Macabre (1983)

best movie i've ever seen.

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

Jane is on her way to a boarding house with her lover leaving her children at home.Her daughter decides to take the opportunity to drown her brother in a bathtub.When receiving news of the "accident", the couple rush back but are involved in a car accident that decapitates the boyfriend.Years later Jane rents the room where she would have been staying with her lover.The only other occupant of the house,a blind man,starts to become suspicious of exactly what she's doing in her room at night and why the freezer is kept chained up…"Macabro" by Lamberto Bava is a sleazy and perverse fun.The action is slow-moving,but the final necrophilia scene has to be seen to be believed.8 decapitated heads out of 10.

For a debut film, "Macabre" is really impressive! After so much work with his father and with Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava really nailed down the horror genre with his first effort. The ending is so wicked. I'll never forget it! I also like the setting. In my opinion, it's hard to beat New Orleans for a horror movie setting. The city somehow just gives off the scary vibes. The acting is above par for Italian horror films of the early 80's, but it's still a little cheesy.That having been said, "Macabre" moves excruciatingly slow in parts. I'm talking three minutes for one of the characters to open a door. It's tough to stay focused. But, if you can, the ending is pretty rad.I've seen this for sale with another Lamberto Bava film, "A Blade in the Dark." I'd recommend getting it that way. I think it's actually cheaper than buying it solo like I did.7 out of 10, kids.

New Orleans wife Jane Baker is secretly having a steamy affair, when one day she receives news of a terrible accident of one of her children. In the rush to get the hospital, her lover crashes the car and is decapitated. After spending time in a mental institution, she returns the boarding house to stay, which were she would meet her lover. The blind landlord Robert Duval holds a crush on her, but her affections are for someone else and when he hears her calling out her former lovers name every night. He knows something is not quite right. After the disappointment that was "A Blade in the Dark", I got around to watching Lamberto Bava's low-cost debut film "Macabre" and I was extremely entrenched by this sedate, tightly constructed Gothic horror oddity. The morbid premise is atypically straightforward, therefore predictable, but on the other hand strangely fascinating as the mood and atmosphere sweeps you up then trying for anything graphic and blaring with punch. Lamberto's stylish trimmings notably display an edgy, conniving sense of simmering tension amongst the chamber piece structure. Ubaldo Continiello's smoothly tailored jazz score of sorrow melts well with Franco Delli Colli's aesthetic handling of the agile photography. The editing gets the right feel. Writers Pupi Avati, Lamberto Bava, Antonio Avati and Roberto Gandus' twisted material dabbles successfully into the psychological obsession and passion of love (or maybe the perversely forbidden sexual fulfilment) and the increasing frustration for attention. Boy it's demented, and unusual. Just wait for the crackpot ending! The clear-cut script works well with its foreseeable, bleak mystery to keep you infatuated, by setting up a likable intimate protagonist Robert and rally up anxiety ridden situations. Bernice Stegers's performance of Jane smokes it up with an ever-growing desire and very assured impact. Stanko Molnar doesn't lose ground either, with his stupendous portrayal of Robert. Veronica Zinny potently gets on your nerves with a creepy turn as Jane's daughter Lucy.

You gotta admit, the idea is ingeniously twisted in its simplicity...Jane (Bernice Stegers), an adulterous New Orleans housewife, is involved in a car crash that decapitates her lover. One year later, she is discharged from a mental hospital and returns to her lover's former residence, where she is lusted after by blind caretaker Robert (Stanko Molnar) and plagued by visits from her Greyhound-faced daughter Lucy (Veronica Zinny).Questions arise: What is the explanation for those lustful, lovemaking noises coming from the upstairs apartment? Why is Jane so protective of her freezer? Will Robert ever get a chance to tap that action? Will Lucy ever shut the f*ck up? With strong location shooting in New Orleans and an accompanying jazzy score, you can practically feel the sweltering menace in the air.True to its title, "Macabre" is generally restrained in tone, instead opting to create a very effective mood of overall bizarro. At its best, it has the feel of a polished anthology entry (such material would be right at home on "The Twilight Zone" or even "Masters of Horror"); at its worst, it feels overlong and silly. The third-act twist, while pretty predictable, works because the cast is so ravenously committed to the material. As a result, "Macabre" is a finely polished debut from Lamberto Bava (son of Mario), suspenseful and mysterious (in a supernatural kind of way), but just too overdrawn.