not as good as all the hype

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Working out in the countryside, the production of a low-budget horror film begins suffering under new guidelines to the film as well as the rampage of a psychopath murdering prostitutes in the city and when the events intersect they manage This was quite the sleazy if somewhat cheap giallo. One of the finer points here is that this one decides to really sell itself on its central premise rather early on. From the very first start, with the killer shown stalking and killing the prostitute on the side of the road and segueing nicely into the film shoot starts this one on a strong note, from the suspenseful stalking to the cheesy antics on- set with the zombies and fire-stunts on display. The way this leads into the change-over in the script for the filmed movie striving to be more of a realistic manner that puts a strain on the cast gives it a bit of life during the interim between the stalkings while also giving this some fun in the backstage dealings with the group. With the talk of who's going to get into bed with who and the rumblings over what the changes are going to mean, even bringing in a medium to conduct a seance that provides this with a stellar supernaturally-tinged sequence inside a hotel room that holds this one over. It gets slightly more enjoyable in the second half where the killer begins getting more active and involved in the proceedings knocking people off that results in some nice times here with the assault on the couple in the park as well as the fine multiple-person ambush in the boatyard which has some gruesome moments to it. The final reveal at the end isn't all that bad, and along with the fine gore give this one enough to hold it out over it's few flaws. The main issue with this one is the fact that nothing at all really happens for a large portion of time here with the film really tending to run through some utterly dull moments along the way. Though generally not that badly done when focusing on the antics within the staff and crew, there's nothing that can save the fact that the film goes from the opening murder to nearly an hour until the next strike occurs which really does highlight how nothing much really happens for this main part of the film. These scenes just drag on forever and don't really amount to much at all which generates the kind of bland feeling throughout here that takes this one to such excruciating lengths that really harms the film. As well, the film doesn't really offer up much of an explanation for the kind of ending this one has, which does make this one end on a somewhat confusing note as to how it all happened and what makes sense for it all. As well as the shoddy special effects work, these here are the films' few problems.Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language and Full Nudity.

Prior to this film, I had only seen two films by director Andrea Bianchi: the trashy zombie flick Le Notti del Terrore (1981), famous amongst horror fans for its unforgettable performance from man-child Peter Bark, and the enjoyably sleazy giallo Strip Nude For Your Killer. Neither film was a particularly spectacular piece of cinema, but both were entertaining in their own special way (and the fact that they featured plenty of gore and nudity didn't hurt). Massacre, however, is dull, dull, dull, despite quite a bit of splatter and the odd spot of gratuitous bare flesh.The story, about a series of murders in a hotel where the cast and crew of a horror film are residing during their shoot, is confusing and oh-so boring: when the blood isn't flowing and the skin isn't on show, the film is a real struggle to sit through (it took me four attempts to finish), with endless scenes of unlikeable characters bickering among themselves and doing very little of note.The only point of interest about the film is that its producer, Lucio Fulci, used several of its death scenes to pad out his mega-gory movie Cat In The Brain (AKA Nightmare Concert). And if you've already seen that film, then there is very little reason to bother with Massacre.

