The Grab Bag: Four of the Apocalypse (Quattro dell'apocalisse) (1975)

Fabio Testi, the last time we saw him he came out of the grab bag with a gripping performance in What Have You Done To Solonge? With a beard and cardigan he was the very manner of the '70's scamp. Tonight's film finds him in a very different seventies, but still a scoundrel in his own right. The clean shaven Stubby Preston fancies himself as a dandy and a card sharp, but soon he will be on of the...

Four of the Apocalypse (1975) starring Fabio Testi, Thomas Milian, Lynn Frederick, Michael J. Pollard, and Harry Baird. Directed by Lucio Fulci. 

It's Utah, 1873, and the town of Salt Flats is as wild as they come. Card sharp Stubby Preston hits town with a suitcase of tricks only be get accosted by the local sheriff and thrown into a cell. Turns out to be a lucky turn for the gambler when the town erupts in vigilante justice. Masked gunmen stalk the streets cutting down anyone involved in unsavory activities. The sheriff cast a blind eye while he sneaks his prisoners out the back. An so Stubby Preston sets out across the flats with his three companions. 

Stubby is joined by town drunk Clem (Pollard), the crazy or clairvoyant Bud (Baird), and pregnant prostitute Bunny (Frederick). They begin to form an unlikely band as they avoid gunmen, encounter the faithful, and scape to survive. While having a meager dinner, they are joined by Chaco (Miliard), a strange gunman with dead eye aim, who wants to join the group in their travels. The gunman offers his services as a hunter, but soon proves to be protection as they are ambushed. Stubby and the group soon discover all is not as it seems when the assailants turn out to be the law, and Chaco exacts a bloody execution. Soon the group falls under his sway, all except Mr. Preston. When Chaco convinces his companions to sample peyote, they willingly oblige, but Stubby spits his out. However, the bandit still has the upper hand as he ties the group up, raped Bunny,  and makes off with their belongings. 

The travelers manage an escape and set out on foot; this time carrying a wounded Clem on a stretcher. As they search for help, Bunny and Stubby begin to become close, but soon tragedy strikes each one of them. Soon Stubby is left alone and seeking revenge, so he makes a final gamble to get satisfaction and end his sting of bad luck. 

Film Facts

--Lynne Frederick was married to English comedian Peter Sellers. 

--On the first day on the set, Fulci placed Fabio Testi on a horse in the snow and kept him there for hours. The star was confined to be for the next three days with a cold.

--The film is based on stories by western writer, Bret Harte. Apparently Harte was such a great fellow that none other than Mark Twain felt the need to take him to task. Twain wrote in his autobiography of Harte's professional shortcomings as well as including facts about the mans defaulted loans and abandonment of his family. 

--The character of Chaco was created for the film by screenwriter Ennio De Concini.

The Bug Speaks

Fulci had been to the well of the spaghetti western once before with the forgettable Massacre Time (1966). After a few years mucking  about in sex comedies, the occasional giallo, and a pair of White Fang movies, he came back to direct 1975's Four of the Apocalypse. This film came in just as the craze was dying down, and it has less of the classic Italian feel. Instead we get a film that plays out like an off-kilter version of Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid or a neutered El Topo. The west takes on a dreamlike quality that is only enhanced by the vision of Fulci and the camerawork of Sergio Salvati who would go on to work with him on Zombi 2 and many other films. 

Fabio Testi gives a nicely nuanced performance as his dandy gambler turns into a scruffy survivor. However it is Thomas Milian and Michael Pollard who command the screen. Milian gave an inspired turn as the Manson inspired madman, although his costuming brought to mind an extra in Jesus Christ: Superstar. The rape scene he performs is thankfully brief, but utterly believable. When I watched some documentary footage featuring an interview with Milian, and when the method actor claimed to have no idea who Lynne Frederick was, I had no doubt it was true. The man seemed utterly inside the diabolical mind of his character. The drawback of this performance is his limited and sparsely placed screen time. (Also it's damn hard to have a bag guy named Chaco. I had to restrain myself from making Chaco-taco jokes constantly) Then there's Clem. Michael Pollard turns a stock role as the comic relief drunk into a portrayal filled with tenderness. Pollard is the kind of ubiquitous actor who shows up in many things, but never got a real chance to shine. Here his potential is for-filled and his performance carries a good deal of weight in this film. 

