Les chiens enragés

Rabid Dogs is a heist film from director Mario Bava (Black Sabbath, Hatchet For The Honeymoon, Diabolik). It tells the story of a dangerous gang of criminals - Doc, Blade and Thirtytwo, who hijack a car in the aftermath of a heist to find themselves with three hostages: a woman, a child, and an innocent man. Much of the drama plays out within the claustrophobic setting of the car as its heads out of the city. The attention is focused on the child, who is sick and requires a hospital, as well as the tension within the gang, and the sexual abuse which one of the gang members subjects his female hostage to. It's truly a roller-coaster of a thriller- a pulpy little crime tale that deserves the attention of modern crime/horror audiences and critical acclaim.

The film exhibits Bava's skill for cinema aesthetics, with its stylized editing and artifice. His skill for pacing results in a thriller which keeps the audience on its toes throughout. The moral ambiguity of all of the characters that inhabit his world creates a story that continually catches us off guard, shocking us with lashing of visceral violence and nihilistic cruelty. Surprises too come from the remarkably modern vibe; from the Tarantino-esquire dialogue and graveyard wit, to the blacker than black final twist. These postmodern touches place Bava firmly ahead of his time- as if further proof was needed after his horror masterpieces Black Sabbath, The Mask Of The Demon and Bay Of Blood.

Until recently, Rabid Dogs was thought to be a 'lost film', likely to have been destroyed or damaged beyond repair. Luckily, actress Lea Lander who starred in the picture, raised the money to restore the print 20 years later, based upon Bava's written notes and work print. The film also has the addition of one newly shot opening, which was nicely done, and filmed in accordance with Bava's specifications. What results is the closest product to Bava's complete vision that cineastes have been able to see. The film was briefly available on DVD, but went out of print quickly. It is now available as a copy (with menus and a limited supply of extras) from eBay and various websites.

It's highly recommended for fans of Bava's work, as it shows us a darker side of his art in a new genre. Fans of edgy cinema everywhere will certainly enjoy this film, particularly those who enjoyed films such as The Hitcher, Reservoir Dogs, Hitch-Hike and The Taking Of Pelham 123. Bava is to my mind a cinematic genius- his controversially dark approach, his skill and confidence with the camera and his stylish aesthetic compensating for his film's lack of superficial 'Hollywood' sheen or budget.

I often say that «La maschera del demonio» (Black Sunday) is my favorite film. If I make an inventory of what I remember that I have seen in 66 years, it would probably be ousted by something else, but it was definitely the movie that made the first big impact on my mind. So excuse me, but I will first make a brief summary about its director. Mario Bava was extremely skilled at narrative, visual and budget economy. A master of cinematography, he saved more than one film by directing additional scenes of unfinished projects under the orders of Riccardo Freda, Raoul Walsh, Sergio Leone, Jacques Tourneur and others, for which --as a "prize"-- he was given the opportunity to direct the first film of his own. The result was the classic Italian horror film «La maschera del demonio» in 1960. Thirteen years later, after directing more classics («The Three Faces of Fear», «The Whip and the Body», «Diabolik») and cult movies («Hercules at the Center of the Earth», «The Girl Who Knew Too Much», «Terror in Space») and contributing to the emergence of the "giallo" genre («6 Women for the Murderer», «The Red Sign of Madness», «5 Dolls for an August Moon») that influenced the careers of his son Lamberto, Dario Argento and Quentin Tarantino, Bava went into decline and in 1973 set out to win again his place with this motion picture in which he would demonstrate that he was able to adjust to the times and make an effective police film, following the scheme of a road movie, according to the story "Man and Boy" by Michael J. Carroll. Unfortunately Bava faced great obstacles. The budget was so low that he also had to assume the cinematography, its producer went bankrupt and the courts seized the footage. When Bava died in 1980, the film was still incomplete and was not released until March 1996, at the Brussels Festival of Fantasy Films, thanks to the effort made by actress Lea Lander, Lamberto Bava and producer Alfredo Leone. I did not expect much, but believe me, what a good movie this is! As it has been written, it is a true journey to hell: a tense, cruel, violent, disturbing, repellent, virulent story of a brutal robbery in which the savage assailants take for hostages a man with a car, his sick son who needs urgent medical attention and a woman who went shopping. The number of dead and the humiliation of the hostages increase as the films advances guided by the firm hand of Bava, who introduces humor in the midst of the terror (in the character played by Maria Fabbri, for example), until he leads us to a surprise ending. Riccardo Cucciolla (Sacco in "Sacco e Vanzetti") is very good as the father, calm, explosive at times, unpredictable. There are at least six versions of the film, but certainly the best is the one close to the original screenplay, also known as «Semaforo rosso». Mind you, do not let anyone ruin the end. This is without question one of Mario Bava best films.

