The Well

"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.

To start with, this was not what I expected. After reading the reviews, I thought this is gonna be another poorly made "amazon prime" special - low budget, made with little talent to fill a time slot. I was surprised.

Firstly - I'm a huge movie fan and a massive indie horror supporter. I'm a filmmaker myself and produce folklore horror films based on Scottish Myths. So a folklore story based in rural Italy is right up my street.

For the first 20 minutes I was unsure, then something clicked and I started really enjoying it. Interesting premise, some creepy moments, well shot, surprisingly well acted, good creature / monster design and yes good gore if that's your thing.

I would definitely give this a go.

It's like lemonade. Little substance.

Were it not for the annoying sickening gore, it would be something to leave on in the background and occasionally glance up at.

With the gore you can't even do that.

Not once does it make you feel horrified, terrified, or thrilled in any way, and it doesn't grip you with intrigue, characters, or plot. You feel calm and occasionally disgusted. If the genre was called "disgust" instead of "horror" it would make sense. This way however, it's just not well made. If you want to watch gore go look at a slaughterhouse.

The cinematography is basic, the acting ok, the audio between irritating and incomprehensible. At one point a character repeatedly calls out for "tony". And i could have sworn it was "charlie"

It got 4 stars, because while it is nauseating and pointless, it isn't actively evil and damaging, and the plot is actually somewhat interesting.

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!!!

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.