The story itself is convoluted, and anyone waiting on guns to blaze will be waiting a lot. To me that's not such a bad thing. This movie has much akin to the Jarmusch film Dead Man. The film is a collection of picaresque encounters that form a woven character study of the individuals as well as the group. Fans of Fulci's more gruesome work will find shades of the macabre in his use of cannibalism, ants crawling on open wounds, and a few fine looking shotgun blasts. Also noticeable are themes that would show up in his later work of isolation and fear. It is an interesting experiment of a film, but it neither succeeds in being transcendent or life altering. Instead it should go into the ranks of Acid Westerns like Zachiriah (1971) or The Shooting (1966). In the end it is a film that will probably only please Fulci fans or those who like their western with a healthy dose of weird. 

Bug Rating

Donald Westlake (1933-2008)

It came to my attention yesterday that one of my favorite authors, Donald Westlake, passed away on New Years Eve. I am deeply saddened by is passing and I will always be a devoted fan of his works. He was the author of a hundred books ranging from science fiction (the excellent book Smoke is a great example), hard boiled crime (The Hunter), thrillers (The Axe) comic capers (the Dortmunder series as well as one of my favorites Help, I'm Being Held Prisoner). He was a great influence on anyone who wrote crime fiction, and I truly believe that authors like Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiaasan, and Tim Dorsey owe him a great deal.

 I've fairly recently had a chance to review one of the films based on his work. The classic thriller Point Blank. It was one of best adaptations of the hard boiled style of Westlake's alter ego, Richard Stark. If you haven't read my review check it out.

Westlake's work has been adapted a few other times to middling success. Several attempts have been made to bring his series of books about John Dortmunder, an unlucky criminal and the most hangdog man you'd ever want to know, to the screen.

First was the best working of the story with The Hot Rock (1972). Unfortunately Robert Redford didn't really come off as a down on his luck criminal. The rest of the cast including George Segal and Ron Leibman are perfectly cast as the gang.

Next came 1974's Bank Shot. This film starred George C Scott as Dortmunder (although his name had been changed to Ballentine), and while it maintained the farcical nature of the Westlake story, the film itself was not very well made. Only the performance by Scott, who definitely looked the part, saves the film.

There were a few more stabs at the series along the way, but I haven't been able to see them yet. However the year 2001 gave us the most unfortunate version of the character. "What's the worst that could happen?" you might ask. Well you're exactly right with Martin Laurence stepping into the criminal's shoes (again with a name change) in What's The Worst That Could Happen? The answer to that, this flick could get made.

In the end, while a few of the films are entertaining, no one has managed to really capture the subtle humor of Westlake's caper books, and perhaps they never will. That's why my recommendation for today is to go out and pick up one of Westlake's tales. He was a great writer and someone who will continue to inspire me to write. 

Sorry; I have no space left for advice. Just do it. -Donald Westlake

Dollar Dealicious: The Night She Came Back From The Tomb (1971)

Dollar Deals is doing a little something different this month. I'm taking a break from the usual single or double feature $1 DVD's and changing it up. I was looking around one of the more upscale dollar stores (Family Dollar I expect compensation for calling you upscale.) and I happened across a bunch of DVD sets featuring anywhere from 6 to 15 films. While most of them were Lassie films or compilations of TV shows, one caught my eye, Horrorlicious. Despite it's inane cover art and title it seemed to have at least a few quality films including Gothic and The House on the Edge of the Park. 

