While some may call his ability into question, there's little disputing that in his heyday the infamous and now sadly departed Aristide Massaccesi (better known to trash movie buffs as Joe D'Amato) was one of the busiest men in the field of Italian exploitation cinema, directing a dizzying array of low budget efforts across the sex and horror spectrum in a directorial career that spanned over three decades. In the entire annals of Euro sleaze perhaps only D’Amato's equally famed Spanish counterpart Jesus Franco was more prolific.
Although some of the heady combinations of sex and violence D'Amato concocted during his mid to late seventies such as his infamous Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (aka - Trap Them And Kill Them) (1977) contained horror elements, it was arguably not until the tail end of that decade that D'Amato really started to make occasional ventures into the field of "straight" horror filmmaking, starting with the grisly and misanthropic Beyond The Darkness (aka - Buio Omega) (1979). However, D'Amato's most successful and well-known picture within the Italian horror subgenre, would undoubtedly have to be his semi-revered and internationally successful Anthropophagous: The Beast (aka - The Grim Reaper). Produced in 1980, Anthropophagous stars imposing continental exploitation veteran George Eastman (aka – Luigi Montefiori), who also co-wrote the film with D'Amato, as a cannibalistic madman killing and devouring visitors to a remote, lonely Greek island. Whilst hamstrung somewhat by several long, uneventful patches, Anthropophagous boasted a chilling atmosphere of isolation and several outrageous gore sequences which is enough to ensure that it would become a firm favourite amongst fans of Italian splatter cinema.
In addition Anthropophagus would also achieve a sizeable measure of lasting infamy here in the United Kingdom where its early pre certification video release would be banned outright following the British tabloid panic and subsequent legal fallout over so called "Video Nasties". Indeed, Anthropophagous would become one of the most infamous of all the 74 films fingered at one point or another as "Nasties" and clips of the notorious scene in which Eastman's psychotic cannibal devours a freshly extracted human foetus ( in actuality a skinned rabbit) would later be excerpted on British national news broadcasts as an example of the sort of "filth" which was invading the nations screens
Meanwhile, eager to emulate the success of Anthropophagous: The Beast, D'Amato and Eastman wasted little time in putting their heads together in order to formulate an even more shocking and outrageous sequel. The result would be 1981's Rosso Sangue, released both theatrically and on video in the UK under its better known alternate title Absurd and promoted in other countries under a range of other different titles including Anthropophagous 2, Monster Hunter and Horrible. With D'Amato once again in the directors chair (using the American friendly psuedonym "Peter Newton") and Eastman not only writing the script but also once again figuring prominently as the films insane, brutal marauding killer, Absurd sharply upped the ante on its already grisly, loosely linked predecessor in terms of graphic and plentiful mayhem. The result would be another Italian splatter favourite and, perhaps not surprisingly, yet another censorship hot potato here in the UK, where the films gleefully gory content saw its uncut pre-certification video release on the Medusa label swiftly join its forbearer Anthropophagous on the dreaded "Video Nasty" list.
Absurd begins in a nameless small American town where a bearded, bedraggled stranger flees desperately with a priest in hot pursuit. In order to escape his clerical pursuer the stranger attempts to scale a high, spiked gate and in doing so proceeds to accidentally disembowel himself, staggering onto the doorstep of the appalled Bennett family with his intestines spilling out of his torso, seemingly at the brink of death
The stranger is admitted to the local hospital in critical condition where the doctors are amazed by his rapid and seemingly superhuman recuperative powers. Meanwhile the priest who had pursued the wounded man later turns up at the hospital and is apprehended by investigating police detective Sergeant Engleman. The priest warns Engleman that the wounded man is a Greek national named Mikos Stenopolis and he is in actual fact a highly dangerous homicidal lunatic who has become almost physically indestructible due to covert biochemical experimentation in which he himself had a hand. Not long after Mikos miraculously revives on the operating table and after brutally killing an unfortunate young nurse he flees the hospital and begins stalking the night-time streets of the town.
While Engleman and the priest spearhead a desperate manhunt, Mikos sets off across town committing a series of brutal murders en route until he eventually winds up back at the Bennett residence. At the Bennett property Mr and Mrs Bennett have conveniently gone out for the evening leaving their badly behaved young son Willy and his severely ill, bedridden older sister Katia in the care of a babysitter. When the homicidal Mikos forces his way into the family home the two terrified children are thrust headfirst into a desperate battle for survival.
