Author: DC (Page 349 of 1086)

* (restored)

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Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure (1993)

‘Gadget: Invention, Travel, & Adventure is a videogame or interactive movie, first released by Synergy Interactive in 1993. It was directed and designed by the Japanese computer graphics artist Haruhiko Shono. For his striking visual style and his mastery of lavish computer graphics at the dawn of the point-and-click adventure game genre, Newsweek named him one of the “most influential people to watch in Cyberspace,” and coined the term “cybergames” to describe his highly-realistic visual games whose visual style have been compared to those of Cyan’s 1993 best-seller, Myst. Gadget resembles a point-and-click adventure game similar to Myst, but with a strictly linear storyline culminating in a fixed finale. Thus it tends to be classified more as an interactive movie rather than a videogame. The story centers around a future dominated by retro technology from the 1920s and 1930s, especially streamlined locomotives and flying machines.

‘The game’s plot takes place in an unspecified (albeit vaguely Eastern European) nation headed by the dictator Orlovsky. The protagonist is a government agent tasked with discovering the whereabouts of a missing scientist named Horselover Frost. He begins his quest in a third-floor room of a luxury hotel (which is in fact the headquarters of the government’s intelligence arm). After collecting his belongings in a suitcase, the protagonist takes an elevator ride to the lobby, during which a boy replaces the case with another identical one containing various spy-related paraphernalia. In the lobby, the government’s intelligence chief briefs the protagonist on his mission. The protagonist then moves to the central railway station. From this point on all the events of the story take place on trains or at the various stations (which include the national science institute) along the nation’s main rail line. The player must engage in scripted conversations with various individuals, each of whom reveals pieces of information that advance the protagonist in his quest.’ — collaged

 

Playthrough

 

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Dust: A Tale Of The Wired West (1995)

‘Dust: A Tale Of The Wired West is an American computer game made for the PC and the Macintosh. It was released on June 30, 1995 and was produced by Cyberflix and published by GTE Entertainment. The game is a point and click western adventure game in which the player, playing a character called The Stranger, travels around a virtual old western desert town in the New Mexico desert in 1882. The characters encountered in Dust are rendered by way of photographs of professional actors given limited animation in sync with dialogue. A later game produced by the same company, Titanic: Adventure Out of Time, uses the same technique.

‘The game begins with a sort of short story. The Stranger, or you, is playing 5-card draw poker with a person named the Kid, the villain of the game in a Saloon. When the Stranger bets his knife, the Kid throws his cards down, and reveals that he has a four of a kind of Aces, with a king for good measure. It beats your full house. As he reaches out to get his share, a Saloon woman remarks that his arm reveals another Ace; meaning he cheated. Infuriurated that the Kid tried to cheat, you stab him in the hand with the knife. The Kid draws his gun, but you’re a quick thinker and throw the table up as a barricade. The Kid fires into the air. The view changes to outside the Saloon. Two more shots are heard, than the Stranger runs out of the Saloon. We can hear a saloon patron yell the words, “Run, Stranger!”

‘After that, the Cyberflix logo flashes on the screen, followed by a series of screens depicting the Stranger walking through a hot, desolate desert. As this happens, the credits roll, and an elderly sounding narrator begins to speak.

‘”The Stranger may have bested The Kid, but he had paid dearly for the privilege. He had no gun, no friends, and only a few dollars in his pocket. If he wanted to live longer than tomorrow, he’d have to find these things. Was he desperate? Let’s be charitable; The Stranger, WAS, when we first met him, crow bait! Granted, Diamondback may not have looked like much either, still, we had everything he needed to survive!” — collaged

 

Dust: A Tale of the Wired West partial play through

 

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The 7th Guest (1993)

‘The 7th Guest, produced by Trilobyte and released by Virgin Games in 1993, is an interactive movie puzzle adventure game. It was one of the first computer video games to be released only on CD-ROM. The 7th Guest is a horror story told from the unfolding perspective of the player, as an amnesiac. The game received a great amount of press attention for making live action video clips a core part of its gameplay, for its unprecedented amount of pre-rendered 3D graphics, and for its adult content. In addition, the game was very successful, with over two million copies sold, and is widely regarded as a killer app that accelerated the sales of CD-ROM drives.

‘The 7th Guest takes place inside an abandoned mansion. Venture into the 22 rooms of the spooky mansion, solve over 20 mind-bending puzzles to unravel a tale of revenge and horror that took place in the 1930s. The owner of the mansion was Henry Stauf, a famous maker of children’s toys. Once a homeless drifter and thief, influenced by a vision in a dream, Henry invented a wondrous doll, so incredibly life-like that it sold like wildfire. Stauf’s toys became popular overnight bringing fame and fortune and changing his rags to riches. But things took a tragic turn when owners of the doll became infected with a fierce and deadly virus. None of those children recovered.

‘After this turn of events Stauf secluded himself inside his estate, stopped making his toys and never came into contact with the outside world for a long time. Something very strange happened when six people receive an invitation to a party at the mansion. By solving the riddles inside Stauf’s “fun house”, you’ll delve into the past to learn what happened to them, and the mysterious 7th guest, on that fateful night. To finish the game, you must solve the puzzles in Stauf’s manor; each solved puzzle will unlock new rooms or new movie sequences to watch. The puzzles are quite varied; there’s the classic “eight queens puzzle”, another puzzle where you need to compose a sentence by rearranging letters, and others. If you get stuck, you can visit the library; a book within will give you hints on the puzzle. If the hints aren’t enough, the puzzle will solve itself automatically once you consult the book enough times.’ — collaged

 

Full Game

 

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The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time (1995)

‘The Journeyman Project 2: Buried in Time is a computer game developed by Presto Studios and is the second game in the Journeyman Project series of computer adventure games. Published in 1995 by Sanctuary Woods, Buried in Time was a radical change from the original. It is noted for establishing Agent 5 (the player’s character) as Gage Blackwood, which in the original Journeyman Project lacked basic personality features and even a name. It also featured greatly improved graphics and seamless animation as well as many live-action sequences. The PC version was programmed entirely in C++ for improved performance. A PlayStation version was also prototyped, but was never released.

‘As the story begins in the year 2318, six months after the events of the first game, Gage Blackwood (once again controlled by the player) is visited by himself from ten years in the future. Someone has framed the future Gage for tampering with historical artifacts and it is up to the past Gage to visit the past and find evidence to clear his name. Meanwhile, the Symbiotry of Peaceful Beings is deliberating on Earth’s monopoly on time travel technology and this latest trial threatens to close down the Temporal Security Agency (TSA). After joining up with an interesting artificial intelligence being named Arthur, Gage visits locations such as the workshop of Leonardo da Vinci and the Mayan temple of Chichen Itza and eventually find the culprit, Michelle Visard, who is another TSA agent. Gage is kidnapped by her and taken to an old missile silo, where Arthur sacrifices himself to allow Gage to continue his mission. He eventually uncovers that another alien race, the Krynn, are behind the crimes and the framing of Gage, to further their own interests. Gage is able to stop the Krynn and save his future self, and is then mind-wiped and sent back to his own time.’ — collaged

 

Trailer

 

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The Dark Eye (1995)

‘Back in the mid 1990s, some unique stuff happened in gaming, but few things are weirder than the bizarre PC adventure game The Dark Eye: A puppet adventure game based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe and starring one of the 20th century’s most influential authors, William S. Burroughs. The game was released in 1995 for the PC by the now-defunct software company Inscape. Upon its release the game attracted little attention from either critics or consumers, though it has received some attention since and, arguably, cult status.

