Specters (film)

Specters
Specters
Directed by	Marcello Avallone
Screenplay by	Marcello Avallone; Andrea Purgatori; Maurizio Tedesco; Dardano Sacchetti;
Story by	Marcello Avallone; Andrea Purgatori; Maurizio Tedesco;
Produced by	Maurizio Tedesco
Starring	John Pepper; Katrine Michelsen; Donald Pleasence; Massimo De Rossi;
Cinematography	Silvano Ippoliti
Edited by	Adriano Tagliavia
Music by	Lele Marchitelli; Danilo Rea;
Production; companies	Reteitalia S.p.A.; Trio Cinema e Televisione S.r.l.;
Distributed by	D.M.V.
Release date	7 May 1987 (Italy);
Running time	92 minutes
Country	Italy

Specters (Italian: Spettri) is a 1987 Italian horror film directed by and starring Donald Pleasence.^[2]^[3]

Plot[]

During excavations for the Rome Metro, the collapse of a wall brings to light an underground necropolis. Four archaeologists, Lasky, Barbara, Marcus and Andrea, in search of the unidentified Tomb of Domitian, become victims of evil forces in the tomb.

Cast[]

John Pepper as Marcus
Trine Michelsen as Alice
Donald Pleasence as Professor Lasky
Massimo De Rossi as Matteo
Riccardo De Torrebruna as Andrea
Lavinia Grizi as Barbara
Riccardo Parisio Perrotti as Gaspare
Laurentina Guidotti as Maria
Erna Schürer as Catacomb guide

Production[]

Specters was the fourth feature film for director Marcello Avallone. His third film Cugine mie had been released a decade prior.^[1] Avallone decided to work in horror films when in the United States in 1980.^[1] Avallone began work on the project through the help of producer Maurizio Tedesco, the brother of actress Paola Tedesco, and began to develop a horror film aimed at foreign markets.^[1]

Avallone worked on the script with Andrea Purgatori, a reporter for Corriere della Sera newspaper.^[1]^[4] Despite his name being featured in the credits, Dardano Sacchetti's work on the film was small, with Sacchetti explaining that the writers really believed in the script but the financiers behind it were not as confident and hired him as a script doctor.^[4] Sacchetti and the rest of the writers discussed the film for a week but he later recollected that the other writers told him "We're paying you all your fee but leave us our movie."^[4]

Specters was shot in nine weeks and shot in English. Among the cast was John Pepper who had worked as an assistant director on films such as The World According to Garp and Ghostbusters.^[4] Pepper was predominantly chosen for the role for his fluency in English, and this was his only leading acting role.^[4]

Release[]

Specters was distributed theatrically in Italy by D.M.V. on 7 May 1987.^[1] It received a release in the United States on October 17, 1989.^[1]

Reception[]

A reviewer credited as "Lor." of Variety at the Cannes Film Market on May 12, 1987.^[5] "Lor." found the film to be a "disappointing shaggy-dog Italian horror film" that was "technically okay but not delivering any scares and hardly any action until the finale."^[5] "Lor." concluded that the film "provides some nice travelling shots through the catacombs but pic is all buildup and no delivery."^[5]

In 1989, Michael J. Weldon observed that the plot was "inspired by the excellent Quatermass And The Pit" and that the monster was only "shown for about two seconds". He also commented, "There's a Nightmare on Elm St. bed scene rip-off, and one good part in an otherwise boring movie. Filmmakers are shown making a remake of The Creature From the Black Lagoon."^[6]

References[]

Footnotes[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Curti 2019, p. 146.
^ Roberto Poppi. Dizionario del cinema italiano: I film. Gremese, 2000. ISBN 887742429X.
^ Marco Giusti (1999). Dizionario dei film italiani stracult. Sperling & Kupfer. ISBN 8820029197.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Curti 2019, p. 147.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c Lor. 1991.
^ Weldon, Michael J. (1989). "And where's Dario Argento when you need him?, Italian videos". Psychotronic Video. 1: 8.

Sources[]

Curti, Roberto (2019). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1980-1989. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476672434.
Lor. (1991). Variety's Film Reviews 1987-1988. 20. R. R. Bowker. There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "May 27, 1987". ISBN 0-8352-2667-0.