Pretty Good

Great Film overall

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Well, I guessed wrong! I thought the daughter was maybe into voodoo / black magic but nothing was ever mentioned of it and that is what surprised me! I already guess right about the severed head in the freezer so when that was revealed it was no shock - just the tail end of the film gave me the surprise and it wasn't what I expected at all. It's always fun to guess the outcome and to get a surprise ending instead of a "yep, I knew it".The movie make you wonder if something supernatural is happening or if there is an unsuspected, unseen killer lurking during some of the scenes. They make it obvious that the mother and the daughter both are off their rockers but it's also obvious there is something more going on that will not be revealed until the very tail end of the film.It's a strange film - not great, not awful but fun to watch.7/10

The 80's was Italian director Lamberto Bava's decade. Throughout those years he knocked out a series of entertaining horror movies and was one of Italy's best in that period. Macabre was his directorial debut. And it's a pretty well-handled film overall. While it is quite over-the-top, it is much less so than most of Bava's subsequent outings. This one even qualifies as a psychological thriller as well as horror. It tells the tale of a disturbed woman who moves into a boarding house, it seems she has a dark secret though.Similar to a few early 80's horror films from his contemporary Lucio Fulci, this one is set in America; New Orleans to be precise. In truth, the setting could be absolutely anywhere are this is a claustrophobic tale that is set almost exclusively within the confines of a large old house. Presumably the U.S. location was used as a means of passing this off as an American product which was seen as an easier sell commercially. Whatever the case, this is a pretty good effort from Bava and takes a decidedly different route than most of his Italian peers. It's let down a little by some flaky dialogue and acting but this is really par for the course with these flicks to be honest and doesn't really get that much in the way.Despite hardly being exactly subtle, it does rely on atmosphere and suspense more than visceral thrills. The idea of the blind landlord trying to figure out just what exactly is happening in his new tenant's room works well in that the film relies on sounds to convey strange goings on. It takes a while until the big reveal actually happens but I am guessing not many people will be at all surprised. But that doesn't detract from the basic macabre idea being a good one. While it was also interesting that the little girl was also psychotic; killer kids are always a winner. Finally, it has to be said that the ending reminded me of the one in the Spanish slasher Pieces in that it was meaningless, completely unnecessary, ridiculous and kind of funny.

I saw this as a kid and decided to revisit it as an adult. I'll say it definitely has more impact one me as an adult because I've lived through the mess of a girlfriend having an ex-boyfriend's head in the freezer. Uh, I mean, I am more mature and can understand the psychology of the film better. I barely remembered most of it with the car crash having the most impact on my brain cells. It still packs a wallop and Zinny is indeed one of the creepiest kids to grace Italian cinema from that era. The shot of her half smiling, half grimacing during the dinner scene is really good. What really stood out for me this time was, as Mark mentioned, Stanko Molnar's performance. He is really, really good in this. I also love the trumpet customer who knows no bounds when it comes to inappropriate talk. Like Neil Jordan's THE CRYING GAME, this takes on a completely different tone when you know the film's secret. I got a good laugh when Molnar comes to invite Stegers to dinner and she says, "Uh, I'm busy tonight."

The events happen in New Orlans where a middle-aged woman named Jane Baker(Bernice Stegers)is traumatized by a car crash in which died his adulterous lover Fred Kellerman(Robert Posse) and she's interned into a mental hospital. Years later she moves at New Orleans boarding house whose proprietary is a blind young named Robert Duval(Stanko Molnar). The situation comes towards an incredible final, genuinely highlights plenty of horror, terror, quirky sex and macabre happening which arise some memorably horrific set-pieces.The film is reportedly based on real deeds.This macabre final packs tension, mystery,chills, thrills and scabrous scenes on its ending part.Gloomy and sinister plot with final'tour of force' is written by Pupi Avati, also terror movies director .First feature picture by Lamberto Bava is surprisingly made and startling visual content of his shockers. His camera stalks in sinister style throughout the Jane's room, Robert's room, up-stars and down-stars . Strikingly shot for the most part in a traditional mansion from New Orleans and are also well photographed streets, slums, wheel-ship and cemetery of the city . Very atmospheric color with shades of ochre and deep translucently orange-red by Franco Delli Colli , cameraman of ¨Last man on Earth, and Django kill¨. Compelling direction by Lamberto Bava, a terror films expert, such as he proved in ¨Demons 1, 2, A blade in the dark, Shark: red on the ocean¨, though today he only directs television movies : ¨Fantaghiro and following, Caribbean pirates¨ among others. Acceptable and passable atmospheric film-making from genre master Bava's son. A must see for horror fans