A Blade in the Dark (1983)

Initially planned as a TV mini-series with a death every 30 minutes, A Blade in the Dark is everything a giallo should be: sexy, bloody, mysterious and shocking. While working on a horror movie score in a secluded villa, Bruno (Andrea Occhipinti) begins to uncover a series of murders perpetrated under his very nose. The psycho sexual clues are very sparse as the plot moves at a snail's pace. The film best utilizes each character's potential to be the killer. It's a bare bones affair, so with a limited cast it never becomes convoluted. The tortuous deaths should appease the fans of sleaze, but will turn off most others. At its best it's a compelling thriller, but it shits the bed in the final act with a contrived conclusion. 

3 bloody tennis balls out of 5

Graveyard Disturbance (1987)

The first in a series of four Italian made-for-TV films directed by Lamberto Bava, this low budget horror sees a group of friends on the lam spend the night in a desecrated crypt for a chance at riches. It's painfully obvious where the story is headed within five minutes. The entire plot is trite and the few childish attempts at humor are below feeble. Monster variety is meager and the SFX are disappointing to say the least. Most of the creatures consist of gooey-headed zombies, with only a few offering up any kind of dumb fun. The film is one long trek through a third-rate haunted Halloween attraction. Yet none of this can touch how awkward the English dubbing comes off. Bad writing leads scenes into proverbial walls, providing some of the most puzzling dialogue. Graveyard Disturbance is more of a scuffed stone than an unpolished gem. It certainly didn't deserve a stateside release.

1½ monster brunches out of 5

The Ogre (1988)

aka Demons 3 / Demons III: The Ogre / House of the Ogre

While holidaying at an Italian villa with her husband and son, horror author Cheryl (Virginia Bryant) begins to relive nightmares about things that plagued her as a child, twenty-five years ago. Even though frightened out her of wits, her writer's mind won't rest until the terrors can be explored.
The villa is a visually beguiling setting that could accommodate any number of stories, and the suspenseful, atmospheric moments within and beneath it are classy (helped immensely by some fine Simon Boswell music), but the filler time between each set-piece is bland, bordering on vacuous.
When it comes to the finale, the Ogre is about as convincing as the relationship of the married couple. If a few of the secondary characters had had their story expanded then things might have been more interesting.

2½ intoxicating orchids out of 5

Demons 2 (1986)

Part two treads similar ground to its predecessor, but it stumbles a lot more often. The cinema-goers are replaced with moronic party-goers for whom acting is something they maybe once read about but failed to take an interest in. The film-within-a-film device returns but makes even less sense. It has the same kind of lovingly crafted effects as Demons (1985) but they're just not as good. The music is now pop/goth. The indefinable spark of excellence that kept the previous film burning bright even when it was being stupid seems to have burned itself almost out. It's still enjoyable at times, but is only a few steps away from being a charmless creature movie with too much screaming.

2½ hair-pulls out of 5

Demons (1985)

The lure of a free movie at a West Berlin theatre is enough to get a varied collection of Joe Publics gathered under one roof. While the punters are fixated on (or recoiling from) the horror being projected onscreen a similar malevolent atmosphere is forming within the walls of the theatre.
It's a hell of a stylish flick from Lamberto Bava (son of Mario) that entertains even during its awful scenes. The amazing practical effects, cheesy metal music and quality Claudio Simonetti score are all memorable.
Bava's use of dramatic back-lit events make no sense but look great. And even though a large number of things are left unexplained, when the potentially elaborate set-up of the lure is engineered to lead into a simple but effective story of demons killing humans in gory ways, does it even matter?

3½ instruments of evil out of 5