Whilst certainly conceived, promoted and generally looked upon as a direct follow-up to D'Amato's earlier, better known Anthropophagous: The Beast, in truth that particular film and Absurd actually bear relatively little resemblance to one another and are only really linked together by a shared emphasis on graphic bloodletting and, perhaps a little more significantly, the fact that both feature the imposing George Eastman as a hulking, homicidal madman. In all truth Absurd if anything resembles D'Amato and Eastman's attempt to emulate the cycle of American slasher movies, which were at the time very much in fashion thanks to the runaway international success of both John Carpenter's Halloween (1978) and Sean S. Cunningham's Friday The 13th (1980) which in turn inspired a boatload of domestic imitations. Stripped down to its core Absurd is a clear emulation of the American slasher style, with its thin narrative serving as a tenuous link for scenes of a roaming psychopath killing off a veritable score of disposable, predominantly youthful, supporting cast members. However, despite following a rather predictable formula, pound for pound Absurd, in the estimation of this writer, is possibly the most accomplished, easily accessible and purely enjoyable of D'Amato's horror pictures
Predictably Absurd is pretty much rife with all the usual pitfalls that befall Italian exploitation productions that attempt to facetiously pass themselves off as American genre product set against American settings. In the case of Absurd the illusion doesn't survive far beyond the opening credits as a blatantly European cast mouth inane, clearly dubbed English dialogue while British actor the late Edmund Purdom - a regular in films of this ilk - hams it up with a total lack of either enthusiasm or conviction as a Greek priest who has arrived in America in pursuit of the psychotic Mikos. Additionally much unintentional amusement arises from D'Amato and his cronies clumsy and clichéd attempts to have his foreign cast emulate typical "American" behaviour as neighbours congregate to watch American Football games on television whilst tucking into tell-tale dishes of pasta, chain smoking detectives rant and rave a lot whilst pursuing the killer and a roaming teenage biker gang (one of whom is played by a young Michele Soavi) speed around making general nuisances of themselves. However, Absurd is marked out from its American counterparts and ultimately redeemed from its shortcomings by its far more exploitative and distinctly Italian emphasis on graphic, lingering acts of gratuitous bloodletting. Indeed, Absurd at times feels like a sort of unholy marriage between the American slasher movie formula and the sort of gory, protracted set-pieces seen in your average Lucio Fulci film and, on the whole, is almost as much fun as that description makes it sound.
While the occasional cutaways to scenes of Purdom's priest and the gruff Sgt. Engleman's attempts to track down Mikos do slow the film down a little, it would only be the most jaded of Italian horror fans who would ever describe Absurd as boring. Indeed. D'Amato shows his grisly order of priorities from the films outset, wasting little time in getting to the proverbial "good stuff" as Mikos, quite literally, spills his guts on the Bennett's doorstep within the first five minutes before rising from the operating table to go on the gory rampage. From that point Absurd delivers its requisite gory thrills with relative rapidity as Mikos decimates the supporting cast in quick succession with a lip-biting emphasis on gruesome trauma to the head. Amongst the myriad delights a pretty young nurse has a buzzing surgical drill rammed right through her cranium and a hapless male cleaner is fed headfirst into the path of an industrial band saw with predictably messy results. The true epitome of the films nastiness however, comes when the Bennett's gravely ill daughter Katia's nurse Emily, played by Italian exploitation sex pot Annie Bell (who appeared in Ruggero Deodato's infamous The House On The Edge Of The Park a year earlier), gets forced headfirst into a burning gas oven. The camera lingers for what feels like an agonising age as Bell slowly and lovingly gets her cranium roasted. If this were not enough Mikos then brutally stabs her in the neck with a pair of scissors. Perhaps he was just pricking her to ensue she was cooked right the way through? Not surprisingly when Absurd received a UK theatrical release in 1983, the BBFC forced its distributor Eagle Films to make 2m 32s of cuts before granting it a certificate, robbing D'Amato's film of most of its gory highlights. However, the later Medusa UK pre-cert tape was issued in both cut and uncut versions, the latter reinstating all of the gore missing from the UK cinema release.
