Monday, October 27, 2008
An open letter to my brother Andy:
Hey Andy, have you seen this one yet? It's one of Fulci's mid-80's efforts. You and I have both plowed through the ass-end of his filmography, including Aenigma, Demonia, Voices From the Beyond and Sweet House of Horrors, so if you haven't seen this one, you probably should. However, if you still need convincing, here is a list of reasons of why you should see Murder Rock:
1) It is an attempt to cash in on the 80's dance movie craze, but it's still a horror movie. So what I'm saying is that Fulci made a giallo in the style of Flashdance.
2) The opening credits show a bunch of people (who I don't think are characters in the movie) breakdancing to some 80's music. When the credits end, they are immediately followed by another dance sequence. It's like a good 6 minutes of screen time before there's any dialogue and people stop dancing.
3) There are several dance sequences in the film, and they are pretty much all extraneous.
4) Remember the classic song "Head Over Meels" from Fulci's Aenigma? Well, Murder Rock's entire soundtrack consists of crap like that.
5) Garetta Garetta, the black chick from Demons and Rats: Night of Terror has a supporting role.
6) There are several dramatic speeches made by characters, and the movie seems to take them pretty seriously.
7) There is a lot of nudity for a Fulci film, although most of it is of dead chicks. So we're talking Torso territory here, although no lesbians.
8) The killer chloroforms women so they pass out, then sticks some weird ceremonial needle through their heart.
9) I don't know if he had a decent budget or what, but this is, from a technical standpoint, one of Fulci's best shot, best lit, best edited, best constructed films. It doesn't have his normally foggy, soft-focus nightmarish feel, it's more of a classic giallo.
10) Despite that, it still has a lot of accidental comedy.
So there you go, 10 reasons why you should consider seeing this one if you get a chance. I wouldn't bump it to the top of your queue or go out of your way to see it, but if you like this kind of crap (and I know you do) then it's worth your time.
4 comments:
I mean, that sounds absolutely incredible.
How have I NOT heard of this? It sounds like "It's all Music: The Film!"
This shits getting bumped up instantly.
aw shit, I totally meant to make the "It's All Music" reference but forgot. All the dancing are even wearing the same kind of ridiculous spandex dancesuits. although, sadly, no one gets stabbed until their clothes fall off.
I salso like the double title that combines the free-spirited fun craze that swept the world that is rocking and dancing, and the equally appealing murdering and dying!
It sounds like Fulci really made a film that defined that cold war generation.
it gets better:
apparently the European title was "Slashdance." Holy shit that is awesome.
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