‘The game featured combined 3-D graphics, clay animation (claymation) and video segments. With its unconventional interface, storyline, and characters, the game’s peculiarity became its selling point. The characters are largely lifelike in appearance except for their clay-modeled faces, which are often distorted or feature grotesquely exaggerated features. This near-realism, sometimes referred to as the uncanny valley, contributed to the game’s ambience of unease and anxiety.

‘The character animation is stop-motion. Inscape did the art design of the puppets (lead artist Bruce Heavin) and had a Hollywood house actually make them. Inscape then hired two stop-motion animators and Russell Lees spent many, many hours in a hot, dark warehouse directing the animations. The working hours were from 7 am to 7 pm for about a month. They created computer-generated screenshots of the environments and shot against blue-screen, and they had a director of photography light them to match the environment.’ — collaged

 

Part 1- Introduction

 

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9: The Last Resort (1996)

‘9: The Last Resort is a 1996 adventure computer game developed by Tribeca Interactive. The game came soon after the release of Myst, which revolutionized the graphic adventure genre. Like Myst, 9 is a graphically-rich 3D prerendered world, taking advantage of high-quality QuickTime video, and solely available on CD-ROM. It was written for the Windows and the Mac OS platforms, unlike most games of the time which ran on DOS platform as well/instead.

‘9 features a large cast of characters, and is rich in character interaction. The game world is populated by bizarre environments, objects and creatures. The game world is designed to represent the limits of man’s imagination. There is a strong musical theme running through the entire game, as evidenced by a majority of the puzzles, including the main recurring puzzle. There is also a strong element of humour in the game.

‘Many of the game’s puzzles are based in a specific musical instrument, such as the drums, guitar, and organ; however, no musical knowledge of these instruments is required to enjoy this game. The gameplay centers on an organ upon which the player can play musical codes. On each “floor” of the resort, the player finds a code sheet containing instructions for playing a short musical piece on the organ. However, each sheet extends the code making it more difficult to interpret. This culminates in the final puzzle in which the player must be thoroughly familiar with the code. This concept has been regarded by players as either a blessing or a curse. The gameplay, coupled with the extremely high hardware requirements and the high cost of the game led to very few sales, and the game was remaindered.’ — collaged

 

Let’s Play 9: Last Resort- Part 1

 

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Eastern Mind: The Lost Souls of Tong-Nou (1994)

‘Eastern Mind is the product of Osamu Sato, an independent Japanese artist who attracted the attention of Sony Imagesoft after some critical acclaim for his music and video work. Sato is perhaps most recognizable for his work on the nightmare simulator LSD. He had great creative control over Eastern Mind, and its themes are fittingly personal. You play as Rin, a man whose spirit is taken by the soul-swallowing island of Tong-Nou. Rin borrows a soul for 49 days and, after receiving an amulet from a friendly snake, takes a trip to Tong-Nou to restore himself.

‘Up until this point, the game sounds like folklore, akin to the story of the trickster raven who steals the sun. All pretensions vanish when Tong-Nou is revealed to be Osamu Sato’s massive, green head floating in space. To get around, you have to climb into his head. Five minutes into the game, and it decides that the best way to depict an exploration of inner creativity is literally.

‘Rin can accomplish little at first, let alone enter the mountain where the kings of Tong-Nou have trapped his soul. To advance, he must die and descend into the Tree of Life. From within the roots, he can “transmigrate” into nine other lives from the four worlds of Tong-Nou: time, life, dreaming, and desire. Each represents a different part of Rin. Through these lives, Rin must collect the five elemental “magatamas” that contain his soul and, essentially, discover himself. Death is frequent but not penalized; going with the Eastern spiritual theme, death represents a new beginning and lets you reselect whichever life you want.

‘Apart from the batshit insane creative direction, Eastern Mind‘s greatest asset is its non-linearity. Each of the nine lives has a different objective which, while ostensibly based in a specific part of Tong-Nou, takes you on a whirlwind tour of the island. As long as you complete all nine at some point, you can follow whatever meandering path through the hub world that you want. At least half of the game’s content is optional, so you can pick and choose what you do to finish each life. To get one important item, for example, you can either find it in a chest or buy it with the aforementioned amulet. Or you can use that amulet as a Get Out of Death Free card.’ — Obscuritory

 

Intro

 

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Return to Zork (1993)

‘Unlike the previous games in the Zork franchise, which were text adventures, Return to Zork takes place from a first-person perspective and makes use of video-captured actors as well as detailed graphics; a point-and-click interface replaced the text parser for the first time in a Zork game. The overall gameplay style was somewhat similar to Myst, although Return to Zork predated Myst by a few months. Unlike Myst, which had no extraspatial dimensions of functionality, Return to Zork featured multiple ways of interacting with each object in the game world, as well as with several non-player characters also present in the world via a menu which appeared on the left side of the screen. It also offered multiple ways to “complete” the game, which encouraged replay.

‘Among the actors who appeared in the game were a number of instantly recognizable (by face, if not necessarily by name) character actors as well as a number of well-known younger actors: Robyn Lively of Twin Peaks as “The Fairy”, Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years as “The Troll King”, and Sam J. Jones from the 1980 film Flash Gordon as “The Blind Bowman” and A.J. Langer of My So-Called Life as fellow Zork explorer Rebecca Snoot whom the player encounters on several occasions. Game designer, Doug Barnett, worked independently with Activision. Art designer Mark Long (co-founder/owner of Zombie Studios, Seattle, Washington) had several goals in mind to “make the game realistic” and “avoid things like mazes in text adventure games”, and “multiple ways to solve puzzles, and to finish the game.” In an interview in 1999, he stated these concepts:

‘(1) All of the puzzles in the game reference real, albeit esoteric, references to various cultures and archeological history and studies. A common example would be the exploration of the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt along with the mythology that surrounds it, but uncommonly known examples were chosen over better-known ones. Mark’s overseas duties in the U.S. Army (retired Major) combined with a year of historical research enhanced the puzzles that must be solved to finish the game. (2) Navigation is “always correct; if you move north then south, you are always in the same place. Solving mazes was overdone, dull, and annoying.” (3) There are multiple (“at least three”) ways to solve puzzles, as well “as a half-dozen ways to complete the game.” His reasoning: “I didn’t like games that you had to follow a single, specific, obfuscated path for each puzzle, and just one way the game could be finished.” This was contrary to text-based adventure games and the widely popular Myst series. It also “gave the player a reason to play the game more than once, trying to discover new ways to solve puzzles and to finish the game. Serious gamers said they had worked out dozens of combinations to complete the game.”‘ — collaged

 

Trailer

 

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Phantasmagoria (1995)

‘In some ways, Phantasmagoria is the quintessential 90s game, borrowing elements – intentionally or not – from some of the decade’s biggest phenomena. Released in 1995, it was smack in the middle of publisher Sierra’s adventure game heyday. Like CD-ROM sensation Myst, all the characters are rendered using full-motion video, while the environments are all composed of static, pre-rendered 3D backgrounds. And, like Mortal Kombat and Night Trap before it, Phantasmagoria’s realistic and often gruesome depiction of its characters stirred up controversy.