The other titles I wasn't aware of, but seeing as it had seven other films I figured I'd give it a shot, and for 6 bucks it would probably be well worth it. Well, I was right. Although many of the transfers are not Criterion Collection clean, they are some great films in a more than watchable format at a bargain price. After all nine flicks for 6 bucks, well, that's well under a dollar each. So this month on Dollar Deals I'll be reviewing 5 total films from this set, and if you'd like to pick up one of your own I have it over in the sidebar in The Lightning Bug Store. Amazon lists the package new at 9.98, but there are more than a few copies there waiting to be picked up for around four bucks. So check it out, it's a pretty nice set for the price. 

Anyhow, on with the show. Tonight I have for you something special. A film that I found to be a real cracking good time, a whip cracking good time that is. You see tonight is....

The Night She Came Back From the Tomb (La notte che Evelyn usci dalla tomba) (1971) starring Anthony Steffen, Marina Malfatti, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, and Enzo Tarascio. Directed by Emilio Miraglia. 

Allen (Steffen) has some serious problems. Ever since he killed his wife Evelyn in a fit of rage over her infidelity, all he wants to do is search out redheaded women, make them put thigh high black boots on, whip them, and kill them. Thankfully he's under the care of his psychologist, Dr. Richard Timberlane (Rossi-Stuart) who seems to understand Allen's desires and hopes that his patient doesn't get arrested. He wants Allen to remarry, but Allen's bachelor cousin George (Tarascio) is happy to have him single. In fact George seeks out new redheads that he thinks might tickle his cousin's fancy.

One evening when George and Allen go to a dinner party, Allen meets Gladys (Malfatti) a beautiful redheaded woman, but unlike the whores and strumpets that Allen sates his murderous desires with, he genuinely likes Gladys and asks her to marry him that night. She accepts and comes to live in Allen's mansion alongside his wheelchair bound Aunt Agatha and her lover, Evelyn's good for nothing brother Albert. 

Everything seems cosy in their new home, and Allen has even given up his perversions and blood lust, but everything changes when a redheaded woman is seen mysteriously prowling the grounds of the estate. Allen's obsession with his dead wife begins to mount anew and soon Allen is loosing his grip on reality. Yet, is it Evelyn risen from the dead, or is someone trying to drive Allen insane for their own fiendish reasons?

Film Facts

--Director Miraglia would go on to direct the giallo Red Queen Kills 7 Times (1972) a.k.a Blood Feast  in the United States, but obviously with no relation to the H.G. Lewis classic.

--Marcelo Di Paolo who did the makeup design for this film would work on Jungle Holocaust in 1977. (Cheap plug for Feature Friday's review of JH coming this week!)

--Marina Malfatti later worked with Sergio Martino and Umberto Lenzi in their gialli films. She would also appear in a film which I love the title to The Return of Clint the Stranger, a spaghetti western.

The Bug Speaks

This film was a complete surprise to me. I started watching it after scanning the titles on the disk. With a name like that, it surely had me interested. As I started watching the film, it seemed mildly interesting at first with Allen and his predilection to S&M inspired murder, but it quickly began to drag. It was like the script read my mind because as soon as I though that this movie might just kind of suck, it took a turn to being a very taught little giallo. I was expecting a tale of the supernatural, and there are elements of such on display throughout the film, but it boils down to a who done it that leaves you guessing at it's twists and turns up to the final scene. 

There was a great deal of fine acting on display here. Steffen did an admirably job making a killer and sex pervert into a character that the audience would not loathe. His work grounded the film, and made it possible to believe his decent into madness. Also very good was Enzo Tarascio as lecherous cousin George. He seemed every bit the early '70's Playboy inspired man that he was supposed to be. The ladies of the film were nothing to turn your nose up at either. There's a parade of beautiful and generally undressed redheads in the early part of the film, but they all pale in comparison to Marina Malfatti as Gladys. While given an unfortunate character name, she overcomes it with beauty and grace that makes it easy to see why Allen might fall for her. 

