Five Dolls For An August Moon (1970)

If you're a horror fan who hasn't heard of Mario Bava then, as the saying goes, you'd better check yourself before you apply a not inconsiderable amount of damage to yourself. Bava is a towering influence over the horror genre, a man with an eye for gorgeous visuals, and also quite a few gorgeous women to cast in main roles. That doesn't mean that I love everything he ever did. I am one of the few people who doesn't view Planet Of The Vampires as a masterpiece. This is another film that I view as a lesser outing from the man, but it has just enough in the mix to make it worth your time.

A bunch of people are gathered on a small island. Most of them are simply hoping to relax, but some are trying to persuade Professor Gerry Farrell (William Berger) to sell a new scientific formula that he has come up with. And then someone turns up dead. Soon followed by someone else. It's not long until everyone is fearing for their lives. But who is the killer?

Working from a story by Mario di Nardo (an idea taken, apparently, from an uncredited, classic Agatha Christie tale), this is a fun, if lightweight, whodunnit. In fact, the third act pulls the rug from under the feet of viewers in a way that underlines the humour of the piece. Bava often laces his movies with black humour - arguably peaking in the punchline that would end his next film, A Bay Of Blood - and this is another that will make you smile in between the bloodshed.

It's a shame that this feels so ugly and unstylish compared to Bava's other movies, and the drab visuals and low energy levels end up dragging the whole thing down a level. Compare this to the likes of Blood And Black Lace, for example, and the differences seem vast. Others may disagree, but this felt like the most un-Bava movie I've seen yet from him.

The cast all do what is required of them, although nobody really stands out. Well, apart from the glorious gorgeousness that is Edwige Fenech, who would stand out in anything. Fenech is a highlight, due to the fact that she's Fenech, but Berger, Edith Meloni, Ely Galleani, Helena Ronee, Howard Ross, Ira von Furstenberg, Mauro Bosco and Teodoro Corra all try their best. Corra, in particular, has fun as the man who owns the island, therefore making him a prime suspect when the killing begins.

No Bava film is ever bad, from the selection I have seen so far. It just so happens that some aren't as good as others. This one isn't half as good as his best outings. It's still alright though. And when was the last time you read a movie review that ended on that kind of ringing endorsement? Sometimes the words just seem to flow right through me.

6/10

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Dolls-August-Moon-Remastered/dp/B00DI67N94/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1419351638&sr=1-1&keywords=five+dolls+for+an+august+moon

The New York Ripper (1982)

Lucio Fulci has given horror fans plenty to choose from over the years, some of it great and some of it not so great. Personally, I'll always be a fan of his ever since I fell in love with the mist-laden atmosphere of City Of The Living Dead AKA Gates Of Hell. Then I saw The Beyond. Well, I though that the man could do no wrong. Then I saw The House By The Cemetery. If you're reading this and you're a fan of The House By The Cemetery then don't get yourself in a rage just now, I believe my first and only viewing of the movie was a butchered VHS release back in the early 90s so I'm definitely going to revisit it now that it's been given a shiny overhaul. But that viewing did show me that Fulci wasn't perfect and as I got to know more and more horror fans around the world I quickly learned that opinions of the man ranged from horror maestro to past master who lost his way to misogynistic hack. Despite the misses mixed in with the hits, I still like to think of him as a real master of the genre.

Which brings us to The New York Ripper, not necessarily a masterpiece of a film but certainly one of the more, deservedly, notorious titles to be affected by the big Video Nasty nonsense in the 1980s and even beyond. It's a very, very nasty movie, there's no denying it, with some horrific violence towards women and a real atmosphere of sleaze. Yet I'd also have to say that it's an enjoyable, unflinching horror that's part time capsule, part psychobabble and all Euroschlock. Directed by Fulci, who also helped to write the thing, it's not up there with his very best work (already mentioned above) but it's very good.

One of many movies made at this time showing New York inhabited by a bunch of Italian actors, there's no point in discussing the quality of the performances or dialogue here. Let's face it, these factors are not the best things that the movie has to offer.

The slim plot revolves around a killer who targets women and kills them in brutal and specific ways. The killer seems to resent the fact that the victims ARE women and will often mutilate their breast or vaginal area (one scene involving a broken bottle was still strong enough to make me flinch thirty years after the movie was initially released). Lt. Fred Williams (Jack Hedley) is the man determined to catch this killer, a determination strengthened by mocking phone calls in which the killer talks in a duck-like manner. And when Fay Majors (Almanta Keller) attracts the attention of the killer how long does she have left to live?

There's every chance that this might offend you, it's certainly not the kind of horror movie to put on if you're trying to win over a newcomer to the genre, but you have to admire Fulci for going as far as he does. The rest of the movie may not be up to much but the death scenes are uncomfortable and well realised while the taunting of the police by the strange voice of the killer works fairly well.

If you want to pick apart this movie then it's all too easy (the bad dialogue, the poor supporting characters, etc) but if you're willing to overlook the lack of polish on the surface then you'll see a harsh and violent thriller/horror that really lives up to its title.

7/10

The region-free Bluray is available here -
http://www.amazon.com/The-New-York-Ripper-Blu-ray/dp/B002E01MI8