‘The story of Phantasmagoria is pulled straight from traditional horror tropes. A young married couple, Adrienne Delaney and Don Gordon, buy an old mansion located outside of what appears to be a coastal town in either New England or the Pacific Northwest. As her photographer husband begins converting a second-story bathroom into his personal darkroom, Adrienne decides to explore the house.

‘Players take on the role of Adrienne, controlling an FMV sprite of the actress who portrays her (tastefully dressed in another 90s phenomenon: high-waisted jeans). Once belonging to an eccentric 19th century magician named Carno, the house and surrounding grounds are strange to say the least, replete with bizarre torture devices, outlandish architecture, austere portraits, lots of secret rooms and one grab-happy haunted bed. Before too long, Adrienne goes poking around where she shouldn’t, uncovering a hidden chapel and releasing an ancient evil that promptly possesses her husband.

‘None of this is to say that Phantasmagoria is a perfect adventure game. Most of the death scenes are optional, for one. I missed two of them this time around, and wouldn’t even know they were there if it wasn’t for Google and YouTube. In fact, a great deal of the game’s content is optional. That’s a shame, as many players could miss a lot of the story, especially the bits about Carno’s descent into madness. And, while the full-motion video presentation is novel, some of the performances leave a lot to be desired. Don’s performance at the end of the game, when he finally goes full-on crazy, is positively eye-rolling.’ — joystiq.com

 

Gameplay

 

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Riven (1997)

‘Developed by Cyan (now Cyan Worlds) and originally published by Broderbund, Riven was released on five CDs in 1997. It was later released on a single DVD-ROM with enhanced visuals and eliminated the need to swap discs. Development of Riven lasted over three years, and was the result of a larger budget and much larger development team than the original. Among the newcomers to the Myst creators was former Industrial Light and Magic employee Richard Vander Wende, who helped lend a unique artistic style to Riven in order to separate it from its predecessor.

‘The game earned high praise from fans and reviewers. Many fans consider Riven to be the best game in the series, and the most difficult, as well. With five islands full of interesting puzzles, intriguing story, and impressive visuals, it’s little wonder Riven was as much a success as the original Myst, selling 1.5 million copies in just its first year on the market.

‘Like Myst before it, Riven is a first-person, point-and-click adventure game set in gorgeous pre-rendered environments. The player explores the world of Riven by clicking on different areas of the screen in order to turn, walk, and interact with objects in the environment. Progress through the game could be considered non-linear, as there is no list of goals or objectives. Instead, players must explore the five islands of Riven to solve puzzles on their way to the story’s ultimate conclusion. Also like Myst, the game included a “Zip Mode”, for fast travel over previously explored areas.

‘The plot of Riven essentially takes place immediately after Myst ended – Atrus, the man you met in D’ni at the end of the first game and the owner of Myst Island – needs help, which is where the player – or the “Stranger” – comes in. Atrus’ wife, Catherine, is trapped on the deteriorating Age of Riven, and is being held captive there by Atrus’ father, Gehn. Details on Riven’s backstory, including the reason Gehn is trapped there, can be found in the first Myst novel, Myst: The Book of Atrus.

‘At the start of the game, Atrus gives you his journal, which he hopes will be enough to get you up to speed on what exactly is happening and what he needs you to do. He also gives you a trap book, which he’s afraid you’ll need in order to capture Gehn. Don’t use it yourself, or it’s game over. Atrus cannot accompany you to Riven himself, as he has to keep writing. He is desperately altering details of the Riven book in order to slow its deterioration. While this would perhaps imply that you only have a certain amount of time to rescue Catherine and get the heck out of Riven, this is only a plot element and has no effect on gameplay. Since Atrus cannot risk Gehn escaping from Riven, he unfortunately has to send the Stranger into the Age without a way out. The player thus has to find a way to signal Atrus once he has trapped Gehn and rescued Catherine, so that Atrus can come to the Age with a Linking Book to bring everyone back. Among various other elements uncovered throughout the game’s plot, the Stranger learns about the Star Fissure, a sort of portal found on the decaying Riven Age that leads – oddly enough – to the Stranger’s home of earth. This explains how the Myst book originally fell into the Stranger’s hands in the first place, and gives the Stranger a sense of hope: If he succeeds here, there’s a chance he can go home again.’ — Giant Bomb

 

Longplay

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** _Black_Acrylic, Binge trigger, awesome. Thanks, I haven’t looked at William Bennett’s blog in ages. Everyone, _Black_Acrylic: ‘In case you’d not seen it, William Bennett’s blog here has lots of features about Giallo films and similar directors.’ William Bennett, i.e. late of Whitehouse and currently of Cut Hands, if the name rings a bell. ** Misanthrope, ‘The Barbarians’ is a pothead laugh riot fest classic. Maybe the Ukraine grain shortage is making people think practically. I think if a fiction writer used semicolons excessively, that could be interesting. As the world grows increasingly de-literate, it seems the semi-colon’s only hope for survival is as one of the two icons needed to form an old fashioned ‘wink’ emoji. ** David Ehrenstein, Is that true, ha ha? ** Tosh Berman, Well, let’s just say I wish you had a real presence in the film world then. Oh, I guess I thought ghosts were supposedly residue and that they’re stuck in the locations where they either died or maybe I guess spent the most meaningful or unhappy periods their lives? Although why would that be the case, I guess? Hm. Great ghost stories. My mom believed in them too. She used to tell us kids that there was this massive ghost that looked like a huge Halloween pumpkin that would appear over her bed like a dirigible. I’ve told this story before, sorry, but my only inexplicable experience that could be explicable if one believes in ghosts is that this young guy who was living at our family house for a while killed himself, gassed himself in his car on Mulholland Drive. For a while there was this suitcase full of his stuff that was going to be sent to his parents. It was leaning against a wall by my mom’s desk, and I was sitting in her desk one day and looking at the suitcase and thinking about the dead guy, and the suitcase just suddenly flew into the air and landed on the floor about three feet away from the wall. That was fucking weird, and I could never figure that out. ** Bill, The ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ score is kind of wonderful if you like that sort of thing. If you can at least give that project a few more stabs, I’ll be grateful. I have all kind of far fetched fiction plans that end being way too far for me, unfortunately. Tips … Maybe we should Zoom. That might be easier. Do you zoom or Skype or anything? Yes, the Peter Rehberg live record is really terrific albeit rather painful to listen to, of course. ** Dominik, Hi!!! Yes, emoji poems! That might be the solution. Emoji haiku! Call me crazy but I can really see that working well. I might just try to make one of them. What I liked about my yesterday’s love is that it seems perfect at first until you think about it, and then it starts to seem like hell on earth, ha ha. Visible farts, yikes! Talk about hell on earth. Or maybe if I think more about it, it’ll seem like heaven on earth, huh. Good one! Love coming to my rescue, and yours too if you need rescuing from anything, G. ** sean, Hey! Ooh, I’m going to sit down and concentrate and read that very carefully once I’ve dotted the p.s.’s final ‘i’, but I can already tell at a glance that it was well worth your effort, assuming your brain is still in one piece, of course. Awesome! Thank you so much! How’s stuff? ** Steve Erickson, ‘House on the Edge of the Park’ is quite good. You might just be able to hear Monday’s meeting way over there in NYC. The two places in Paris I know of that carry The Wire are Smith & Sons, Paris’s largest English language bookstore, which is happily three blocks from me, and the Centre Pompidou. I’m sure it’s sold elsewhere, but I always get mine at S&S. Very strange that no place sells it in NYC. Quite strange. ** Robert, Hi. It’s a kind of fun, ridiculous show: the crucifixion thing. The one time I watched ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ it was with a knowing friend who told me when the animal stuff was about to happen and when it was over so I could cover my eyes. I can’t take that shit. I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 15, and I get nauseous and freaked out if I’m sitting at table where someone’s eating lobster or even shrimp. Really happy you liked ‘Malina’, obviously. Being stumped in a new way is kind of the ideal effect from a book for me. So, yeah. What’s next? ** Okay. I was thinking about the 90s when ‘video games’ as ambitious forms came into being and when even popular games could often be very experimental and adventurous and innovative, and how that prioritising of aesthetically and formally really daring games has moved to the extreme margins of the gaming world, and I remembered that I made this post ages ago charting my favorite games of that era, and I thought I should restore it. Maybe if some of y’all were around and gaming on your computers back then, you’ll have some long lost faves of your own that you can toss back at me. See you tomorrow.

