THE BLOODSTAINED SHADOW (1978)

Mathematics professor Stefano D'Arcangelo (The House With Laughing Windows' Lino Capolicchio) takes a leave of absence from his teaching job in Rome to visit his childhood home on an island near Venice. For years he has been bothered by anxiety attacks seemingly rooted in a childhood trauma. These attacks have gotten worse recently, persuading him to take a break from his work. On the train trip south he meets a beautiful antiques dealer named Sandra (Suspiria's Stefania Casini), who is traveling to the same island. Stefano is attracted to her and she doesn't seem to mind his attention. Once on the island he takes up residence with his older brother Paolo (Craig Hill), the town's Catholic priest. When Stefano remarks on an odd woman he sees in a restaurant, Paolo explains that she is the local medium. With very little prodding Paolo (like a gossiping old woman) relates the salacious nature of several of her client's backgrounds, including a doctor suspected of murdering his first wife, a midwife believed to perform abortions, and a wealthy child molester. On the first night of Stefano's return home the medium is strangled to death outside the church. Paolo witnesses the murder but can't see clearly enough through the rain and shadows to identify the killer. Running outside, Paolo and Stefano can't find the body. They decide to keep quiet. But next morning, when a threatening typewritten note is slipped under Paolo's door, they realize something did happen.

  

After the police find the medium's body, Stefano begins to try to unravel the murder urged along by the steady string of notes to Paolo threatening him to stay silent. The priest is distraught since he has no idea who the killer is and is unsure of what to do. Within days after the medium's death her prominent clients begin turning up murdered as well. It seems sure that Paolo will be next. Stefano's anxiety attacks continue as he divides his time between romancing Sandra and following clues. He begins to think that there might be a connection between the fragmentary memories from his childhood, the killing of a young girl years before, and the murders happening around him now.

 

The Bloodstained Shadow ("Solamente Nero") is a pretty good thriller but not a standout example of the genre. Too many story elements are borrowed from other, better films and the memories of those movies hang over the proceedings like a... ahem, shadow. The repressed memory of a crime, the mysterious clues imbedded in a strange painting, and the mentally childlike character set up as the most obvious suspect are just some of the things cribbed from Argento films. Even the Venice setting reminded me a great deal of Nicholas Roeg's seminal Don't Look Now. Director Antonio Bido jumbles things up pretty well for the first half of the film but he loses the story's narrative momentum in the middle with far too much time spent focused on the not quite believable romance between Stefano and Sandra. As a couple they have no spark on camera; while Casini is fine in an underwritten role, frankly Capolicchio leaves me cold. Most of the time he seems a little unsure of how he should be playing the character. Since early on our suspicions are raised about his possible guilt this uncertainty could have been a great component in a complex mystery. Unfortunately it just feels as if the actor is flailing about from scene to scene trying to build a character that should have been in the script for him in the first place.

One element of the film that I would have expected to feel shopworn was the inclusion of a priest character, but I found Craig Hill's performance as Father Paolo to be very interesting. I am always fascinated by the Catholic elements of many gialli because I have very little frame of reference for the religion. The reoccurring themes of suppressed guilt and inescapable sin wind through so many films in the genre and for me, lend them an emotional weight they wouldn't otherwise possess. This religious element can often feel welded onto the story but here it seems more naturally layered into the film; I attribute that to Hill's performance. The scene in which he confronts the rich child molester is powerful and well played even through the dubbing. Also, the priest's very real fear and uncertainty as the threatening notes continue to appear in the church make his eventual fate even more effective.

The Fighting American on the 4th!

If you've never read the original Fighting American comics from the 50's you should take a look. They were generally written with tongue firmly in cheek and made for some fun times. I have no idea what the 1990's reboot was like but suspect it was bad. 

Poster Art Dump!

Because I like them all! 

Grimjack Comic Book Covers

Back in my college years (first go round) I read comics to keep my sanity intact. Until those years the comic books that I had read were strictly Marvel and DC superhero books sprinkled with the occasional horror anthology series for spice. But in my late teens I discovered First Comics and fell in love with Nexus, Badger and most especially Grimjack.  The adventures of John Gaunt were the perfect next step for someone like me who loved Edgar Rice Burroughs novels and science fiction stories so when I was able to get my hands on the first thirty issues at one time for a cheap price (thank you comic book convention dealers!) I sntached them up and read them repeatedly. I still have those comics and actually still have my entire run of the series that I periodically reread. I've been tempted to pick up the various trade paperback collections over the past decade but haven't as yet. But don't let that stop you. If you've never read Grimjack give the character a try - you might find a new favorite like I did all those years ago. 

The Bloody Pit #25 - GODZILLA MOTHRA KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK (2001)

In this episode Troy and I return to our Controversial Kaiju series to talk about GODZILLA MOTHRA KING GHIDORAH: GIANT MONSTERS ALL OUT ATTACK (2001) and marvel at more than just the length of the title. The third film in the 'Millennium' run from Toho it follows the standard for that series by ignoring all previous Godzilla film save the classic 1954 original. Yes- this movie is a direct sequel to GOJIRA and that might explain why for some Big G fans it might be considered controversial. I think the only thing controversial about it is that the director (Shûsuke Kaneko) has not been allowed (or forced!) to make several more awesome Godzilla epics!

As is typical with these giant monster movies from Japan, I play catch up as Troy takes me to school dropping knowledge about everything in sight. Luckily there is much to talk about as I complain about the title and suggest a more accurate and less serious alternate name for the film. Troy discusses the originally desired monster lineup and his own preferred roster while I express my amazement at the monsters' stance on Japan's juvenile delinquent problem. We were both surprised by the fun way the film addresses the names given to the various monsters which leads me to rename Gamera the Flaming Flying Death Disc while Troy simply shakes his head in shame. Adding to the discussion (and nearly derailing it) is a sideline conversation about Toho's WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS (1966) because I finally got a chance to see this supposed sequel to the topic of the last episode. We do stay on point for the majority of the show but there is a brief bit about 1950's TV westerns that is apropos of absolutely nothing, so be warned.

If you have any comments or questions the email address is thebloodypit@gmail.com where are thrilled to answer any question you might pose. Indeed, this month we answer several queries and I have to once again confess to not having seen a (not so) classic dinosaur film. Add it to the list and I'll eventually get it! Jeeze! Thank you for downloading and listening to the show!   

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Interview - Stephen Thrower on Jess Franco

This is a fantastic brief talk from Mr. Thrower focused on Franco's cinematic style and his own realization of the director's genius. Fascinating for fans and probably for those on the fence about finally checking out Ol' Uncle Jess' work.

Odd Comics - Tragg and the Sky Gods

I recently came across this issue of Tragg and the Sky Gods in the quarter bins and could not resist. I had absolutely no knowledge of this series but it seems I really lucked out - even though this is numbered 9 it was the last of the series and was a simple reprint of the very first issue. It is certainly interesting and if I could grab the rest of the run as cheap I'd do it! What other Don Glut surprises await me in the cheap comic boxes?