It's somewhat ironic that Lucio Fulci supervised this belated entry to the giallo catalogue. Despite being two years his elder, Andrea Bianchi's work has always made him look like something of a protégé of the notorious craftsman. There are many Fulci trademarks to be found in the works of Bianchi. Most notably the extreme use of gratuitous gore and a taste for barely logical plot points. Over the years many have labeled Fulci as an inept filmmaker that hid his directorial shortcomings behind the talent of his special effects team. But titles like Don't Torture a Duckling and the excellent Zombi 2 have pretty much taken the gust out of that argument. If these critics truly believe that Fulci was an incompetent director, then gawd only knows what they'd make of Bianchi. His most famous movie – the notorious Burial Ground – is great fun if you love blood and guts. But if you judge it on it's merits as a motion picture, then it fails in just about every department. The acting was diabolical, the direction non-existent and I don't even think that it was filmed from a script. I hoped that Massacre would keep the gratuitous exploitation edge, but I was also looking for a little more credibility from Bianchi this time around.Massacre kicks off with a gruesome murder that was re-used by Fulci along with other gore scenes in the bemusing Nightmare Concert. A guy wearing red gloves, shades and a beanie hat is seen cruising along a lengthy stretch of road. He pulls up beside a young woman in a skimpy dress who greets him with the classic line, "Hey cutie wanna make love mmmm!" Unfortunately, 'making love' isn't exactly what this guy had in mind, and he proceeds to chop off the woman's hand and then decapitate her with an axe. Next up we meet a film crew that are shooting a zombie flick in the area called Dirty Blood. There's a whole heap of tension on the set because it doesn't look like any of the employees seem to get along with one another. The lead actress Jennifer (Patrizia Falcone) is dating a Local Police Captain called Walter (Gino Concarni). We soon learn from him that this maniacal killer has already murdered four other victims, and the authorities don't have a clue to his identity. Things really get nasty after the producer calls in a medium to hold a séance and teach his cast and crew the ways of the supernatural. The circle is broken when an evil spirit invades the sitting and forces the Medium to end the seance. Only hours later an unseen maniac begins slaughtering his way through the cast list one by one. Will any of them survive this massacre…? Surprisingly, Massacre is not as bad as I had initially expected. Silvano Tessicini did a credible job with the photography and the director even managed to build suspense in places. No really. As this is a Bianchi joint, the exploitation is spread thick and fast, and there's more female nudity than an Electric Blue omnibus. Look out for the scene where a victim flees the marauding killer with only a short skirt covering her modesty! The gory murders reveal a great flair for the macabre from the filmmaker and there's a body count to rival an Arnold Schwarzenegger machine gun frenzy. You probably won't solve the twist and turn mystery with ease, plus the boathouse massacre is a tremendous piece of mayhem, which deserves a second look. Massacre also boasts some wacky pre-politically correct dialogue, which will make even the most sinister viewer smile. It's also worth noting the amount of American stalk and slash clichés that have been incorporated with the more typical native giallo platitudes. At one point a fornicating couple are slaughtered whilst parked in the woods – an indisputable trademark of the USA teen slasher.But still this is far too bizarrely structured to be anything other than good in a bad way. As was the case with Burial Ground, there's just too much inadvertent humor to allow this to join the giallo elite. The murders certainly could have benefited with a little more directorial flourish and the musical accompaniment was continuously aggravating to the point of frustration. Bianchi certainly has an eye for a beautiful actress, and he always tries to include everything from lesbian proposals to soft-core pornography. Only problem is that he seems to prioritize acting ability way below bra size. It's a flaw that's only too evident from the start.The net result is a film that will satisfy forgiving fans that aren't expecting anything along the lines of Tenebrae or even Eyeball. To put it another way, if you could sit through Burial Ground without cringing at the screen then you'll probably enjoy this.

Massacre is pretty bad film, but it is not impossible to watch, but the viewer has to be Italo freak in order to sit through this. Let's make it straight: During credits and awful music, we see one pretty nasty (and dull) axe murder as a mysterious driver stops his car and kills a hooker standing by the side of the road with an axe. Then, the film begins, and NOTHING happens for next 45 minutes or so. It is sooo boring, but during the end, body count rises again and the "plot" seems to tighten. The film follows a film crew which is shooting a horror film, and soon the members start to disappear as the mystery madman with an axe or other blades kills people. Doesn't sound too original, but it does not matter when we're talking about this kind of cinema.There are unfortunately not many worth mentioning merits in this film. The music or other elements are not special and the over all look of Massacre is very dull and often stupid. But there are still few atmospheric moments in the forest and in the dark, and so we get that old feel of watching a really great Italian horror film, but this only reminds me distantly of those classics. The film could have been worse, but I must say that it should have definitely been much better! But I'm happy there are those mentioned moments, and I think that this is pretty rare title and thus collectable.I will also mention, that (almost) all the gore scenes in Massacre were used in Lucio Fulci's Un Gatto nel Cervello (aka Cat in a Brain aka Nightmare Concert), too. Many scenes from Fulci's own Quando Alice Ruppe lo Specchio (rare!) are in Nightmare Concert, too! I viewed first Nightmare Concert, and so there were no new murder scenes for me when I viewed Massacre, and it also made me feel a little frustrated. I didn't know that these scenes are in Fulci's film, even though I knew that Fulci used scenes from other films. But it doesn't matter, because Italo fans are used to be very forgiving and understanding! Fulci's mentioned Nightmare Concert is one hell of a gore fest, and the murders from Massacre fit in there well among others. So if you have already seen Un Gatto nel Cervello (akas: Nightmare Concert, Cat in a Brain) and haven't seen Massacre, then there are no new gory moments to see, but I hope that fans watch these films not only for gore or violence, because the thing I love most in Italian horror cinema is the atmosphere never matched by other countries' efforts. Massacre definitely isn't a great example of Italian mastery, but the viewing is a curiosity for fanatics and for those interested in the disturbed cinema of writer/director Andrea Bianchi, whose other merits include Malabimba and weird and wonderful (?) Zombie 3 aka Nights of Terror aka Burial Ground.Massacre earns 5/10 but only if one is as forgiving as I am, because watched as a "serious" (horror)film, Massacre fails miserably.