 

‘”First you take the liver out, then you open the rib cage and take the innards out. Then you fill it with hot stones and aromatic herbs …” Ruggero Deodato is explaining how to eat a human being. Not that he’s done it, or has he met anyone who has – but when it comes to cannibalism, the 72-year-old director is still something of an authority. In 1980, Deodato released what is still regarded in many quarters as the most controversial film ever made: Cannibal Holocaust, now being rereleased for home consumption, if that’s the right word.

‘Cannibal Holocaust lived up to its billing in so many ways. The movie follows a team of American film-makers into the Amazon basin in search of a previous expedition, who disappeared investigating cannibal tribes. What we see is supposedly the footage recovered after they themselves disappeared. Cannibalism is just the dessert course. Before we reach the gruesome climax, we’re served up a degrading onslaught of rapes, murders, torture, salacious sex, genocide, castration and even news footage of real-life executions.

‘Most notorious of all was Cannibal Holocaust’s depiction of the slaughter of wild animals. That is the only part of the film Deodato regrets. “In my youth, growing up, I spent a lot of time in the country close to animals and therefore often seeing the moment of their death,” he says. “The death of the animals, although unbearable – especially in a present-day urban mindset – always happened in order to feed the film’s characters or the crew, both in the story and in reality.” His latest edit cuts out some of these excesses, but still leaves plenty in.

‘More troubling, though, is the treatment of humans in Cannibal Holocaust. Despite Deodato’s avowed support for indigenous peoples (he shot the movie on the border between Colombia and Brazil), none are credited, and there’s little evidence of interest in their actual tribal customs. He is often accused of racism and exploitation, but he insists they were intelligent, co-operative collaborators. “Of course they understood they were being portrayed as cannibals,” he says. “But it’s part of their tradition. It’s an ancestral thing. When they had a battle, the leader of the losing tribe would be killed and eaten by the winners. It’s part of their past. They don’t deny that.”

‘The get-out is that the film-makers in Cannibal Holocaust are the real savages. They are shown goading, raping and even killing to get sensational footage for the media back home. In real life, though, Deodato was doing something suspiciously similar. “My producer in Italy was showing dailies in the film markets and getting an amazing response, so he was ringing me every day in the jungle telling me: ‘Do more! Do more! Keep filming! Kill more people! Don’t worry, your message will come though.'”

‘Deodato, who was assistant director on Sergio Corbucci’s Django, was inspired to make the film after watching violent news reports in Italy with his young son. “It was the time of the Red Brigades. Every night on TV there were very strong images of people being killed or maimed. Not only killings but also some fabrications. They were increasing the sensationalism of the news just to shock people.”

‘As a comment on shock value, Cannibal Holocaust succeeded all too well. Deodato was even put on trial in Italy on suspicion of murdering his actors – an accusation he disproved by bringing one of them to court. He was fined for animal cruelty, and the movie was banned for three years. It was banned in around 40 other countries, too, including the UK until 2001.

‘Whatever its sins, Cannibal Holocaust’s influence has been acknowledged by directors from Oliver Stone to Quentin Tarantino, and across the horror world. Deodato is proud his film created the “found footage” genre. The fact that Cannibal Holocaust’s content has been less imitated than its style can only be good news for humanity, censorship panels, the ecosystem and avant-garde cuisine.’ — Steve Rose

 

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Stills

 

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Further

Ruggero Deodato @ IMDb
Entretien avec Ruggero Deodato
RD @ MUBI
Ruggero Deodato @ Twitter
therealdeodato @ instagram
RD @ The Grindhouse Cinema Database
Book: ‘Cannibal Holocaust and the Savage Cinema of Ruggero Deodato’
RD @ Shameless Films
RD @ Letterboxd
The Disturbing Art of Sight and Sound in RuggeroDeodato’s Cannibal Holocaust
Deodato is back with a 2d point and click horror game BORNEO: A Jungle Nightmare
Cannibal Holocaust: ‘Keep filming! Kill more people!’
CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST: INTERVIEW WITH RUGGERO DEODATO
Meet Ruggero Deodato
Interview: Ruggero Deodato
Script to Pieces: Ruggero Deodato’s Cannibals
‘Video nasty’ director Deodato debates censorship
Ruggero Deodato’s Top 10 Genre Films
Deodato Spearheads Corruption with CUT & RUN

 

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Extras

Deodato’s Cannibal [Switch/PS4/XOne/PC] Video interview with Ruggero Deodato

Borneo: A Jungle Nightmare | Official Video Game Trailer | HD | 2021 | Ruggero Deodato

RUGGERO DEODATO – Interview with his son discussing CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST

Les Maîtres de l’Horreur #6 : Ruggero Deodato

 

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Interview

 

After several years of assistantship, you made your official debut as a director with Fenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankhamun in 1968. How did you come to direct it and why did you start on this film?

(laughs) I wanted to quit working as an assistant and I was offered to go into directing. I was scared because there were a lot of good directors at the time. So a producer asked me if I wanted to do Fenomenal . It was a commercial film that I didn’t have to sign with my name (Roger Rockfeller being the surname that appears in the credits). I said ok because it allowed me to go to Paris and Tunis. And it was the opportunity to have a first experience as a director, which I really wanted. It was an opportunity.

Among your first films, I really like Una ondata di piacere (1975).

