The Black Cat (1989)

Best movie of this year hands down!

A Masterpiece!

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Blistering performances.

I've just finished watching the late eighties Italian horror The Spider Labyrinth, which was a film devoid of cheese. This film, however, is like watching a slice of Gouda. But there's a place for films like this too, and I enjoyed it. Some sort of sequel to Suspira/Inferno, it features some film makers getting together to make a film about Levanna, the Mother of Tears. Actress and new mother Ana is all set for the part, probably because her husband is the director, which makes script writer Dan's wife very jealous (and she's played by Caroline Munro, for the record). Things start getting immediately weird when Ana starts having visions of a grape faced lady (you heard me) coming out of a mirror and attacking here. Seems that Levanna is real and wants to come back into our world, which involves Ana and her baby and that. You know the drill.I though it was funny when Levanna started haunting Ana's fridge and then formed a vision of a fake repairman coming to fix it! That's just cruel. Also Bret Halsey's in this because perhaps Lucio Fulci had momentarily lost his phone number. Anyway, the director guy and the screenwriter get in contact with some medium, who warns them off, and that's when Levanna goes nuts and starts wasting everybody, causing the medium's guts to explode out of her body, just like in Cozzi's Contamination! By this time there's also a little girl contacting Ana via a television to help her, but Levanna makes this TV explode and then spew up intestines (you heard me there too). Things then start getting pretty unpredictable and VERY eighties, visually, but Cozzi may not be the best fan of reality, but he can sure pour on the madness and crazy set pieces. Whether or not this is a better sequel that Mother of Tears is up to you. Both are very cheesy and the later film was a lot gorier, but it also had Asia Argento in it and didn't really have the tone of Suspiria or Inferno, whereas this one is more similar in look and feel. That's up to you. Luigi Cozzi sure had a thing for Caroline Munro, eh? In this film, you get to see her take a bath, wear lingerie, put varnish on her nails, have sex and get leggy while getting into a car. For the record, my favourite Munro moment is the musical number she does in Don't Open Til Christmas.

Argento initially wanted to make a Three Mothers Trilogy, movies about 3 powerful witches that cause evil and chaos in the world. His first two movies, Suspiria and Inferno, are absolute masterpieces with wonderful acting and atmosphere. Very bizarre films. He never completed this trilogy. In came Luigi Cozzi, who completed the trilogy with Demons 6 aka the Black Cat. Though not as good as the first two, this movie is definitely a masterpiece that is worthy of praise. Nice midnight like atmosphere and good gore, good acting, a spooky movie. What more can you want? Too bad it is not available in the US, but there is one company that sells it on DVD, uncut, direct from a Japanese transfer source, with English audio and forced Japanese subs.

Anne (Florence Guerin), a popular horror actress, takes the lead role as Levana (a legendary witch burned at the stake in 13th Century Prague) in her director husband's (Urbano Barberini) newest effort; described as an updating of SUSPIRIA. Levana seemingly returns from the grave as a clawed, maggot-infested, lumpy-faced ghoul who causes death for the cast and crew members and makes Anne have a LOT of disorienting nightmares/delusions. Adding to the fun/confusion are scenes in outer space (?!), a TV set that spews guts and green slime, a helpful little girl "fairy" who shows up on a TV, a neck slashing, an exploding body, sexy Caroline Munro in a bubble bath and in lingerie (sorry fellas, no nudity!), a car going through a house and lots of pointless shots of black cats (the movie has nothing to do with Poe, although the full screen title is EDGAR ALLAN POE'S THE BLACK CAT).Cozzi's nutty movie is chock full of Italian horror movie references, as he pays due homage to the inventive directorial styles of directors Mario Bava and Dario Argento. Everything is drenched in bright color and the camera-work, music score (borrowing riffs from SUSPIRIA and even the White Lion's cover version of "Radar Love!") and sets are good, along with special attention made for Bava-esquire zoom shots. Though this is not really a very good movie, it's enjoyable absurd and definitely interesting enough.

"The Black Cat" is regarded as a third part of Dario Argento's Three Mothers trilogy(two first parts are "Suspiria" and "Inferno").Of course it's not as good as those masterpieces,but it's quite atmospheric and enjoyable.The gore effects are well-done,the script is okay,but the acting is pretty bad.Overall I liked this one so check it out for yourself.Cult actress Caroline Munro("Maniac","Kronos")and Urbano Barberini("Opera")are among the cast.