Spirits of Death (Italian: Un bianco vestito per Marialé/ translation: A White Dress for Mariale) is a 1972 Italian film directed by Romano Scavolini and starring Ida Galli, Ivan Rassimov and Luigi Pistilli.[2] The film was also released as Exorcisme Tragique (Tragic Exorcism).[3]
| Spirits of Death | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Romano Scavolini |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by | Giuseppe Mangione[1] |
| Produced by | Franca Luciani[1] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Romano Scavolini[1] |
| Edited by | Francesco Bertuccioli[1] |
| Music by | Fiorenzo Carpi[1] |
Production company | KMG Cinema[1] |
| Distributed by | Regional |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes[1] |
| Country | Italy[1] |
| Box office | ₤65.564 million |
Plot
editAs a child, Mariale witnesses the murder of her mother at her father's hands. She later becomes a recluse, living by herself in a dark, gloomy castle. Mariale decides to invite some friends over for the weekend and stages a decadent orgiastic party. Then a series of grisly murders begin to occur.
Cast
edit- Ida Galli as Marialè
- Ivan Rassimov as Massimo
- Shawn Robinson as Semy
- Luigi Pistilli as Paolo
- Pilar Velázquez as Mercedes
- Carla Mancini
- Ezio Marano as Sebastiano
- Gianni Dei as the lover of Marialè's mother
Style
editAlthough the film is often described as a giallo, film historian Roberto Curti stated it only becomes a violent murder mystery about an hour into the film.[4] Curti described the giallo trademarks of violent murders and a twist ending are marginal when compared to other films of the genre at the time.[4] Curti opined the film was one like a perverse kammerspiel which borrowed from both gothic and avant-garde theatre.[4]
Production
editFollowing his return from Vietnam where he was a freelance photographer, director Romano Scavolini returned to his native Italy where he started his film career again as a genre filmmaker.[4]
Release
editSpirits of Death was released in Italy on 30 November 1972.[1] The film grossed 65.564 million Italian lire in Italy on its release.[1] When the film was released in France, it was titled Exorcisme tragique to try and bank on the popular success of The Exorcist.[5]
Reception
editIn a retrospective review, Curti stated that Scavolini's direction and Fiorenzo Carpi's score "cannot overcome the script's many shortcoming–namely, sketchily developed characters, pretentious dialogue, heavy-handed symbolism."[6] Scavolini later referred to the film as a film "which only deserves to be forgotten"[7]
See also
editReferences
editFootnotes
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Curti 2017, p. 57.
- ^ Chiti, Poppi & Lancia 1991, p. 70-79.
- ^ Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 1476629609
- ^ a b c d Curti 2017, p. 58.
- ^ Curti 2017, p. 60.
- ^ Curti 2017, p. 59.
- ^ Palmerini & Mistretta 1996, p. 127.
Sources
edit- Curti, Roberto (2017). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970-1979. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476629605.
- Chiti, Roberto; Poppi, Roberto; Lancia, Enrico (1991). Dizionario del cinema italiano: I film (in Italian). Gremese. ISBN 8876059695.
- Palmerini, Luca M.; Mistretta, Gaetano (1996). Spaghetti Nightmares (in Italian). M&P edizioni.