The movie came later. I shot a lot of comedies before then I got married to an actress (Silvia Dionisio) who was quickly in great demand. I got tired of doing movies because when my agent called me, it wasn’t just for me, but also to get my wife. Finally, I went to Milan to do commercials. Then two years later, I was offered Una ondata di piacere. The film was to be shot in Sicily. It was a thriller with erotic elements. I wanted to accept, but my wife said to me: “ No, you cannot do it, or so with me. (laughs) She managed to shoot it, despite her star status. She said: ” It doesn’t matter, I’m doing it for a small fee because otherwise you can’t do it! (laughs) At the time, I hated this film because it featured my wife naked for the first time on screen, but when I watch it now, I think it’s not bad in its erotic and criminal atmosphere.

Is it difficult to film on a boat?

Terrible! The captain, like the boat, were English. Every day, we left with the sun, from Palermo – we filmed in Cefalu – and the captain said: “ We are going to have a storm in ten minutes !”. It was never true, it was a blazing sun! (laughs) But the film was very hard to make.

Do you remember the actors John Steiner and Al Cliver?

I made many other films with John Steiner afterwards. With Al Cliver no, because…
he had a handsome face, but he wasn’t a great actor. I saw him again two months ago at a convention in Germany, he no longer has a voice ( Al Cliver has throat cancer). (laughs) It’s sad.

Live like a cop, die like a man, which you did right after, left me quite perplexed. The film is very entertaining, but we still see police officers shooting without warning on thugs before they even enter the bank they have planned to attack!

It’s a kind of western (laughs). With bounty hunters. I really like this movie because it was a big success and thanks to this success my real career started. A producer called me to do The Last Cannibal World. Tarantino told me he thought the motorcycle chase was fantastic. It was filmed in the middle of town. It was possible then, but it wouldn’t be today. I also like it a lot because it’s my first film that was made with the Deodato style. By putting soft music on a cruel scene, for example. For me, this is my real career start.

When you see the Italian films of the time – and in particular the thrillers – there are the right-wing films, directed by Stelvio Massi or Umberto Lenzi, which justify the violent methods of the police; and left-wing films, such as those by Sergio Sollima or Lucio Fulci, which question government and civilization. On most of your films – especially your cannibal films, which ask a lot of questions about society – I had the feeling that you belonged more to the second category, but ahead of Live like a cop, die like a man … (Deodato laughs) How do you compare to that? Because there is the fun side, with nice and funny cop characters, but we still see one of them breaking the neck of a wounded and disarmed gangster! We inevitably ask ourselves questions when we see this.

Yes… This is perhaps the most right-wing film in my filmography. But… At the time, there were a lot of very violent gangsters in Italy. I was in contact with gang leaders to make the film. To get permission to shoot. I met a guy like that. He was small and without charisma. I asked him how he could have become a great gangster. He replied, “ It’s because I have the strength to say, ‘Go kill him!'”. So, I figured it takes a similar strength to fight a man like that (laughs). He was the one who explained to me how gangsters traveled with buses and trams. I also imitated Serpico a bitfor the characters… But at the time, I was not very politicized. Me, I’m more of an anarchist, I never think about politics.

There is an element of social criticism in The Last Cannibal World or in Cannibal holocaust .

Yes, but at the time of Cannibal holocaust, the media did not understand it and attacked me a lot: “But you are right! A fascist!”. 20 years later, it was the opposite, but at the time, all the media were against me, because they were on the right! In Italy there are still many people who divide the world in two: you are fascist or you are partisan. After 60 years! If your parents weren’t partisan at the time, you’re on the right (laughs). If you had fascists in your family, so are you. It’s awful. I think the Italians are very cunning. They say to themselves: “ Where would I eat best today? With the left or with the right? “. They want to eat as well as possible.

I have to say that I prefer The Last Cannibal World to Cannibal Holocaust, because the viewer involvement is much stronger. We are really immersed in the tribe of cannibals with the main character.

I, too, prefer The Last Cannibal World because I suffered to make it. I shot it in the real jungle, with real Indians and in fantastic settings. I really like this movie. It’s a shame it doesn’t render on DVD. I saw it again at the Cinémathèque in Paris and the whole public preferred it to Cannibal holocaust, even if it was the latter which had the most success. But for Cannibal holocaust, I must say that there is the idea (of the film within the film) which is fantastic. And the technique. Afterwards, there were many films that imitated him.

Anyway, today, I tell myself that if the public preferred to go see Cannibal holocaust, that’s fine with me.

Shooting this film, for me, was very easy. Very very easy. Creatively. “ Today I do this, tomorrow I impale a girl… ” Simple as that. Day by day. The last cannibal world no. It was much harder. There is also a better worked atmosphere and decorations, like the cave…

I chose the filming locations based on photos seen in National Geographic. It’s also my first experience in the jungle… I have much stronger memories of that film. It was released in a very large number of theaters in New York.

You made a third film in the cannibal series, but which is a much more mainstream adventure film: Amazonia: the white jungle (1985).

There were more famous actors in it so it was hard to keep my mind. I had actors who wanted a caravan, who needed to sleep in 5 star hotels… It was more difficult.

The movie is not bad. There are fantastic natural settings. I did what I wanted, but I had a lot of problems with the actors. We shot in Canaima National Park, where you can find the highest waterfall in the world (les Saut de l’ange). I slept there, but the actors refused: they came from Caracas every day by plane.

It doesn’t look like the previous two, it’s more American-style. You can see it cost money and it’s not badly made, but it’s not in the spirit of what I like.

There’s another one of your films – which you shot for Cannon – that I like a lot, it’s The Barbarians .

I love it so much. I completely changed the scenario. La Cannon called me to do a movie like Conan. Very difficult. After all, I had done Cannibal holocaust. But when I met the twins (Peter and David Paul), they were so funny in life… If one started to drink, the other had to snatch his glass from his hands… They were always at to argue. So I changed everything to make it a comedy. When Golan and Globus, the producers, came to Rome to see the film, they were scared.“ Ruggero, we heard you changed the movie! “. So, we projected it to them and they were delighted. They arrived angry because they had just watched Sinbad (a terrible flop with Lou Ferrigno. Enzo G. Castellari, Luigi Cozzi and Tim Kincaid followed one another behind the camera), which was not good. They arrived furious, but they exclaimed “Bravo! Cheer!” at the end of the screening. This is the film on which I had the most fun in my life.

Now, the question which will perhaps a little annoy: how do you view Dial help (1988) and Washing machine (1993)?

I had fun on Dial help because the actress Charlotte Lewis (the Maria-Dolores of Polanski’s Pirates) was very “bitchy”! She was very funny. She said to me, “Ruggero, I’ll show you some breasts if you’re going to buy me something I saw via Condotti. (one of the most luxurious shopping streets in Rome). And I was like, ” Okay, Charlotte, we’ll go tomorrow!” (laughs). It was always like that. She was cute and I had a lot of fun.

The other, Washing machine … I like the Budapest decor a lot, but the film… I don’t know. There is something wrong. Maybe the story. She comes from a play where the main actress held three roles. But I don’t know what is. Maybe the actors are not good. I don’t like the movie.

How did you come to direct Les petits canailles (1992), which is a bit unusual in your career?