While the obvious latex effects work utilised throughout the film is never especially realistic, this fact is more than made up for by the unapologetic revelry and sadistic emphasis D'Amato places on the plentiful mutilation and blood spillage. Indeed, D'Amato seems to be taking immense delight in protracting each act of gratuitous slaughter for as long as is humanely possible without rendering the spectacle a farce. Meanwhile each successive shock is amplified by Carlo Maria Cordi's suitably thunderous and creepy if rather generic score swelling up to bombastic proportions on the soundtrack. The sense of brutality is also accentuated by the imposing presence of George Eastman, who despite having no dialogue whatsoever makes for physically intimidating killer. Indeed, with the combination of his hulking frame, pallid complexion and malignant, dead eyed gaze Eastman is easily amongst the last people you would wish to bump into on a dark night. It is a testament to the memorable physicality of Eastman's mute performance that Mikos' unsettling presence is felt even when he is off-screen, the true sign of quality for any halfway effective horror film killer.
While the generous quantities of grisly mayhem on display automatically makes Absurd worth a look for gorehound's, there was never any disputing to begin with that D’Amato was always capable of executing outrageous gore scenes in a competent yet blunt way. However, what really distinguishes Absurd as arguably the prolific Italian exploitation monger's best work in the horror field is the manner in which D'Amato builds an effective and, dare I say it, for the most part expertly crafted sense of trepidation and agonising build up around each of the films outrageous set-piece death's. Perhaps even more impressive though are a number of unexpected and highly accomplished shock moments and visual coups that involve nary a drop of the old red stuff being spilt. For instance an early moment where Mikos sits bolt upright in zombie-like fashion on the operating table makes for a real jolt. Indeed, the look of pure evil hatred in Eastman's eyes when the madman's gaze fixes upon Purdom's priest is, whether by accident or by design, genuinely chilling. However, Absurd truly peaks in this regard during its extremely tense concluding moments. Having been savagely stabbed in the eyes with mathematical compasses by the Bennett's bedridden daughter Katia, a silently enraged but blinded Mikos blunders through the house in sightless pursuit of the ostensibly crippled girl. Timed to near perfection and expertly composed this hair-raising scene is possibly the most purely effective moment of suspense that D'Amato would ever commit to celluloid as the disabled Katia struggles to avoid the flailing grasps of the hulking killer.
In conclusion Absurd is by no stretch of the imagination a classic of the Italian horror genre. Unfortunately, D'Amato's rather clumsy and at times outright laughable attempts to emulate American slasher cinema trappings within the confines of a cheap Italian exploitation budget with predominantly Italian exploitation personnel sadly preclude it from that. However, approached purely as a grisly continental body count shocker, Absurd shines thanks to Eastman’s memorable killer, an overdose of brutal gore and – perhaps most surprisingly of all – several disarmingly unnerving and atmospheric scare sequences which contradict the general assumption that D'Amato was little more than a prolific yet barely competent purveyor of low grade exploitation and sex pictures . Its plot may well be paper thin, but that's all part of the fun as D'Amato weds the American slasher formula to plenty of protracted Fulci-esque gore. Indeed, in the current climate of 2009 where our beloved horror genre has been gradually yet systematically diluted in recent years by endless teen orientated popcorn fodder and "remakes", the grisly, lowesr common denominator brutality of Absurd actually feels more welcome than ever. In actual fact it's enough to send any self-respecting gorehound or Italian trash cinema aficionado into a state of teary-eyed nostalgia.
Recommended.
After a long, long wait Absurd finally received an English friendly DVD release in July 2009 courtesy of Italian horror and exploitation orientated label MYA Communication who have released it as a region free US disc under the films alternate title Horrible. While some doubts have been voiced over the legality of the MYA release, they have certainly done a decent enough job. Indeed, MYA's bare bones yet respectable disc presents Absurd fully uncut in non-anamorphic 1.66:1 widescreen, however a relatively small amount of footage has actually been spliced in from a visibly inferior yet evidently watchable VHS source. There is also a choice of English and Italian audio tracks. although for whatever reason the Italian track is not supported by any English subtitles making its inclusion rather pointless for us non-Italian speaking viewers. On the whole MYA's release is probably far from perfect, but after all this time it is nevertheless great to have Absurd freely available in a halfway decent if no frills DVD presentation after all this time. Prior to the MYA release there were also region two German releases from Astro and Laser Paradise, however these releases were reportedly incomplete (although don't quote me on that) and lacked an English soundtrack option.
