Dagon Horrible is a film that was part of a large collection of films banned by the British Board of Film Censors in the 1980's. I've seen many of these "nasty" features just to see what all the fuss was about; to be frank, they weren't as brutal as you'd expect. Naturally, this was 25 years ago so the cinematic standard of what was conceived as vile has changed dramatically in recent times. Nevertheless, The UK's Video Recordings Act of 1984 was a notable era in horror; some titles on the list are still banned today while others have been lifted years ago. After I finish my review I'll mention some of the films I've seen from the "Video Nasty" collection.Horrible is an effort made by Joe D'Amato. A shameful effort indeed, among a long list of shameful attempts in general. Yes, unfortunately he brought you Antropophagus: another bottom-dwelling disgrace. D'Amato is just slightly a step above the status of a porn director. This is why myself and many others refer to Italian horror cinema during the 70's and 80's as "schlocky"; virtually every facet and production value is so pitifully executed that is requires your utmost devotion to be fully appreciated. Luckily Horrible is not a porn-hybrid so I'll be able to spare you the misery of hearing about it.The plot tells the story of a large, superhuman male who escapes from a medical facility after an experiment goes "horribly" wrong. A priest/scientist works with the police and with their combined efforts they attempt to apprehend the murderous fiend. Yep...that's about it. The same large villain who's featured in Anthropophagus is also the main attraction here. As usual, the dubbing is inconsistent, and at times, sounds like it was recorded in someone's garage. Even the film stock will change quality without a moment's notice...all typical factors to reaffirm my feelings of detestment. D'Amato is without a doubt the WORST Italian horror director I've seen. Of all the times I've discussed how inconsistent Fulci or Argento can be or even how terrible I think Bava is at times, they simply don't match up to the worthlessness of D'Amato's nonexistent directorial skill-set. What's left to say? It's particularly painful to sit through 90 minutes of this. Some of you may wonder, "Hey, why even sit through it at all? You don't have to!" Yes...but it's all part of my mission and if there wasn't at least one person on the planet that could report back the results of movies like this who else would? Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and fetch my mail...if I'm not back in 5 minutes, assume D'Amato supporters snatched me up and threw me into a white van.

Leonard Smalls: The Lone Biker of the Apocalypse Luigi Montefiori aka George Eastman is definitely one of the scariest movie villains I've ever seen. His sheer size alone just makes him creepy. He obviously doesn't mind being violent; it seems to come naturally to him. If you've ever seen Bava's "Rabid Dogs," you should know what I mean. His role in "Rosso Sangue" is no exception. He delivers the goods here.Transformed into an unstoppable machine by an experiment gone awry, the bad guy makes his way through the countryside in search of his next victim. His next victim is basically anyone who gets in his way. He eventually lands at the home of a family and stalks them down.For the gorehounds, there will be a lot to love here. The scene with the band saw was sweet. For the lovers of Italian shock, there will be little we haven't seen before, but it is still worth a viewing.Ultimiately, this one could have been as triumphant as "Buio Omega" if there had been a few added killings. There are really only a handful. I wish there had been twice as many. I would have given this one at least a nine.Aficionados of Italian horror soundtracks will recognize a few of the tunes from other flicks.Worthy of a viewing for fans of D'Amato. Also recommend, if you like this one: "Tenebre," "Anthropophagus: The Grim Reaper," and of course "Beyond the Darkness." 7 out of 10, kids.

