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So, I’ll be the first to admit that I have never seen this film, nor have I ever heard it mentioned, even on the corners of the internet where friends are obsessed with Italian cinema. However, this is a Raro Video Blu-ray, which means it will be part of my collection. I don’t know if you that are reading have ever purchased a Raro Blu-ray before, but they are fantastic releases, and serve a great purpose of exposing us to some of the best of the criminally ignored entries into the Italian genre film scene. On August 5th, Raro Video, in partnership with Kino Lorber will release the new Raro Video Blu-ray release of Bankers of God: The Calvi Affair, and if you’re a fan of what Raro and Kino do, then you should probably hit this link and pre-order a copy for yourself. Check out the press release below.

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes details on The Book, which brings together some of the biggest names in Italian horror, a trailer for Dead of the Nite, new releases from Cavity Colors, and much more:

First Details on The Book: “The Book sees the ultimate collaborative Italian horror film unfold before your very eyes. A one off project of unprecedented scale, The Book brings together, for the very first time, the writers, directors, actors, composers and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years. This includes the creative forces behind the Giallo movement, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurocrime and more. Each director will be given the opportunity to showcase their own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. Each segment in this feature film will contain a unique blend of macabre thriller,...

If you're a fan of Italian horror films and your list of favorite filmmakers includes names like Ruggero Deodato and Lamberto Bava, then boy, are you in for a treat. Read on for all the details about an exciting upcoming horror anthology called The Book, which will only get funded with Your help!

From the Press Release

The Book sees the ultimate collaborative Italian horror film unfold before your very eyes.

A one-off project of unprecedented scale, The Book brings together, for the very first time, the writers, directors, actors, composers, and artists behind the finest Italian genre cinema of the past sixty years. This includes the creative forces behind the Giallo movement, Spaghetti Westerns, Eurocrime, and more. Each director will be given the opportunity to showcase his own personal vision of Rome, spread across a dozen episodes. Each segment in this feature film will contain a unique blend of macabre thriller,...

Raro Video will be releasing the second volume of Fernando Di Leo’s crime films in a three piece set on Blu-Ray or DVD including the films Shoot First, Die Later, Kidnap Syndicate and Naked Violence. For those of you unfamiliar with Di Leo’s films, I have included the trailers & synopses below the official Press Release info. For fans of Reservoir Dogs or just crime & heist films in general, you will find some delight in these Di Leo films. Bravo to Raro for giving these films the TLC that was needed.

Los Angeles - (May 30, 2013) – Hailed by cinephiles for expertly restoring rare films by influential filmmakers and publishing them with compelling extras, Italian film label Raro Video announces the company will debut a second volume of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful films of the “Master of mafia mayhem” Fernando Di Leo.

Outstanding in bold, intricately plotted, ultra-violent stories about pimps and petty gangsters,...

The film Body Puzzle has a title that pretty much sums up the plotline of the film, an Italian thriller from 1992 directed by Lamberto Bava, being newly released as a remastered DVD by RaroVideo. Bodies are the name of the game, whether they’re being chopped up and mutilated or ravished and romanced, creating a mysterious atmosphere that will draw the viewer in instantly.

Beautiful publishing professional Tracy’s pianist husband, Abe, dies in a horrible car accident. As if that trauma wasn’t enough, afterwards, someone keeps breaking into her house and leaving severed body parts everywhere. Various people seemingly unconnected to Tracy meet horrible ends just so the killer can leave her his trophies. When the reasoning for the killer’s choices becomes known, it becomes a race against the clock to save those who might be next.

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In only one year, RaroVideo USA have proven to be one of the finer independent distributors in the country.  Their focus on obscure classic and contemporary Italian films of all genres is second to none, and their DVDs are all of excellent quality.  I haven't had much of a chance to review them lately, but I just got this batch in and I plan on putting up at least a couple of them as soon as I get the chance!  December 6th RaroVideo USA dropped three very different titles on retailers shelves. First up is Lamberto Bava's (Demons, Macabre) Body Puzzle:Body Puzzle tells the tragic and increasingly morbid story of the lovely widow, Tracy (Gorky Park's Joanna Pacula). Not only has her famous pianist husband...

