having seen other reviews I kept my hopes low but hoped that there may be some redemption in the form of sex, blood and cheesiness. Sadly this wasn't the case. Our female musicians all look like models, but the characters are very annoying and get to keep their clothes on. Horror legend Donald Pleasence has a small part yet in the English language version he has been dubbed - BADLY! It sounds like somebody trying but failing miserably to do a Pleasence impersonation. As a fan of his I found this to be an abomination and unforgivable.The film is has 1980's cheese but not in a good way. The gore is pretty minimal, some sets are strangely draped in curtains (I think they were trying to mimic the look of Suspiria) and as already mentioned zero nudity. One of the few good points is Italian Scream Queen Daria Nicoldi among the female cast. Italian horror movies had nosedived by the late 1980's, this being a prime example
This movie is so bad.... The acting, the story, the dialogues, the special effects, the direction, the sound.... Everything in this movie is soooo bad that I LOVE it!! It's supposed to be a horror movie but it's the best and funniest comedy I ever seen!! I can't stop laughing every time I'm watching it and I'm so in love with it that I ended up buying the video! If you want to laugh for 80 minutes, watch it!! The best line?? "Spirito del Male.... TI DETESTO!" - Italian people will understand.
"Paganini Horror" isn't a masterpiece,but it is a solid horror flick that will keep almost all horror fans entertained.The acting,apart from Daria Nicolodi("Deep Red","Tenebre")and Donald Pleasance("Phenomena","Halloween"),is pretty bad and the rock music is extremely cheesy and annoying.Director Luigi Cozzi("Il Gatto Nero")desperately tries to create some spooky atmosphere and,in my opinion,he partially succeeds.The film is full of rich,glowing colors,and the gore effects are pretty well-done(for example nasty head explosion,violin stabbings etc).All in all I really enjoyed this one,so check it out for yourself.
Bad. But not bad enough to be good.
The acting is definitely below average. The one exception is Donald Pleasence, but he's only in like 3 scenes.
The characters are much dumber than the average dumb horror movie character. However, this creates a fun random quality. The film is quite unpredictable - this is its main strength. You have no idea what will happen next. And some of these random moments are pretty great. There's an underground secret passage and flesh melting fungus. But the film does not save the best for last. It's ending is underwhelming compared to the chaos that came before it.
But my biggest problem with this film is the music and sound design are simply not good enough. The premise of the film is a haunted song and selling your soul to the devil for fame. Nailing the music is an absolute must, and they did not deliver.
The acting is definitely below average. The one exception is Donald Pleasence, but he's only in like 3 scenes.
The characters are much dumber than the average dumb horror movie character. However, this creates a fun random quality. The film is quite unpredictable - this is its main strength. You have no idea what will happen next. And some of these random moments are pretty great. There's an underground secret passage and flesh melting fungus. But the film does not save the best for last. It's ending is underwhelming compared to the chaos that came before it.
But my biggest problem with this film is the music and sound design are simply not good enough. The premise of the film is a haunted song and selling your soul to the devil for fame. Nailing the music is an absolute must, and they did not deliver.
The female rock and roll band formed by Kate (Jasmine Main), Elena (Michel Klippstein) and Rita (Luana Ravegnini) want to release a new album, but their producer Lavinia (Maria Cristina Mastrangeli) refuses since their songs are very poor. Their friend Daniel (Pascal Persiano) buys a piece of music from a stranger called Mr. Pickett (Donald Pleasence) that explains that the music was written by Paganini himself and never released. Lavinia believes that the music will become a hit and she hires the filmmaker Mark Singer (Pietro Genuardi) to make a videoclip in a manor she has hired from her acquaintance Sylvia Hackett (Daria Nicolodi). Soon Rita and Daniel disappear and the floor collapses beneath Kate that also vanishes in the hole. The survivors try to flee from the real state but they discover that they are trapped in hell.
"Paganini Horror" is a trash so lame and ridiculous that becomes funny. The awful story and screenplay associated to ham performances with a cast that overacts most of the time, highlighted by the dreadful dubbing in English and terrible cinematography make this movie a classic of the trash genre. There is no explanation why the members of the band are doomed to hell. I do not understand why Daria Nicolodi and Donald Pleasence accepted to include this film in their filmographies. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Paganini Horror"
"Paganini Horror" is a trash so lame and ridiculous that becomes funny. The awful story and screenplay associated to ham performances with a cast that overacts most of the time, highlighted by the dreadful dubbing in English and terrible cinematography make this movie a classic of the trash genre. There is no explanation why the members of the band are doomed to hell. I do not understand why Daria Nicolodi and Donald Pleasence accepted to include this film in their filmographies. My vote is three.
Title (Brazil): "Paganini Horror"
Did you know
- TriviaEven though he was hired for one week, Donald Pleasence was able to shoot all his scenes in about 3 days.
- GoofsThe legend is that Paganini sold his soul, not for wealth and fame, but for the talent to play the violin, the talent which , of course, brought him wealth and fame.
- ConnectionsEdited into Blood on Méliès' Moon (2016)
- SoundtracksStay the Night
(uncredited)
Written and composed by Vince Tempera and Lucia De Masi (uncredited)
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