Not content with making yet another nominal quickie cash-in on William Friedkin’s international smash-hit THE EXORCIST (1973), Andrea Bianchi’s wonderfully tacky Italo Gothic MALABIMBA (1979) is a film like no other. Whilst it does pinch the main plot-points of Friedkin’s landmark spiritual possession film, MALABIMBA’s heavy doses of sex, lurid melodrama and its almost gleeful proclivity to strain the boundaries of good taste definitely do keep you watching, no matter how ultimately derivative it all really is. In what turns out to be a rare, magnanimous bit of sacrilegious determination, Vinegar Syndrome’s Blu-ray / DVD combo not only features the rarely-seen, uncut version of the film, but a number of sinfully pleasing extras to boot.
In the hopes of contacting his recently-deceased wife Daniela, Andrea Caroli (Enzo Fisichella) and his extended family gather together for a séance, but with the help of a medium (Elisa Mainardi), they inadvertently summon the malevolent—and sexually-charged—spirit of Lucrezia, the late (quote) “black sheep of the Caroli family”. When this horned-up (quote) “evil presence” attempts to overcome Sister Sofia (Maria Angela Giordano), the resident caregiver of Andrea’s invalid brother Adolfo (Giuseppe Marrocu), the quick-witted nun successfully fends it off when she forms a makeshift crucifix as a shadow on a wall… albeit not until after it has forced her to masturbate furiously, however (this is purely gratuitous Italo sexploitation sinema, after all!). Having been temporarily repelled, Lucrezia’s spiteful spirit then shortly returns to possess Andrea’s innocent—and thus ideally sexually corruptible—adolescent daughter Bimba (Katell Laennec), whose sudden uncontrollable lascivious urges cause all sorts of turmoil among the surviving members of the Caroli line, complicated still further by their various long-standing interfamilial rivalries and petty squabbles…
Written by the ever-prolific Piero Regnoli, who had directed one of the earliest fetishistic sexy vampire films, THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE (1960), MALABIMBA retains much of its Gothic atmosphere thanks to the familiar Balsorano location, but much of the ‘horror’ is played against the internal strife of the ever-bickering Caroli family; and of course, the lengthy sex scenes with most of the principal cast, which even feature that most taboo of subjects: incest. This is an element which Regnoli habitually explored in many of his self-penned efforts, including Tiziano Longo’s LO STALLONE (1975), and then later—most infamously—in Andrea Bianchi’s zombie splatter film BURIAL GROUND (1980). Katell Laennec (whose French name is incidentally derived from the word ‘pure’) delivers a suitably ill-mannered performance as the possessed teen, who not only utters the expected expletives, but is seen either spying-on or trying to sleep with anyone and everyone, up to and including both her own father and her, uh, ‘still-more-than-capable’ handicapped Uncle Adolfo (“They say you’re like a statue, but I’ll get you moving!”). Adding to this (quote) “melodramatic crisis”, Patrizia Webley is also well-cast as Nais, the straight-talking (quote) “immoral whore” whose marriage to Adolfo causes great concern (“Adolfo was always searching for third-rate harlots!”) for the family’s patrimony, even as she sleeps-around with both Andrea and the family’s lawyer, Giorgio (Giancarlo Del Duca). The always-fantastic Maria Angela Giordano gives the film’s most measured, coolly-restrained performance as Sister Sofia, who is at constant odds with her own repressed sexual longings, and who—in another obvious crib from THE EXORCIST—ultimately sacrifices herself in order to save Ms. Laennec’s possessed character from eternal damnation.
Unlike Bianchi’s and producer Gabriele Crisanti’s follow-up film BURIAL GROUND (1980), which was made available in just about every market in the entire world, so it seemed, MALABIMBA was barely released outside of Italy, where it not only also garnered numerous VHS videocassette releases (incidentally, a graphic photocomic was included as an extra ‘pull-out’ with the once-popular Roman sex magazine Gin Fizz, which meant the film must have had some success in its native Italy), but the most complete version available at the time turned up on Star Video, a Swiss-based video label, which tailored its releases to the Italian-speaking region of Ticino; and it was these rough-hewn VHS tapes that served as the basis for many of the VHS (and later DVD) bootlegs, which circulated throughout the tape-trading circuit of the ’Nineties. In 2009, this sleazy favourite made its official DVD debut thanks to Severin Films, which of course included a far more, um… revealing and pleasing transfer. Although that disc did also include the standard X-rated version, Severin went the extra mile by also including the film’s deleted scenes (sourced from Star Video’s tape), with the handy added option of automatically incorporating them back into the movie, if the viewer so desired. Other extras included Malabimba Uncovered (16m55s), which featured interviews with Giordano and DP Franco Villa, who thoroughly discussed the film’s well-worn but effective locations and their decision to shoot it during this (quote) “transitional phase” of Italian cinema. Both of them also talked warmly about director Bianchi and their surprise about the inclusion of hardcore sequences in the film. However, Giordano also talks about her decision to do on-screen nudity, which led to a number of other Crisanti-produced films, such as the aforementioned BURIAL GROUND, Mario Landi’s skeevy two-fer GIALLO IN VENICE (1979) and PATRICK STILL LIVES (1980), as well as the present film’s unofficial remake of sorts, SATAN’S BABY DOLL (1983), which was directed by that ‘other’ Bianchi guy, Mario.
Taken from the film’s (quote) “original 16mm camera negative”, VS’s newly-restored 2K transfer is quite attractive, despite the opening disclaimer that (quote) “the negative had suffered extensive handling damage and poor storage.” While the transfer does feature some scratches, occasional speckling and minor instances of debris, it’s far better than anything preceding it, even if it doesn’t meet VS’s impeccably high standards. The DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 features the film’s original Italian audio track, which for the most part also sounds clean and well-balanced, with Berto Pisano’s pinched score sounding quite robust; apparently, some of the film’s audio had to be taken from a lower-quality videotape, which has been integrated into the film with a minimum of interference.
The major new extra herein is a brand new audio commentary with film and music writer Heather Drain, writer and film critic Samm Deighan and author, editor and critic Kat Ellinger who provide an easy-going, but fact-filled track wherein they discuss everything about both the film itself and the year in which it was made, which Ellinger says was the (quote) “year of bat-shit Italian cinema.” Although primarily regarded as a sex film, they discuss the film’s (quote) “lush Gothic tropes” and other similarly-themed possession films; the politically incorrect tone and the reluctance of some modern audiences to accept it. They also talk about many of Bianchi’s and Crisanti’s other films, as well as Piero Regnoli’s long career; the sloppily-interjected ‘inserts’, and of course the less-than-credible—and wholly unnecessary—remake. As with their earlier audio commentary on VS’s release of Andy Milligan’s FLESHPOT ON 42nd STREET (1971), it’s another highly-recommended listen, which won’t disappoint either long-time fans of the film or keen newcomers. Both the Malabimba Uncovered featurette and the film’s lengthy theatrical trailer (4m08s) have been ported-over from Severin’s earlier DVD while a newly-produced photo gallery (1m23s) of revealing German lobby cards finish off the extras. As usual the disc comes with reversible artwork, but if you order directly from Vinegar Syndrome, the first 2000 copies also include a Limited Edition slipcover
Unlike its thematically similar prototype and heavily-influenced Gothic environment, MALABIMBA quickly—and very entertainingly—establishes its scabrous sex film intentions, which Vinegar Syndrome proudly and unashamedly delivers with their stellar new Blu-ray / DVD combo, bless ’em!
No comments:
Post a Comment