MADHOUSE, a low-rent Argento
rip-off
MARDI GRAS MASSACRE, routine
shocker
MADHOUSE
O.G. Assonitis, US/Italy, 1981; 90 mins
In this predictable shocker, the man most famous for his
spaghetti remake of The Exorcist, The
Devil Within Her (aka Beyond the Door) (1974), attempts
an Argento-style giallo thriller, sending the cliche-meter into the red
zone as it tries to keep pace with the body count.
It’s all here: the escape-from-the-asylum
scene, the disfigured killer, the mad twin sister, the devil dog, the power-tool
slaying, the seen-it-all-before-decomposing-corpses-at-the-dinner-table
scene — culminating in the obligatory “surprise” ending.
Bloody — and bloody awful.
Dir. Ovidio G. Assonitis; Prod. Ovidio G.
Assontis; Scr. Ovidio G. Assonitis, Steven Blakely, Robert Gandus,
Peter Shepherd; Star. Trish Everly, Dennis Robertson; With
Richard Baker, Morgan Hart, Michael Macrae
UK Vid. Medusa Communications Ltd (CBS Fox), QRT
90 min (unrated), Beta & VHS
Routine shocker centres on bloody ritualistic killings
and human sacrifices taking place during the annual American Mardi Gras
celebrations. Investigating are two of the most inept detectives in cinema
history.
The film is rather like its special
effects: cheap, repetitive and not very convincing.
Dir. Jack Weiss; Star. Gwen Arment, Curt Dawson; With Butch Benit, Nancy Daneer, Cathryn Lacey, Ayne Mack, Bill Metzo, Laura Misch, Ronald Tanet
UK Vid. Derann Film Services, QRT 92 min (unrated),
Beta, VHS & V2000
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