There's a long troubled history behind this one, about how it wasn't released until 1996 due to legal problems with the financiers and such like, but the saddest thing is how the world let Mario Bava slip through its fingers as a master filmmaker. How could Alfredo Breschia make five films in 1979, yet Bava had to fire his cinematographer just so he could afford to make this film?

Let's get to the film: Four nasty armed gunmen violently rob a firm of it's wages and during the getaway their driver is killed and car immobilised. After a stand-off with the police that results in a woman being stabbed in the neck, our three remaining bad guys grab another woman for a hostage and in a hurry jump into a car containing a sick child and his father. Get used to the inside of this car because about two thirds of the film takes place in it.

We also get to know our bad guys a bit more. There's the calm, intelligent Doc (Maurice Poli), the not-calm, violent Blade, and the really not-calm psycho and potential rapist Thirty-Two (George Eastman). They want to get out of town avoiding all roadblocks, whereas the man just wants them to leave him and the kid alone. The woman, understandably, is terrified, especially of Thirty-Two and his not-too-subtle sexual innuendo.

You can't write much about a plot like this without spoiling stuff, but needless to say its a horrific road trip full of anger and tension. Don't expect Bava's colour schemes here though, because he plays things one hundred percent legit, letting the sweaty actors scream at each other to keep the mood anxious and unpredictable. The tone is relentlessly nasty throughout. Riccardo Cuicolla is as good as he was in The Case Is Closed: Forget About It, and a good choice to play the man who just wants to protect the sick child he has with him.

This is Bava mind you, so don't think thing play out the way you think they will. After this he only made the creepy Shock, and I've read that film was mostly completed by his son Lamberto. With the right money and recognition, what else could the man have achieved?

In only the first half hour, Rabid Dogs has more tension and psychological insight into the criminal mind than all of Reservoir Dogs making Tarrantino look like an amateur. Even Scorese has admitted the influence of Bava, this movie has Mean Streets starting to look pale in comparison. The master cinematography, confined setting, brilliant camera angles, and editing brings to mind some of Orson Welles best laid out scenes. This all presides over a backdrop of overwhelming despair abundant in nihilism which begs yet another comparison to another admitted admirer, David Lynch, who looks like a student to the teacher - the breadth of brechtian super realism truly achieves it peak, of which an entire generation of filmmakers have aspired to, including Fellini - all of whom had never had the chance to see the film until the late nineties. The movie crashes through the fourth wall and the viewer becomes a passenger in this unfortunate circumstance. The film is a tribute to the genius of Mario Bava and in a way the culmination of all his talent and influence neatly compacted into a ninety minute film school. One of the finest crime dramas ever made. The intricate dialog which illustrates a pure hatred of life and total lack of respect of all that is good - even makes one start to question if Coppola missed the boat with the Godfather a little bit in making his characters a little too heroic and romantic, rather than the base individuals they are supposed to portray. One comes from this film with a horror of the criminal rather than a wish to emulate. In this real time robbery, murder and car-jacking, Bava takes us to the precipice, the edge of reason and finally beyond all semblance of humanity.

The master of Italian Horror, Mario Bava, makes a heist film that is equal parts violent, ironic and vulgar, most of which takes place in the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small car. Three robbers shot their way out of a police blockade by taking a woman hostage. They soon hijack a small automobile with a man and a sick child. Tension builds as power plays amid the crooks and escape attempts by the hostages lead to a violent conclusion which is both unexpected and ironic. Ranks with Dog Day Afternoon and Reservoir Dogs as a unique and disturbing heist film, with several scenes designed to make you squirm. A must for fans of both Bava and the genre.