Horrible (aka - Absurd) (MYA Communication - Region Free US DVD):amazon.com l amazon.co.uk
pound for pound Absurd, in the estimation of this writer, is possibly the most accomplished, easily accessible and purely enjoyable of D'Amato's horror pictures
I agree. A lot of people seem to prefer Anthropophagus, but I think Absurd and Beyond The Darkness are Massaccesi's most consistent horror films.
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Originally Posted by jacksmith1983
In conclusion Absurd is by no stretch of the imagination a classic of the Italian horror genre. Unfortunately, D'Amato's rather clumsy and at times outright laughable attempts to emulate American slasher cinema trappings within the confines of a cheap Italian exploitation budget with predominantly Italian exploitation personnel sadly preclude it from that. However, approached purely as a grisly continental body count shocker, Absurd shines thanks to Eastman’s memorable killer, an overdose of brutal gore and – perhaps most surprisingly of all – several disarmingly unnerving and atmospheric scare sequences which contradict the general assumption that D'Amato was little more than a prolific yet barely competent purveyor of low grade exploitation and sex pictures . Its plot may well be paper thin, but that's all part of the fun as D'Amato weds the American slasher formula to plenty of protracted Fulci-esque gore. Indeed, in the current climate of 2009 where our beloved horror genre has been gradually yet systematically diluted in recent years by endless teen orientated popcorn fodder and "remakes", the grisly, lowesr common denominator brutality of Absurd actually feels more welcome than ever. In actual fact it's enough to send any self-respecting gorehound or Italian trash cinema aficionado into a state of teary-eyed nostalgia.
Again, I agree 100%. I reviewed this for sexgoremutants recently and said pretty much the same thing: those more familiar with modern genre films are likely to look cock-eyed at Absurd's plotholes, inconsistencies, poor dubbing, cheesy FX, budget production values, clunky direction etc. But for those of us who know the film of old, little has changed - it's as dementedly enjoyable as ever. Call it nostalgia if you will, but Absurd never fails to put a smile on my face.
I watched the Mya disc the other night and I actually found the film to be pretty damn boring....but the set pieces just about make it worth while (and I always feel sorry for the bald headed mop man in the abbatoir). They should have just shoved the extra bits of the film on as an extra than back in the film. Whilst I'm all for re-discovered gore scenes being integrated back into a film (ala 'Last House on Dead End Street), if its pointless narrative or footage of people wandering around, really, who cares? It gets annoying after a while.
Based on this most recent viewing, I'd say it's definately not as good as 'Anthropophagous'.
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"I love the smell of my palms in the morning" - Apocalypse Now.
I also watched the Mya disk,the first time I had seen the film over the weekend,(as I mentioned in the latest watch thread.)
The inserts are really bad quality and mainly of the extended scene or a bit of linking (as been mentioned),i.e a bit more circling bikes round the old bloke,more of Eastman running up the road.
(When compared to My Bloody Valentine,which was on the whole great with the added inserts.)
While I am glad the film exists on DVD at last,apart from the 4 or 5 murders its laughable to sit through.
I didn't find it boring,just a bit so what and perplexing.
I agree that the inserts do stick out like a sore thumb. However, if they had included them as an extra instead of intergrating them into the main feature you would probably have had the usual nitpickers who are never happy with anything screaming from the rooftops that MYA had put out an "incomplete" version.
As for Absurd itself? Well to be honest it's always been a personal favourite ever since I saw it via a grainy second generation VHS bootleg back in my teens when I first started catching up with all the "Nasties". As I said in my review there really isn't much in the way of a plot and the way it tries to pass itself off as an American film is laughable, but Absurd certainly delivers where it counts. Even after all these years I still find it a fun, energetic Italian splatter film and I'm delighted to finally own an uncut, decent quality, English friendy DVD release.
For the record I have a big soft spot for Anthropophagous too, but marginally prefer Absurd. However, as I've said before, the only thing the two films really have in common is the presence of George Eastman as a homicidal madman.
Recently picked up the new MYA disc and was very nice indeed; very crisp image quality and a welcome release of such a sought-after cult, which this most certainly is...
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