Welcome back to This Week in DVD… the international edition! Well not really, but half of this week’s twelve titles covered are from foreign lands. Not only that, but they’re the best of this week’s releases too. Today’s releases include the extended and very timely cut of the Dragon Tattoo Trilogy, the underwhelming Cowboys & Aliens, the final season of Big Love, three Italian films of varying quality, the year’s most disappointing sequel and more. As always, if you see something you like, click on the image to buy it. Body Puzzle Someone is killing Italians and removing singular parts of their anatomy, and those pieces are winding up in Joanna Pacula’s house. Surprisingly, she’s none too thrilled at this turn of events, and with the help of a determined detective they work to discover the killer’s identity and motive. Lamberto Bava’s early nineties giallo isn’t well known...

Hailed by cinephiles for expertly restoring rare films by influential filmmakers and publishing them with compelling extras, Italian DVD label RaroVideo announces two rare horror titles slated for release on December 6th: Lamberto Bava's Body Puzzle and Riccardo Freda's Murder Obsession.

Lamberto Bava’s Body Puzzle tells the tragic and increasingly morbid story of the lovely widow Tracy (Gorky Park’s Joanna Pacula). Not only has her famous pianist husband Abe died in an auto accident, but someone keeps breaking into her house and leaving severed body parts lying around. A candy store owner is gutted, a poor woman has her hand lopped off in a public bathroom, a young swimmer is castrated, and so on. The investigating police officer, Michael (The Church’s Tomas Arana), strikes up a hot and heavy romance with her to keep Tracy’s mind off the rapidly accumulating trophies. Michael’s supervising...

Under the pseudonym John Morghen, actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice appeared in a string of Italian gorefests, helmed by the industry’s masters of horror like Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox), Lucio Fulci (City Of The Living Dead), Michele Soavi (The Sect and Stagefright) and Lamberto Bava (Body Puzzle). The cultured Radice met gruesome fates in most of these bloody films and generally portrayed shady characters. Now, in the U.S. production The Infliction, Radice plays a good guy for a change, Lieutenant Lorenzo, who’s hard at work on a diabolical serial killer case in Dallas, Texas (see previous item here). Fango spoke with Radice about writer/director/star Matthan Harris’ The Infliction, and we also got some exclusive pics to boot.

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Under the pseudonym John Morghen, actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice appeared in a string of Italian gorefests, helmed by the industry’s masters of horror like Umberto Lenzi (Cannibal Ferox), Lucio Fulci (City Of The Living Dead), Michele Soavi (The Sect and Stagefright) and Lamberto Bava (Body Puzzle). The cultured Radice met gruesome fates in most of these bloody films and generally portrayed shady characters. Now, in the U.S. production The Infliction, Radice plays a good guy for a change, Lieutenant Lorenzo, who’s hard at work on a diabolical serial killer case in Dallas, Texas (see previous item here). Fango spoke with Radice about writer/director/star Matthan Harris’ The Infliction, and we also got some exclusive pics to boot.

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After a great reception at the last summer’s East Coast Weekend of Horrors convention (pictured), the Masters of Italian Horror—directors Ruggero (Cannibal Holocaust) Deodato and Lamberto (Demons) Bava, as well as FX master Sergio (Mother Of Tears) Stivaletti—will reunite at our first two 2009 Fangoria shows.

The trio will first hit Chicago on March 6-8 at the Wyndham Chicago O’Hare Hotel (6810 North Mannheim Road, Rosemont, Il), followed by La April 17-19 at the Los Angeles Convention Center (1201 South Figueroa). Besides the notorious Holocaust, Deodato also helmed Cut And Run, Phantom Of Death, Body Count and The Barbarians and cameoed as an actor in Hostel: Part II. Bava's further credits include Demons 2, Ghost Son, MacAbre and Body Puzzle. Stivaletti created makeup FX for many of Dario Argento’s films and productions (Tears, Phantom Of The Opera, Opera, Phenomena and The Devil’S Daughter/The Sect), and also...