(laughs) The movie comes from a story I wrote after Cannibal holocaust . I wanted to make a film called Les gamins. A story of young boys in Bogotta. I wrote a very hard story, but I didn’t manage to put the project together. Years later, a French producer, my friend André Koob, asked me if I would have a story to shoot in Caracas. I adapted the story. I softened it. It was fun to do. He won a prize in Berlin and another in Israel. It’s not really my style, but it’s still me who wrote it. It’s a pity that I couldn’t do Les gamins, that would have been great.

The Last Breath (L’ultimo sapore dell’aria – 1978) was a very sweet film too, very different from my other films. In Japan, the ticket was sold with a handkerchief! The film was very well done. It was the same producer as on The Last Cannibal World. After that film, Japan wanted another film from me and I gave them a film Full of Feelings (laughs), a melodrama.

In my career, I have changed my style a lot. I took part in a six-episode television series called I ragazzi del muretto (1991) which was very successful in Italy. It tells the daily life of a group of high school students. Afterwards, I did another series in six episodes with Bud Spencer (Noi siamo angeli (1997), also with Philip Michael Thomas). I like change.

It’s hard to pinpoint you because of that. You’re best known for your cannibal movies, but when you look at your filmography, you’ve rarely done the same thing twice.

Yes, I’m best known for Cannibal holocaust, but there are also a lot of fans who come to talk to me about The Barbarians, about The House at the Bottom of the Park, which I still find very modern today, or about the Predators of the Future. Perhaps my most anonymous film is Body count …

Which is very Americanized.

Yes, very Americanized. I didn’t have much fun doing it. The VHS won the Gold Cassette Award in England. Yesterday, I saw a film from the competition, with German zombies (Dead snow by Tommy Wirkola), which made me think of Body count. There’s the same spirit, but with more zombies.

In the 60s and 70s, Italian cinema was one of the richest in the world. Today, there is almost nothing left. How do you view current Italian cinema?

Politics may have contributed a great deal to the “catastrophe” of Italian cinema. Because it was (during the 70s, editor’s note) dominated by leftists. And the right-wing government has decided to shoot down the left-wing intelligentsia of Italian cinema. As a reaction, when the left came to power (in 1978), it favored left-wing directors for grants. She gave to the sons of politicians, to the “sons of”… A lot of money was lost like that because the films didn’t work. A lot of movie people have lost their jobs. That’s one thing.

Then television got involved. Before, she bought films. But she began to produce series and TV movies. Television producers began refusing to give money to films that were too violent or unsuitable for them. And we couldn’t do without them. Many young people have started making their films like TV movies. But television is very different from cinema, in terms of framing, for example. Movie actors could no longer shoot.

I hope that will change. Maybe… Maybe because with Berlusconi not giving film funding, directors are starting to learn how to make films without funding. It goes back to how it was before. Anyway, the money comes from the departments. And to whom do the ministries give money? Not to me, anyway. I am no one’s son. I am neither on the right nor on the left. I don’t know any politicians, my films aren’t politicized. There are no messages in my stories…

But I hope something will happen.

 

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18 of Ruggero Deodato’s 36 films

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Hercules, Prisoner of Evil (1964)
‘This movie is really weird. Hercules is some kind tribal chief in central Asia. He owes his loyalty to the “Great Khan” (edit: In the Italian version he’s called Ursus. Slap the Hercules name on it to trick the rubes!). The plot revolves around a power struggle in which a devious sorceress keeps turning people into werewolf-like monsters by feeding them magic wine. It’s really not as exciting as it sounds: the first hour + change is mostly people poking through bushes and slowly exploring caves. It pops off in the last 15 minutes with a big brawl in a castle but I had lost all goodwill by that point.’ — Philip Decloux

the entirety

 

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Fenomenal and the Treasure of Tutankamen (1968)
‘From the director who brought you the infamous Cannibal Holocaust and the nasty House On The Edge Of The Park comes this high kitsch Euro superhero romp. The funerary mask of Tutankhamun has been loaned to a museum in Paris for 2 weeks and is inevitably stolen despite all manner of fancy security. This sets up three questions, (i) who stole it? (ii) will our superhero Phenomenal get it back?, and (iii) why does he dress like the milk tray man and how can he see with a stocking on his head? With plenty of double crossings and foul play all set to a bouncy Bruno Nicolai score this is just about watchable.’ — T GP

Excerpt

 

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Gungala, the Black Panther Girl (1968)
‘Having apparently lost her outfit, Gungala has to run around completely nude until she finds a torn piece of mesh to wear from the visiting city folks. We then get to see her swing on vines, ride an elephant, and even steal herself a man. I’m a little fuzzy on the plot because I couldn’t find an English version but Gungala can’t understand the characters either so I’m chalking it up to another level of immersion. This silly romp is surprisingly obscure considering it’s by the infamous director of Cannibal Holocaust.’ — Norb

the entirety

 

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Donne… botte e bersaglieri (1968)
‘Tony and some friends put together a rock band to do concerts and earn some money.’ –– IMDb

the entirety

 

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Waves of Lust (1975)
‘Seduction at sea in this sleazy erotic EuroTrash drama from Ruggero Deodato. Upside down. Waterskiing. J&B Scotch. Footsie. P-Diddy’s yacht. Dress up. Caviar. Bitch-slap. Yummy nipples! Icky eel. Wetsuit kissy-kissy. Skinny dippin’. Aphrodisiac. Sex on the beach. Scuba diving. Erotic first-aid. Toe sucking. Creepy painting. Life preserver. Paranoia. Nude sunbathing. Body-shots. A beautiful gift. Shag carpet. Speargun. Overboard. Hallucinations. Asshole motherfuckers don’t fuckin’ float. Two hotties that stay naked for almost the entire film. The lovely Silvia Dionisio is extra smokin’ all fuckin’ natural hot. Hull from Zombie Flesh Eaters is kinda goofy but I’m still a fan. John Steiner is one creepy motherfucker and plays the creepy fuck almost too good.’ — Todd Gaines

Excerpt

 

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Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976)
‘Director Ruggero Deodato has a legacy that is better associated with his mental masterwork “Cannibal Holocaust.” He brings the same macabre spirit to “Die Like a Man,” which features two protagonists who are so psychopathic that they fail as: cops, men, and generally just as human beings.

‘Screenwriter Fernando Di Leo’s earlier works, “Caliber 9” and “The Italian Connection,” star antiheroes trapped in a system corrupted beyond hope of repair or even partial remedy. Here, he pens two of the type of figures that are the metaphorical thick black tar gumming up the functioning gears of society – that is; two members of the Italian police.

‘The excess of swagger when it comes to content matter doesn’t save “Die Like a Man” from a lifetime sentence’s worth of shoddy cinema tricks so gregarious that they must at least me termed individual felonies.

‘But – Deodato does have a contribution to the genre to make here. Just as the gangsters and robbers had to hustle for their daily existence, so too must the ‘right’ side of the law scrimp and pilfer to tell their half of the story. Same hustle. Different dudes. But only by a badge or so.’ — theriverjordan

the entirety

 

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Last Cannibal World (1977)
‘A few years before Ruggero Deodato made his horror masterpiece, Cannibal Holocaust (1980), he directed Last Cannibal World (known just as well as Ultimo Mondo Cannibale and Jungle Holocaust; it wouldn’t be Italian horror without at least a few other titles). This flick was originally supposed to be helmed by Umberto Lenzi as the sequel to the film that started the whole Italian cannibal cycle, Man from Deep River (1972). But instead, we have Deodato testing out some of the depraved shit he’d perfect down the line.