The direction of the film is handed well if not deftly. There were some nice sweeping shots courtesy of cinematographer Gastone Di Giovanni, but the Gothic setting of the film lacks the rich color palette or mod '70 style of other contemporary gialli. The real standout that ties the film together is the music of Bruno Nicolai who also worked on  Your Vice is a Locked Room and The Case of the Bloody Iris. Again his music stands out and ties the tone of the movie together. 

The movie was filled with tons of crazy circumstances with each one adding to the bizarreness of the world. You get strippers coming out of coffins, foxes devouring bodies, death by snake, Allen dressing up like he knew what you did last summer, and possibly the best low speed chase of all time. I wish I could elaborate on each one of these things, but honestly I don't want to take anything away from the experience this film offers. 

So this was a fine start to the set, but I do have to make one negative about the experience. The quality of the transfer is poor, and most likely not better than your average videotape. However it took nothing away from the film for me. While I would relish seeing it later in a cleaner format, the price I paid it was well worth it. So check it out, and check out Dollar Deals next week for another Dollar-licous good time.

Bug Rating

Feature Friday: Isle of the Damned (2008)

Hello Moonies and welcome to the Friday Feature for the month of January, It's a Jungle Out There. This is where you'll find 5 weeks of Cannibals, Jungle Queens, and other adventures in the "Green Hell". Tonight we're kicking it off with a film that was sent to me a few weeks back, but with all the Christmas content I hadn't got around to watching it. I finally have, and I have more than a few thoughts about it. Reportedly the lost film from Italian master Antonello Giallo, it is actually an independent film made recently in Maryland. While they have lots of things in Maryland, I'm pretty sure one of them is not an....

Isle of the Damned (2008) starring Larry Gamber, Peter Crates, Keith Langsdorf, and Dustin Edwards. Directed by Mark Colegrove. 

Jack Steele (Gamber) is a private eye who has been hired by Harold Thompson to help find the lost gold hidden by Marco Polo somewhere off the coast of Argentina. Jack and his adopted son Billy (Crates) have to explore one last island before the mission is over. The last place left to look is the unfortunately named Cannibal Island. They land on the island only to run into roving bands of cannibals out to have them for lunch. 

The group gets split up and might become food if not for the mysterious archeologist, Alexis Kincaid (Langsdorf), and his servant Cain (Edwards) who comes to their rescue. 

They are taken back to Kincaid's jungle mansion where they learn that he lives there because he believes that civilized men are the real savages. Kincaid also holds the secrets to the location of Marco Polo's gold, but he will not reveal it. Thompson will stop at nothing to get his hands on it and shows how savage a man can be to get what he wants, but will any of them survive to leave the island or will they all be devoured by the natives. 

Film Facts

--The film was shot entirely on location in Maryland.

--This is the second feature for director Cosgrove following up his first Antonello Giallo flick Pleasures of the Damned. 

The Bug Speaks

I want to start off talking about the positive things this film has to offer. The idea of making a spoof film based out of the Italian cannibal pictures was an intriguing concept, and while you have to have a basis in some of these film, Cannibal Holocaust, Cannibal Ferox, Antropophagus, etc., to really get everything out of the film, knowledge of the genre is definitely not required. However it will add to your enjoyment of the intentional bad dubbing, ludicrous story line, and spliced in footage of jungle beasts if you do have a background. 

The acting is pretty solid, and the film making sometimes even strikes of real Italian directors such as Sergio Martino. The gore is also handled quite well and one scene where a character's face is ripped off is as well done as practically any such effect I have seen.  Larry Gambler as Jack Steele is particularly entertaining and reminds me of the American actors who were dropped in to many Italian productions to be the rough and tumble adventurer. The other high point comes from the story of Kane, a one time Yakuza hitman who has given up violence and taken a vow of silence. The love story that blossoms between him and a mute almost victim of the cannibal tribes provides many amusing moments. 

