The Well

As an Italian I am really happy for this film, finally an Italian horror shot well and with extraordinary special effects thanks to my friend Carlo Diamantini, national pride, one of the best make-up artists ever and my fellow countryman who invited me to the preview of this film and also introduced me to the director Federico Zampaglione (who confirms that he has a certain talent when it comes to horror) and a couple of cast members, including Lorenzo Renzi who I had already appreciated in the Amazing TV series "Romanzo Criminale".

About The Well, I can say that we are faced with an exquisitely old school product, with monsters and blood and a very suggestive final scene, Zampaglione has great mastery with the camera and knows the old Italian horror classics, especially Argento and Fulci. As an Italian, horror lover and friend of Diamantini I tell everyone to run to the theater and enjoy this little jewel full of gore and violence!!!

The well was better than the sum of its parts brought together would have you seen. Lauren lavera coming off her terrifier fame has ventured into a new horror this time playing a character called lisa. Shes on her way to italy to restore a painting in a big mansion on behalf of her father who could not be there. It seems routin at first but the woman she is doing it for seems to have an altier motive. These some gore here and there and the makeup of the creatures we see is very good. There are other characters a group lisa meets that get caught up so its interesting watching the action unfold from their perspective also. Overall the well was well good in fact and I enjoyed for what it was even if some elements fell flat when it was brought all together.

"The Well", is where "Hostel" meets "A Picture of Dorian Grey", and indeed with some old school Italian gore direction, a la Umberto Lenzi. I've been waiting for this one since Stieges 2023 and Zampaglione (Tulpa)'s direction did not disappoint. La Vera (Terrifier 2) carried her "final girl" crown well, though obviously in a more demure manner. The acting by the four prisoners was excellent and the cinematography was top notch. The story was a bit thin but the gore and other visual effects made up for it in spades. Zampaglione truly got right that which Rob Zombie usually buggers up. He even had a family member who could kinda act in the film.

Italian mastery fully delivered. I knew it already Italian horror movies from the past are famous for being super scary and very well done. Well, this one follows all the way! There are constant vibes of fear, suspense and discomfort. The brilliant cinematography help this out a lot. Most of the characters are quite petrifying and the monster is fantastically designed. Atmosphere is nightmarish as hell both in the house and "downstairs" and the more the plot is revealed the more you feel the tension increasing. It basically sticks to you all along, til the end credits, when you finally are allowed to breath a sigh of relief. By the way, what a shocking end! A special mention to the gore, so barbaric that it made feel me sick. Lauren is the chef's kiss.

Terrible, in every way. A non-existent film direction, embarrassing dubbing and a stupid script. They try to quote the Italian horror of the 80s but they end up trashy, the soundtrack is ridiculous to say the least and used at the wrong times. The only positive things are the protagonist's acting and the gore scenes. The rest is rubbish unfortunately. We see the passion for the genre but we don't see the talent or any other artistic ambition, this is not the Italian horror we need. Furthermore, it must be underlined that all the influencers who talk about cinema and who have expressed negative opinions and sensible criticisms on the film have been accused of incompetence by the film's official Instagram account. Except the director who accepted them. Shameful, that's not how cinema is made.