|
|
Macabre
AKA: Macabro, Frozen Terror
Directed by Lamberto Bava
Released: 1980
Starring: Bernice Stegers, Stanko Molnar, Veronica Zinny, and Roberto Posse
Running Time: 89 minutes
DVD Released By Anchor Bay Entertainment
Jane Baker (Bernice Stegers) is having an affair with Fred (Roberto Posse). When an "accident" claims the life of her young son, they speed to get to her home but they crash the car and Fred is killed. Stricken with grief over the death of her lover and her son in the same day, Jane snaps completely. Once she gets out of the mental hospital, Jane returns to the tenant house where her passionate affair with Fred took place. Robert, a young blind man who can barely contain his feelings for Jane, welcomes her back to stay in the upstairs apartment. Pretty soon, Robert realizes something is terribly wrong with Jane because she spends all of her time in her room talking to the deceased Fred and gee, why is there a padlock on the freezer?
Supposedly,
Macabre is inspired by real events that took place in New Orleans. Lamberto Bava does a subtly superb job on his first time as director. I have to say subtle because the first time I watched this movie I couldn't stand it. I was familiar with his
gorefest
Demons and the giallo/slasher hybrid
A Blade in the Dark, so this slowly paced (but tense) horror story completely caught me off guard. However, this one does illicit a second viewing, so I gave it my full attention once again. After all, it was co-written by Antonio and Pupi Avati (the brothers behind
The House with Laughing Windows).
There are traces of his father's style in the directing and the way the scenery is framed but
Macabre is definitely Lamberto's beast. The New Orleans locations are great and the house they chose to film in is perfect for the story (good thing too because you get to see every square inch of the house before the movie is over). The music is overly dramatic and ranges between "sexy" smooth jazz and discordant string arrangements. The story doesn't warrant some twisted Goblin prog rock but something more ethereal would fit better.
The gorgeous Bernice Stegers (Xtro) is a grand actress and really gets into her part. It is a treat to see her portray a character so deranged and so selfish interacting with those around her. Robert (played by Stanko Molnar from
A Blade in the Dark) is a completely pathetic and depressing character. It has nothing to do with his blindness. Robert is a lonely young man hopelessly in love with Jane who doesn't give a double goddamn about him. Their interaction is especially painful because of how much she teases the poor bastard.
Jane's daughter, Lucy, played by Veronica Zinny, is another great character. She's a chip off the old block
and is as nutty as a fruitcake. Once she shows up to the house and begins to aggravate the already deteriorating situation, the movie really kicks into high gear. Zinny is very talented in her role and it's too bad she didn't go on to do more horror films.
The biggest problems with
Macabre are its languid pace and totally ludicrous ending. The pace suits the buildup of tension but viewers that aren't fans of the Bavas or Italian horror aficionados may be put off. I can't really explain away the ending or try to defend it. Bava was going for a twist on this one and it's just too much to swallow.
I really enjoyed
Macabre (after giving it a second chance). I'm hesitant to recommend it to the average horror fan. If you're looking for a film with great atmosphere, some really disturbed characters, and
you aren't suffering from ADD, you could get into this. Fans of Lamberto Bava that haven't already checked out
Macabre need to do so immediately.
|
|