This is where things start to get bad. While the film has many laughs courtesy of the intentional bad dialog and off kilter story, it suffers when it deviates into darker corners. Jack's adoptive son is almost raped by Thompson in one scene, and much is made of the boys obvious homosexual tendencies.  While in some scenes it is handled for laughs effectively, a back story is put in on the abusive sexual relationship between Billy and his real father that seems like it should take a more serious tone. Instead the movie intends to play this for laughs as well. 

I want to say right off that I am not easily offended. In fact Chis Seaver makes some of the most offensive movies I've ever seen, and there are few that I don't greatly enjoy, but while Seaver is able to let the audience know that he knows how bad and offensive the material is, Colegrove lets the film make some very dark turns (such as when Thompson finally does rape Billy with a knife no less) without them being a bit funny. The film marches on as if it was another gag, but to me rape, child molestation, and rampant homophobia are not funny. 

While I feel sure the director added in these parts since sexual deviance and rape are a large part of Italian exploitation pictures the difference seems obvious to me. Films such as those were not comedies so the horrific and depraved nature of the acts fits with the tone of the film. While some of the Italian cannibal and gore films would shoehorn in a comedic character or situation, the violence was never the source of the laughs.

I hate it that this film took that turn because it had a lot going for it. It was a great idea which was well executed and had to potential to be a very special kind of film. Instead it became another kind of special film. I have always felt that comedy in horror films serves a great purpose because it heightens the effect of the scares, but this film did just the opposite. By making light of the very real horrors in the world of rape, incest, and hatred, it brought the comedic value of the film crashing down. Without such content this film could have easily scored a three bug or higher rating, but with it being in there it's not a film I would recommend to anyone to watch. 

I know that I could tow a party line on a free film that I was given to watch and overlook the faults in order to ingratiate myself with the film maker and the film's fan base, but it was too far beyond the pale for me to condone the subject matter in the film. I want to give you folks the straight dirt on how I see things, and I know you folks out there expect nothing less from the Bug. So take my opinion for what it's worth. If the things I've described seem like they would not bother you, then there is much to like here apart from them. 

Bug Rating

Join us back here next week as I get into some actual Jungle action with the Deodato film Jungle Holocaust. 

B.L.O.G Presents: The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)

Happy New Year, everyone, and welcome back to another installment of Beautiful Ladies of Genre. This week I am very happy to have a film starring one of the most beautiful women to ever grace the silver screen....

Ms. Fenech has starred in a couple of films I've already covered here, the Sergio Martino giallo Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key and the sex comedy Giovanna Long Thigh. Both films I have dearly loved and I hardly ever find a film with Fenech in it that I don't enjoy (The exception being Strip Nude For Your Killer). She has had a long career starting in 1967 that has continued up until recently when she appeared in a small role in 2007's Hostel II. She has also transitioned into producing films which include the Al Pacino film The Merchant of Venice. For my money there is no better type of film to see her in than a giallo where she can play anything from the devious to the innocent with equal aplomb. Tonight I have the honor of presenting another of those fine movies in a little film called....

The Case of the Bloody Iris (a.k.a What are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body?) (1972) starring Edwige Fenech, George Hilton, Annabella Incontrera, Giampiero Albertini, Franco Agostini, Oreste Lionello. Directed by Giuliano Carnimeo.


A rash of killings of beautiful women begins to plague an apartment complex designed by Andrea Barto (Hilton), and he soon becomes one of the suspects. Andrea meets a gorgeous model, Jennifer (Fenech) and moves her and her friend into an apartment vacated by one of the murdered girls. Soon Jennifer is being stalked by a man in a black mask and trench coat, and Commissioner Enci (Albertini) and his assistant Redi (Agostini) become even more suspicious of Andrea. The apartment complex is littered with other suspects including a horror story obsessed old woman, a mysterious professor, and a predatory lesbian named Sheila (Incontrera). With the murderer still at large, Andrea goes on the lam, but is he the killer or is there someone else with sinister designs on Jennifer.

