Evil Clutch (1988)

Please don't spend money on this.

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

American tourist Cindy (cute Coralina C. Tassoni) and her Italian boyfriend Tony (likable Diego Ribon) decide to go on a peaceful and romantic hiking trip in the Alps. Things quickly turn sour when the couple run afoul of sexy, but lethal witch Arva (the alluring Elena Cantarone) and some kind of equally nasty supernatural force that makes the dead come back to vicious shambling life as crusty-faced grunting zombies. Writer/director Andreas Merfori cheerfully eschews basic logic and narrative cohesion in favor of an utterly over-the-top, ridiculous, and hence pretty amusingly atrocious anything-goes free-form story structure which becomes more increasingly absurd and laughable as the flimsy plot shamelessly copies "The Evil Dead" and fumbles toward a predictable anticlimactic "it ain't over yet" conclusion. Moreover, Marfori manages to build a fair amount of reasonably spooky gloom-doom atmosphere in the opening third and pours on the disgusting gore with considerable sicko glee (revolting highlights include Arva castrating a helpless guy with a claw from between her legs, Tony's hands being torn off, a messy decapitation, and a grisly chainsaw carving). The acting is surprisingly decent, with Luciano Crovato easily stealing the show with his gloriously loopy portrayal of Algernoon, a nutty local writer who speaks through an irritating electronic voicebox. Marco Isoli's dynamic and stylish cinematography makes inspired and invigorating frequent use of a madly darting to and fro Steadicam. Adriano M. Vitali's shivery score hits the spine-tingling spot. The dusty'n'desolate underground catacombs setting is genuinely creepy. While this flick suffers from a plodding pace and a meandering narrative (Cindy and Tony spend what seems like an eternity trekking through the woods), it still possesses a certain winningly clunky and pervasive cheesiness that's impossible to either resist or dislike. Entertaining nonsensical tripe.

"Evil Clutch" is a decent if somewhat unspectacular possession entry.**SPOILERS**Traveling through the countryside, Cindy, (Coralina Cataldi Tassoni) and Tony, (Diego Ribon) stumble across frantic Arva, (Elena Cantaone) along the road and offer her a lift. Arriving in the next town, only local left Algernoon, (Luciano Crovato) gives them a tour of the village and regales them with stories about the haunted woods surrounding the village, warning them not to venture within or be cursed to the fate of the demons who lurk there. Unfazed by the stories, they venture into the woods and decide to restart their original intent of hiking into the woods. Forced into an abandoned cabin when a storm rolls in, they quickly realize that there's a demonic spirit amongst them out to satisfy it's unquenchable blood-lust, and as they're trapped within by the fact that there could be more creatures amongst the dark woods, are forced to battle the demon to get out of the woods alive.The Good News: This one wasn't all that bad when it really counted on it. The main issue here is the fact that the film really decides to ladle on the blood and gore for the conclusion to this. There's a lot more in here than expected and that's what really impresses, due to the amount in here. There's a great decapitation by placing the head through a cart's wheel and turning it, an ax tearing a body to pieces, having a throat ripped out, both hands are chopped off with a giant claw, a chainsaw ripping up a creature with chunks of flesh and blood flying in every direction, an exploding head and much more, including the few pieces spread throughout the rest of the film as most of that was just what happened at the very end of the film. This also includes more good stuff as the look of the zombie who actually looks rather nice. Suitably disgusting with a rancid look that actually has the look of being decomposed with the make-up effects being a real highlight with these creatures. The fact that both of them are like that is what's so great about them, as they look really great and manage to score big. The main demon in here looks a little cheesy with the bugged out eyes, but otherwise, there's some good work to be had with the look on display. There's also a bunch of fun to be had from the fact that the end is a huge action scene, and is all the better for it. The chasing through the deserted ruins underground is a lot of fun, the confrontations inside the house are really great, and even atmospheric at times, which is also nicely put through the rest of the film. Some of the scenes of them hiking through the forest, as well as the first scene in the cemetery where the demonic force circles the lone person inside managing to feel creepy at times and getting some much-needed atmosphere into the film. The last plus is the fact that the film decides to act out the back-story rather than just simply tell it. That's all that this one has going for it.The Bad News: There wasn't a whole lot really wrong with this one. Most of the problems here stem from it being a really obvious rip-off of another film for pretty much it's entire duration. There's a lot of indications, from the possessed beings in there along with the demon views and the general story outline happen to be the exact same as another horror classic out there, and it doesn't do many favors with this since it is so obviously done and doesn't really do anything to separate the two. That's where the main flaw from this comes from, as there's very little to say about a film where it uses another story straight without doing anything else to fix it. The other flaw to this one is the maddening and completely irritating habit of the film being way too dark for it's own good. The fact that the film takes place at night is the main source, as being naturally dark makes these scenes impossible to figure out and rather irritating to miss. The fact that it's supposed to be able to see these scenes, since the film goes dark at the key moments, the kills from the creatures, and to be cheated out of them is something that doesn't really deserve to be that way. This one could've worked the darkness in well, but to be so dark as to be impossible what's happening on-screen is really where the film suffers. These are the problems that hold the film down.The Final Verdict: With some really good parts to it and a couple of flaws, this one isn't that bad and could be worthwhile for some. This one will mostly be appreciated by the most undiscriminating of gore-hounds or European-horror fans, while others out there won't be so forgiving of it's flaws.Rated R: Graphic Violence and some Language

