Cinecocktail 4

The Italian Horror Show

Hanging Shadows

Web: http://www.beatrecords.it

When I think of my first experience of Italian horror it was seeing Suspiria in an old downtown cinema on a rainy night. There was something truly momentous about that first experience which went way beyond the plot and storytelling. My emotions were shocked to their foundations and I was hooked ! There was a bizarre use of colour and form, unusual camera angles and the strangest of concepts, but primarily what stood out was a truly innovative use of textured sound. This approach to the use of music and sound in Horror film is in many ways uniquely Italian. Whether we are discussing the works of Dario Argento, the Cannibal classics of Deodata or the Zombie films of Fulci, they all made use of music in a way which was very different from that in Hollywood horror films. It could be said that while mainstream US soundtracks used music to tell a story, the Italian horror film allowed music to be the story. While horror developed in Hollywood using convoluted plots and stories, Italian horror seemed to explore unconscious territory, with non lineal storytelling, textured mood and layered environmental sound.

Soundtracks of such music are always hard to come by and when you find a collectors gem such as Cinecocktail 4: The Italian Horror Show you know you have hit it big time. The first thing you notice about this release is its superior presentation. It looks great and has an eye-catching horror cover, it has a full colour insert which slips into the front and is in Italian and English. This is clearly a product made for the world market and includes English translations of all text and information.

With some many “re issued soundtracks” of various degrees of quality, this is a true surprise, not only is the quality of the recording impeccable but there are lots of never before released tracks. This is quite exciting, not only rare and unusual Italian horror music but never released tracks from all manner of films from Zombie Holocaust through House 3 to April Night. The music has a groovy, cocktail sound, lounge music for the dark soul. Smooth, yet edgy, dreamy yet with a slice of night. There are pieces which are reflective and silky, others which have a more traditional horror texture, there is lounge, piano, electronic and orchestral.

If this was all there was, there it would still be great for both soundtrack lovers and horror aficionados, but it also comes with a DVD documentary on Italian horror by Paolo Fazzini called “Hanging Shadows”.

Hanging Shadows is a high quality documentary of approximately one hour, it is nicely edited with rare footage and packed with interviews. It is in Italian with clear and easy to follow English subtitles which are well translated. It offers an excellent overview of Italian horror, fantasy and fantastic cinema through focused interviews with a range of major directors and those connected to their work such as special effects co-ordinators, sound technicians etc.

Along the way we also come to appreciate the unique characteristics of the various directors, such as Argento, Bava and Fulci and what makes them tick. For example, there is a fascinating discussion of the research Argento undertakes before a film. When developing Phenomena (Creepers), he came across a news item discussing how insects could be used in solving crime and this then formed one of the major aspects of the film. Further, he even based the illness of the “monster child” on a real condition (Patau Syndrome) and used medically accurate information.

Argento also has very specific rules for his filmmaking which make his style unique. He has consciously decided to locate brutal murders in wealthy neighbourhoods, for example, because he believes that in such an environment the impact of the imagery of the killing is more intense.

One of the other interesting discussions is the issue of class within Italian cinema. It seems that due to the great success of major directors in Italy that these Maestros are seen as representatives of high art and fantasy and horror is seen as somewhat low brow. Indeed, at times, high art directors are called artists while others are simply classified as Artisans. It is argued that this elitist approach is based in a misjudgement of the artistic merit of the medium and has in many ways stifled modern fantasy and horror film production (except in independent productions). It is also a strange occurrence, since worldwide Italian horror is celebrated as the epitome of style and art.

Hanging Shadows covers so much territory including discussions of censorship, social issues and the nature of violence of cinema. Ruggero Deodata offers some fascinating insights into the problems he experienced with his Cannibal films due to the fact that they focuses on potentially real events rather than supernatural horrors. He also discusses how he encoded social themes, such as a criticism of journalistic extremism, into Cannibal Holocaust.

We also receive a solid discussion of the development of independent cinema with a special reference to the work of Roger Fratter. Hanging Shadows is an excellent documentary, well presented, superbly edited with some excellent clips and footage and very insightful interviews.

It is astonishing that it comes as part of a package ! Together these two products form a literal collectors goldmine ! A high quality collectors Italian Horror CD with many never before recorded tracks and a DVD offering one of the very best documentaries on Italian Horror on the market.

All I can say is what a find !!!

Sure, you may have to make a bit of an effort to get it, but it is well worth it.

Visit Beat Records website today !