Film Facts

--A poster for the film Io non vedo, tu non parli, lui non sente , a murder mystery set on a train, is seen in the film.

--In total Carnimeo and Hilton would work on eight films together. All the other films were western including Deep West and In The West There Was a Man Called Invincible.

--Oreste Lionello who plays the Woody Allen look-alike photographer in the film was actually the the official voice of Woody Allen in Italy. He dubbed all the actor's films except Casino Royale.

--Giampiero Albertini would go on to appear again as a police commissioner in the Umberto Lenzi film Rome Armed To The Teeth.

The Bug Speaks

Let me just start off by saying that What are Those Strange Drops Of Blood Doing On Jennifer's Body? has to be one of my favorite alternate titles to a film ever. That and the appearance of Ms. Fenech was what drove me to want to watch this movie in the first place. I was for the most part not disappointed, but there were a few things that bothered me.

For starters the film does not have the visual style I have become accustomed to in the works of Bava, Martino, or Argento. Carnimeo had a background in westerns and I think it shows even here in this modern setting. The shots are static for the most part and very little of the set design goes beyond basic realism. There is no broad color palette or play with light and shadow that enhances so many gialli. That being said the direction is not bad, merely underwhelming in comparison or contemporary work of the period.

The script was also lacking in some regards. Some of the dialog seemed clunky and forced. This could have to do with the extremely poor dubbing job by some very unenthusiastic performers. I would have really preferred to see this film in the native language, but such an option was not available. Where the script found it's strength was in the narrative of the mystery. It is deftly woven, and the many red herrings serve to confuse the identity of the killer quite well. In fact at one time I solved the mystery only to second guess myself due to some of the misleading plot points. However the sub-plot about Jennifer's involvement with a free love cult seemed unnecessary, and it added in a thread that was quickly resolved to little effect or character development. The pacing of the film was handled nicely with the violent scenes acting as punctuation to quiet moments of charactazation. It gave the film a very rich qulaity as the suspense unfolded.

With all that being said, there was much of the acting in the film I enjoyed. George Hilton was very well cast as the accused architect, and his phobia of blood is an interesting character flaw. I even enjoyed the brief flashback where they explained it's origin. Giampiero Albertini gave a great performance as the Commissioner, and I really enjoyed that he was often searching crime scenes for rare stamps rather than clues. Also effective was Franco Agostini as the Commissioner's assistant. His bumbling portrayal might have felt like forced comic relief if not handled deftly, but he managed to slide back and forth between the dramatic and comedic with relative ease to the benefit of the film.

I would like to take a moment to point out what I felt to be an excellent score by Bruno Nicolai. Ranging from pulse pounding to laid back jazz the film enhanced every scene and nearly made up for the lack of depth in the film making. It is a score I will be looking to get so I can listen to apart from the film if that gives you any idea of how much I enjoyed it.

I want to take a moment to talk about Ms. Fenech. While the film features many lovely ladies and most of them have the decency to appear in various stages of undress, they pale in comparison to Edwige. While most of the film she seems to have a constant expression of stress combined with fear, she also has some lovely scenes where she appears very natural and light. Speaking of natural, she also shows off her form in a series of situations including her body being painted with a leather jacket for a photo shoot and her marriage into the free love cult. She also seems to model about every kind of clothing that a hip '70's chick might wear, and she looks great in each of them. In the end, everything about her appearance in this film is lovely, and she definitely stands out as the lead performer.

So while the film definitely has a lot going for it as far as the story and the quirky characterizations go, it does lack the flair of other titles. This is a film that fans of the genre will like, though possibly with some reservations. For anyone inexperienced with giallo this may well be a great place to start. By focusing on the mystery and leaving out the dreamlike qualities of other gialli, it becomes a straightforward primer to the basics of the genre. This is a film I do recommend to fans of Italian cinema and especially to anyone unfamiliar with the beautiful Edwige Fenech.

Bug Rating