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Tragic Ceremony
Directed By Riccardo Freda
Released: 1972
Starring: Camille Keaton, Tony Isbert, Máximo Valverde, and Giovanni
Petrucci
Running Time: 87 minutes
Region: 1 NTSC
DVD Studio: Dark Sky Films
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One stormy night, four friends, led by rich boy Bill
(Tony Isbert), run out of gas while returning from a camping trip and stop
at a mansion for help. The lord of the house (played by Luigi Pistilli)
invites them in but he is distracted by the group of Satanists he is
entertaining. When one of the four friends, Jane (Camille Keaton), is to
be used as a sacrifice in a ritual, Bill and his friends step in. After
Bill accidentally kills the lady of the house (Luciana Paluzzi), the
entire group of Satanists goes berserk and the night ends in bloodshed.
The four friends flee the mansion with their lives but have no idea that
there are still in grave danger.
One of Italy’s unsung heroes of horror, Riccardo Freda, directs this
follow up to his 1971 giallo
The
Iguana With The Tongue Of Fire. Though
Tragic Ceremony
takes a while to get going and is a little confusing (intentionally?), I
can’t help but be happy about its DVD debut. The film is definitely a
bizarre one. Its plot is as shaky as the sometimes inept yet elegant
cinematography. How does that work? The lighting is acceptable but there
are some occasional moments of brilliance. I really like Stelvio
Cipriani’s sweeping, melodramatic, and overly sentimental score for the
film.
Camille Keaton of I Spit On Your Grave
is quite good as Jane, the haunted, strange, and sometimes callous young
woman that everybody (especially the Satanists) wants a piece of.
Surprisingly, the main male actors in
Tragic Ceremony are pretty dang good
(not what I was expecting). While they may have some weak dialogue to
contend with, Tony Isbert (I find that very amusing (is he really Bert?)),
Máximo Valverde, and Giovanni Petrucci, all still manage to perform
competently in this weird and somewhat wandering horror film.
My only gripe about the casting is that the late and oh so very great
Luigi Pistilli is totally wasted in his brief role. Maybe he did it as a
favor to the director but I was kind of disappointed by what is little
more than an extended cameo. What can I say? This intense and charismatic
guy is one of my favorites. Check out
Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key
for one of his finest performances.
Those uninitiated into the world of Eurohorror might be alienated by this odd little number but
diehard fans of the genre (and fans of Riccardo Freda especially) need to
check out Tragic Ceremony.
This flick has got some silly ass psychobabble, gratuitous nudity, supernatural
hokum, ludicrously over-the-top gore, and even some sweet, sweet gothic
excesses tossed in for good measure. Don’t let the meandering and fairly
obvious plot put you off. I’m telling you, this one is worth it.
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DVD Stuff:
Dark Sky Films presents
Tragic Ceremony in a fine anamorphic
widescreen transfer. There are a few scratches in the print but it looks
quite good. The credit sequence suffers from graininess but the rest of
the film really shines. The only audio option for the film is Italian with
easy-to-read English subtitles. The soundtrack is very clear with both
dialogue and music having a nice balance.
The extras feature an amazing interview with Camille Keaton in a
featurette called “Camille’s European Adventure” (12 minutes). Keaton
talks about her brief stint in Italian movies and is really positive and
energetic about her experiences there. What a gal! The only other extra on
the disc is a trailer for Tragic
Ceremony.
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Links:
Get this DVD from
Xploited Cinema.
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Quotes:
“The lady had exceptional mediumistic powers.”
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