‘Last Cannibal World has a simple story, despite being written by three people: Robert and his pal Rolf are two oil prospectors flying to meet up with their team on the island of Mindanao. Their plane is damaged during a rough landing, and they’re forced to venture out for help, finding a cannibal tribe instead. Robert is captured and subjected to all sorts of runtime-draining stuff for the amusement of the natives, including being stripped, having his peen tugged repeatedly, getting a handjob, getting pissed on, receiving multiple beatings with rocks, eating rotted meat, and watching the obligatory on-screen killings of live animals.

‘This is a brutal film and easily one of the hardest in the cannibal canon to sit through. It’s pretty light on human-on-human gore, but Deodato and crew more than make up for that with excessive atrocities of a different sort. Though Last Cannibal World doesn’t offer the astute social observations of Cannibal Holocaust and relies on the usual arsenal of sensory battery — including gratuitous physical and sexual violence, imperialist racism, the previously mentioned animal snuff, and a slew of other stomach-churning sights — it differentiates itself from a bunch of other depraved exploitation joints is its craftsmanship and dedication to mining the particularly exquisite darkness of the jungle.’ — Justin Burning

Trailer

the entirety

 

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SOS Concorde (1979)
‘Concorde Affaire ’79, also known as SOS Concorde, is a 1979 Italian action thriller directed by Ruggero Deodato and written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Renzo Genta. Released in the same year as The Concorde … Airport ’79 and featuring actor Joseph Cotten, who appeared in Airport ’77, the film was an attempt by producers to take advantage of the success of the “Airport” film franchise of the 1970s.’ — IMDb

Trailer (French)

 

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Cannibal Holocaust (1980)
‘The 1980 Italian cannibal exploitation movie “Cannibal Holocaust” has become the stuff of legend. It’s a gruesome fake documentary that features some very real on-screen animal death and very convincing human kills. It was so convincing, in fact, that director Ruggero Deodato was arrested and charged with murder.

‘When “Cannibal Holocaust” came out in 1980, found footage horror wasn’t really a thing yet. Cannibal films, a subgenre under the exploitation umbrella, were popular with many filmmakers because they allowed for lots of gore and cheap shooting locations in tropical locales. Enter Deodato and his frequent collaborator, screenwriter Gianfranco Clerici.

‘Both had previously worked on the cannibal flick “Jungle Holocaust/Last Cannibal World,” and they decided to take a new approach to cannibal horror. They created a framing device that explained that the footage in their movie was real, and had been found after the events depicted. Think “The Blair Witch Project,” but about two decades earlier. Unknown actors were hired, along with lots of Indigenous extras from the depths of the Amazon. It was pure gonzo filmmaking.

‘Deodato also wanted to test out a theory that viewing real violence or death cut together with fake violence would make the fake violence feel more grotesque. There are multiple scenes of animals being killed onscreen. These, unfortunately, are real, and they are extremely graphic. A pig, a spider, a monkey, and a turtle are all killed in brutal ways, though at least the Indigenous people hired as extras ate the animals afterward.

‘The scenes of real violence against animals are juxtaposed with the fake scenes of cannibals killing and eating their victims. Some of these look nearly ridiculous in stills or on their own, but combined with the real footage, they feel real. Your brain is still processing viewing real suffering when the fake stuff happens, and it’s hard to shake. So hard to shake, in fact, that Italian law enforcement arrested Deodato on murder charges because of the film. A little marketing scheme the director had come up with definitely didn’t help matters.’ — Danielle Ryan

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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House on the Edge of the Park (1980)
‘One of the outright sleaziest movies to come out of the Italian horror golden years and also one of my favorites. It’s not hard to see why some people hate it because it is a difficult watch, although if I’m totally honest it’s never been as hard for me as it probably should have been? Maybe that’s because all of the abuse is the human kind and not on animals or maybe it’s just because I’m completely dead inside. Who can say?

‘I love a lot of the cast here from other movies, but David Hess is the true standout as an absolute nightmare of a garbage person. Just the absolute worst, beating and raping and yelling his way through a group of people at a party. Although there’s a scene before he goes psycho where a girl invites him into the shower with her and then gets out as soon as he gets in and mind you this is before she’s supposed to know he’s fucking horrible and I’m just thinking I probably would have stayed in that shower? I mean he looks like someone you might not want to run into in a dark alley, but also like someone who knows how to punch a box. Wink.

‘Like all good Italian sleaze, particularly those made by Deodato, the lessons learned by the evildoers are at least as harsh as the things they did if not more so and that’s what makes these movies so great. It’s not just a rape revenge movie, it’s a rape @&%$!! REVENGE movie because this one has one of the most dedicated revenge plans I think I’ve ever seen. Like “yeah sure I’ll let him slice me up with a razor a little bit in order to avenge her death, why not”. That’s commitment, kids. Get you some friends like these or don’t even bother.’ — 1313: Tony the Terror

the entirety

 

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The Raiders Of Atlantis (1983)
‘When the lost city of Atlantis resurfaces off the coast of Miami Florida in 1994 Mike and Washington are two scientists working to raise a sunken Russian nuclear submarine to an ocean platform. This Mad Max style movie was not well received by critics being described by science fiction author David Wingrove in his Science Fiction Film Source Book as “Not so much suspension of disbelief as total suspension of all brain activity.”‘ — Grind House Data Base

Trailer

 

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Cut and Run (1984)
‘I’m absolutely amazed that this film is streaming on Amazon Prime. Not because of the drugs and violence, not because of the rape, not even because of the inclusion of Richard Lynch as a Green Beret Jonestown Survivor… I’m amazed this hasn’t been nuked off the face of the Earth because Willie “Bibleman” Aames wears an officially licensed Mickey Mouse t-shirt through the entirety of this drug and violence filled ode to jungle rape by the director of “Cannibal Holocaust”. By all rights, this thing should be buried under a rock with “Song of the South” in Goof-toon-amo Bay.’ — Remobo

Trailer

 

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Bodycount (1987)
‘A group of teenagers travel to a campsite built on an Indian burial ground which is believed to be haunted by a shaman. What more do you even need? Perfect set up if you ask me. The kill scenes don’t disappoint and what you expect from the director of Cannibal Holocaust, axes through heads, throats stabbed, fingers cut off, meat hooks to heads, impalings etc etc. Lot’s gratuitous nudity including a fat guy getting tricked into thinking he was going to an orgy when in reality he was greeted by David Heiss instead. There is nothing particularly original about this it borrows heavily from other summer camp set slashers such as Friday the 13th but it makes good use of the remote location and the cinematography is solid. It all goes a bit scooby doo in the finale but i still found myself enjoying it quite a bit as it is never boring and there is just another violent death around the corner.’ — BeardofTsu

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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The Barbarians (1987)
‘Orphaned brothers Kutchek and Gore are adopted by a tribe led by Canary the owner of a powerful jewel. The evil Kadar wants both Canary and the jewel. Attacking the tribe he kidnaps Canary but the stone eludes him. The brothers are taken to be trained as gladiators and years later have grown to be VERY big. They escape and set off on a quest to find the jewel and rescue Canary.’ — Letterboxd