jaibo D'Amato's 1981 Rosse Sangue is a retread/rehash/remake-come-sequel to his previous year's cannibal classic Anthropophagus, again with George Eastman starring as a great, lumbering, murdering maniac, this time terrorising a small American town. The beast's penchant for munching on human flesh seems to have abated, replaced by a mechanical desire to kill everyone he comes into contact with. As usual with D'Amato, the magpie instinct leads him to not only rip-off his own work but also liberally steal from the work of others – with its seemingly supernatural beast-man haunting smalltown America, stalking babysitters and pursued by an "expert" who knows what he is and what he's capable of, Rosso Sangue aka Horrible aka Absurd aka Anthropophagus 2 is a dead ringer for the first two Halloween films. The festival of All Hallows Night is replaced here by that most American of ritual traditions, the televised event football game.The beast here bears some affinities with a zombie – he is dead, and the only way to kill him is to attack his cerebral cortex – go for the brain. He is pursued by a priest (played by that lovely old ham Edmund Purdom) who fulfils the same dramatic function as Pleasance's Dr Sam Loomis in the Halloween films. We first see the beast being pursued through a park by the padre, and our creature only manages to escape his clutches by leaping over a gate guarding the house of a wealthy family, ripping his beastly stomach open in the process. Imagine the family's surprise when Eastman comes ringing on their doorbell with his intestines hanging from his gut! Various twists and turns ensue, with the beast taken to hospital and then escaping to rampage, all ending up in the predictable stalking of the same house whilst the parents are out and the babysitter looks after the kids (in this case a Hair Bear-haired boy and a paraplegic young woman).The family and their house is worth commenting on. The house is slap bang in the middle of America, yet it is filled with the accoutrements of old Europe – antique furniture, a decorative suit of armour, a grand piano, figurative art. This brings to mind Franz Fanon's mid-twentieth century comment that "Two centuries ago, a former European colony decided to catch up with Europe. It succeeded so well that the United States of America became a monster, in which the taints, the sickness and the inhumanity of Europe have grown to appalling dimensions." The family who live in the house would seem to bear this out – the parents have a loveless marriage, the father is a callous businessman who drives away from a hit and run, the son is a strange little brute given to throwing tantrums when not allowed to get his own way; his father appropriately greets him with "hello, monster!" As with Anthropophagus, it appears that D'Amato is encouraging us to see the rampaging beast as the truth about his victims. But he also doesn't let us off the hook – we get a long, cold shot of the son sat writhing on his sofa as he watches a Joe D'Amato film! The final contrasts the parents sitting, guilt-ridden and anxious, watching the football game with neighbours as the monster turns their children's and employees' lives into a Darwinian struggle for survival. The pampered, cared-for paraplegic daughter is forced to get up from her bed and not merely walk but fight for her life; the final shot shows us that, in order to survive, the decadent bourgeoisie of American will find the same solutions as old Testament-inspired old Europe, as having beheaded the monster in medieval fashion, the daughter holds his severed head, standing as mad, proud and strident as Judith with the head of Holofernes.The padre has confessed that the monster is the product of an unlikely alliance between modern genetic science and old time religion. This monster is America itself. Despite the film's longueurs and incessant cinematic theft, D'Amato does manage to come up with another provocative, in-yer-face insult to the self-image of so-called civilised contemporary mankind.

Witchfinder General 666 Joe D'Amato's "Rosso Sangue" aka. "Absurd" of 1981 is sometimes named a sequel to D'Amato's shocking highlight "Antropophagus" of 1980. This is not really true, as while both films star George Eastman as the vicious villain, and both films are extremely gory, the story lines have nothing at all to do with each other. I loved "Antropophagus", which is not only tremendously gory, shocking and disturbing, but also scary as hell. I also enjoyed "Rosso Sangue", but it is not nearly a great as its aforementioned predecessor. The film is, once again extremely gory, and exploitation-icon George Eastman is once again predestined for the role, but the film is not nearly as scary as "Antropophagus", and neither is it anywhere near as shocking. A small town is infested by a genetically mutated man (Eastman), who has the urge to brutally murder everybody he sees, as a result of a nuclear experiment gone wrong. Not only does he have the urge to murder, however, his mutations also made him very strong and immune to injuries... The film's main qualities are the great score, the extreme gore, and George Eastman. The huge Eastman really is one intimidating fellow, who always fits in his mostly sardonic roles. His greatest moments were Mario Bava's 1974 masterpiece "Cani Arrabiati" ("Rabid Dogs"), and "Antropophagus", but Eastman truly is an enrichment to any of the films he starred in, and "Absurd" is no exception. While he is not quite as scary-looking as in "Antropophagus" here, Eastman single-handedly carries the film with his maniacal performance. The other performances are quite forgettable, but this is not really of any importance. Overall, this is not nearly as great as "Antropophagus", but it is definitely a film that any fan of the very brutal kind of Horror/Exploitataion should enjoy. Recommended to my fellow Italian Horror buffs.