I can't recall another film at the moment that begins with so much promise and flushes it all down the toilet in the second half. Despite its shaky beginning, I was actually prepared to give Evil Clutch an 8 during most of the first half. During the extended climax, my score kept sinking lower and lower until I wasn't sure it even deserved a 4.Tony (Diego Ribon) and Cindy (Coralina Cataldi Tassoni) are lovers or engaged or something like that. They're in Italy, but it seems like maybe Cindy hasn't always lived in Italy, or she just never traveled much, because Tony is taking Cindy all over Italy to see the famous sights. We know this because director Andreas Marfori intercuts sets of "Polaroid snapshots" with the opening titles. These seem to go on forever, with mostly ridiculous but banal dialogue accompanying them. It was bad and long enough that at one point I thought, "Holy cow, is the whole film just going to be collections of Polaroids? Is Marfori going to 'channel' Chris Marker's La Jetée (1962)?" Anyway, the Polaroids thankfully stop, and Tony takes Cindy to the Italian Alps. On the way, Cindy says the forest reminds her of Snow White, so they start whistling a bizarre mutation of "Whistle While You Work", changed because Marfori and company weren't about to pay licensing fees on the Disney tune, assuming they could have gotten clearance. Then they pick up a sleazy-looking hitchhiker (who wouldn't?) who has a bizarre story about someone chasing her. We know she's bad news, because we saw her attack someone with her "evil clutch" (her fake, metamorphosizing, demony-hand) in the opening. (By the way, another prominent "evil clutch" seems to be on Tony's Jeep Laredo, at least judging from the soundtrack.) They get to the apparently deserted but beautifully bucolic village they're going to be staying in (a staple of European horror from the late 1960s through the late 1980s), and meet the Red Baron--well, that's what he looks like, anyway, I didn't actually catch his name in the film, if they gave it--who is a writer of "supernatural stories". He "scares" the sleazy hitchhiker by his mere appearance, and tells a story that freaks out Tony and Cindy. They eventually go hiking, all hell breaks loose, and the film goes down the toilet.Even though Evil Clutch is very roughly a variation on the Evil Dead (1981 & 1987) films, its aping of Raimi's work led to some remarkable cinematography and sound design--much of it significantly different than Evil Dead. Yes, there's that pitch-bendy, almost cartoonish sound effect accompanying the "evil force" that is symbolized by a quickly moving camera at unusual heights and angles, but Marfori and his cinematographer Marco Isoli utilize the technique very effectively.Even better is the extended sequence when the "Red Baron" is telling his story. There's a fabulous steadicam shot (and if it wasn't a steadicam, it's even more fabulous) that follows our "heroes" down a very long, twisting set of stairs. This eventually turns into a similar "tracking" shot through a somewhat dune-filled beach. This sequence is simply beautiful, and wonderfully matches the circuitous bizarreness of the "Red Baron's" story. Eventually it is intercut with weird, fish-eye lens shots, which also recur later in the film. There is equally admirable cinematography throughout the rest of the first half.Plus, the acting in the first half isn't bad, and the story--although the typical dream logic stuff of European (and Asian, by the way) horror films--is quite entertaining.But, along comes the second half. The first problem in the second half is that it takes place in a dark forest and/or at night. Why is that a problem? Because apparently Ad Reinhardt, the artist famous for his "all black" paintings, was the lighting director. In other words, the lighting in the second half simply sucks. It seems like they just weren't using lights most of the time. More often than not, the screen is mostly black, with occasional dots and streaks of light, or, say, Tony's pants, which were white, as the only thing visible. Experimental lighting is fine. But I need to see _something_ if I'm supposed to be following a story.Next, for some odd reason, the acting goes down the tubes in the second half. I remember thinking, "Hey, this Coralina Tassoni is a decent actor" in the earlier parts of the film. In the second part, I was trying to figure out why Marfori would let her overact like that. Maybe there were really two different directors on the film? Finally, the story and the delicious atmosphere Marfori worked so hard to build in the first half just disappears. It ends up being a set of random "attack" scenes, with random monsters, random locations, and so on. I think the only dialogue in the last part of the film is people screaming names or just making sounds. That can work in some films, but this one had an interesting story. What happened to it? On the other hand, there is one redeeming quality in the last half--the gore. For a low-budget flick, the gore is pretty decent here. The only problem is that we can't see half of it, because Ad Reinhardt is using thick black gels on the lights, if he's using lights, and it also ends up being random--why do zombies have a sunlight aversion suddenly? Why are heads exploding? Why are zombies melting like the Wicked Witch in the Wizard of Oz (1939)? So I can't really recommend this film, although the first half is worth watching. If only there were a "logical" point to turn it off at around the 50 minute mark.

First of all I was surprised to see that this film is not one of those typical TROMA-releases. It's an italian production and (sad but true) not one of those splatter-comedies like "Class of Nuk'em High", "The Toxic Avenger" or all the other funny flicks that made TROMA so popular. While watching this film, you won't even have a single chance for a smile. It's completely different from the flicks mentioned above. The story is one of the worst ever and the acting is nothing but amateurish. The only thing this film can offer is gore!!! So, if you're a fan of Ittenbach's "Premutos" or Schnaas' "Violent S***"-Trilogy this one's the right one for you! Decapitation, chainsaws, Zombies...- all that stuff a real gore-fan could expect. If you're not related to this kind of film, you better don't buy or even rent this splatter-flick.