Trailer

Excerpt

 

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Phantom Of Death (1988)
‘Michael York (AUSTIN POWERS) stars as piano virtuoso Robert Dominici who suddenly contracts a devastating disease that ages him rapidly. With death closing in fast a decaying Robert abandons tinkling the ivories to instead embark on an arpeggio of vicious slaughter upon anyone who finds out about his impending gruesome fate! Closing in fast to try and end this crescendo of violence is Police Inspector Datti, played by the seasoned psychopath chasing Donald Pleasence (HALLOWEEN). Will he solve this mystery? Not before you’ve enjoyed a long and lingering symphony of superbly gory set pieces!’ — Shameless Films

Trailer

 

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Dial: Help (1988)
‘A British model is being terrorized by an evil psychic force that uses the telephone as a way to harass people. Chaos ensues, supernatural shennanigans are at an all time high. People become possessed, pelted to death by killer change machines, strangled by telephone wires, and a lot of glass breaking. So much shattering glass.

‘Being 1988 this film is ultra 80s. The hilarious and swanky dance parties, wild fashion and 80s guitar driven score are all highlights. It’s a fairly stylish film with detailed camera work and lighting. There are some longer stretches of slow parts and dialogue that weigh the film down a bit. It also doesn’t get quite as wacky as I hoped for and dials it up to about a 6 instead of an 11 as I had hoped. Even the ending is pretty underwhelming. Despite this theres still enough weird Italian charm and stylish aspects to make this a fun film.’ — belial_carboni

the entirety

 

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The Washing Machine (1993)
‘Three sisters – voluptuous Vida, Maria (nicknamed “Sissy”), and Ludmilla – live together in a run-down apartment building in Budapest. The sisters all vie for the attentions of Yuri Petkov, a dubious middle-aged pimp who plays them off against each other. One evening, Ludmilla claims to have found Yuri’s body stuffed into their washing machine, but when Inspector Stacev arrives to investigate the body has disappeared. The good-looking young inspector attempts to discover the truth but in doing so becomes drawn into the sisters’ bizarre sex games…’ — Letterboxd

Watch the entirety here

 

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Ballad in Blood (2016)
‘Over the top with its sleazy nihilistic violence, Deodato returns with a whodunit murder jam loaded with torture sex parties, drug use, rando orgy scenes, and blood—even if it’s a bit silly this time around there’s still plenty to offend everyone… Deodato being Deodato if you will. A bit of a slog at times despite so much depravity happening, but that’s the difference between shocking people and trying to shock people.’ — Ian West

Trailer

Behind the Scenes

 

 

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p.s. Hey. ** Dominik, Hi!!! It certainly would be extremely difficult to construct a successful emoji-only novel. I think you would need to be able to invent new emojis. I think, if so, it would be very interesting to try to write a emoji-only paragraph as a test. Not interesting enough for me personally to do it, but … When you get your Paris dates, I’ll make the reservation. The only real mystery about Monday is whether he will have raised any money at all. As of last Monday, he hadn’t raised a penny. This after having guaranteed us he would raise at least 100k by Monday. So Monday will really only be about liberating ourselves from the hell of the so-called fundraising period and seeing if we can make the film, albeit with guaranteed great difficulty, with what funds we have raised. But I’ll let you know, sure. And thank you for the good thoughts. I fear that, at least in my case, it would take a very sophisticated self-cleaning system to decide what’s useful and that’s trash in my apartment. But, hey, if love is designing the system, it’s gotta be great, right? Love making everyone in the world fall in love with everyone else in the world for one hour, G. ** Tosh Berman, That wasn’t rambling, sir, that was so true and cogent, and I’m seriously chuffed that the post/she inspired it. The film is actually a family that opens a walkthrough home haunt (haunted house attraction) in their home –another medium I am obsessively interested in. It’s going to be pretty great, yeah, if I don’t say so myself, ha ha. Our funding has come from all over the place, US-included. A couple of foundations, an art institution, and bunch of individuals. Because the film is in English and will be shot in the US, we didn’t qualify for any French govt. funding — although the funds for the post-production can and will come via that route — and govt. film funding in the US is basically non-existent. Thanks, Tosh! ** _Black_Acrylic, It’s a lovely book and her work in general is great. In 3 weeks is in but a mere bat of the eye! Fantastic! I’ll be popping a cork over here when that happens, you can be sure. ** Bill, Hi. Yeah, Oursler makes so much work that it is a bit hit or miss, but I agree that one in the post is pretty special. Oh, please please follow through on that typeface-based piece. I’ve been super excited about ever since you mentioned it. ** Misanthrope, I think people who make pineapple upside down cake need to have faith in the natural tastiness of the pineapple, and my mom sure didn’t. I like when people communicate in emojis only. The Japanese ones are especially interesting because they even look like supersonic words. Yeah, I think there’s only been maybe three semi-colons in all of my books, and they were put there by copy editors. I don’t like what they do to the reader’s eye. It’s disruptive in some way that’s not useful, at least that I’ve ever seen. ** Ian, Hi, Ian. Really happy that the post and her thing spoke to you. Thanks so much! My week proceeds. And yours? ** Steve Erickson, Glad you don’t have the C. I know so many people in the States who have the C right now. Over here, our cases are still very low, but with all these American tourists packing the streets of Paris right now, I’m sure we’re heading for a new surge. I am surprised that some label hasn’t put out a decent overview album of Judy Nylon’s work. I can’t imagine the rights are that difficult to acquire. Mm, I’ve always been most interested in new things and in the unexpected and in observing how things progress. One’s personal past has lots of great stuff in it, but it’s set. You can only reassess and juggle it. That doesn’t interest me so much. If there’s art that dates from the past that you haven’t experienced before, then it exists in the present and can be experienced fully in the now. And I think I try to deprioritise my personal feelings when I approach art. I’m wary of my viewpoint becoming distorted by too much subjectivity. I guess I’m just really into discovering things and being refreshed as a person. Or if it’s something from the past, rediscovering it. And I do just inherently think that everything just becomes more interesting all the time. That’s always seemed true to me for whatever reason. ** Robert, Hi. I was going to say here’s your chance to watch a horror movie today, but I don’t know if Deodato’s films are really horror movies per say. But who’s to judge. Thanks for the fill-in and explanation. That’s super interesting. And, yeah, that makes sense. I don’t know Carra’s ‘The Horsemen of the Apocalypse’, I don’t think, but I’m on it. There’s this cemetery (Forest Lawn) in LA (well, Glendale, technically) that has the largest painting in the world, and it’s of the crucifixion, and they do this show where they ‘reveal’ it in stages and very dramatically, and I don’t know why I brought that up other than to say it might seriously freak you out. Good luck weeding through the contemporary stuff. It can be a bit of a shit show, as I’m sure you know. If you find anything especially exciting or useful or something, clue us/me in. ** David Ehrenstein, I’m sorry for your loss. RIP. ** Okay. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about the guy who made ‘Cannibal Holocaust’ and his other works, today’s your chance. See you tomorrow.