Macabre 4K 1980

Straddling the line between family drama and horror, Lamberto Bava draws the viewer into the grip of such a comfortable and homely madness. All the most horrific events take place within the first 10 minutes of the film—is there any need to recount them? The family tragedy begins with one child’s jealousy of another and the wife’s infidelity.
The hand of fate claims two human lives, leaving them as corpses. The film could have ended right there, like Louis Malle’s "Damage", but for Bava, this is only the beginning.

A deliberate, meditative, slow pace. A focus on interiors and emotions. The lack of clear explanations—all of this makes the film more sophisticated, while also stretching out its runtime. There aren’t many events here. And especially when, by the middle of the film, it becomes clear what’s going on and the repetition of the nightmare is inevitable, interest in the film drops sharply. There isn’t a shred of fiction here; I’m certain that extreme stress caused one of the characters to completely lose their mind, retreating into a world of sweet dreams that is so terrifying to everyone around them. I hope you’ll understand my desire not to reveal the film’s simple plot.

By the way, if you think about it, the main characters’ names are similar to the surnames of famous actors. Our heroine is named Jane Baker—almost like Marilyn Monroe. And age-wise, if Marilyn were alive, she could very well have starred in the film. As for Stanko Molnar’s character—the blind landlord of the apartment where the sorrowful mother lives—that’s Robert Duvall. In this case, too, the Hollywood Duvall could easily have pulled it off and was perfectly suited to the role. It’s likely that this is how Signor Lamberto encoded his wishes regarding the actors. To be sure, even without Hollywood stars, Stanko Molnar and Bernice Stigers were perfectly cast. Bernice created a very vivid portrayal of a woman who is no longer young but still sexy and desirable, weighed down by a heavy burden of inner turmoil. Her outward heaviness—despite her charm, one cannot help but notice her excess weight and ponderous gait—correlates so precisely with her emotional burden. And she played the passionate scenes simply flawlessly—after all, any insincerity shows up like a scan in those moments.

However, I must admit that I was somewhat surprised by the overly high ratings this film received, at least for my taste. Despite all its obvious strengths and weaknesses, a simple comparison with other similar films from 1980 does not work in its favor. For example, Deodato’s “House at the Edge of the Park,” Argento’s “Inferno,” and Fulci’s “City of the Living Dead” struck me as far more enchanting. Compared to them, Bava’s film is simply a confident effort, but by no means a colorful, evocative experience.