Murder-Rock: Dancing Death

Lucio Fulci is one of the best and most underrated directors in history. Though not all of his films were great, at least 7 of this films should be in any horror anthology. This film is hard to find, though it was released here in Argentina. In the beginning I thought this was gonna be Flashdance - The Return, but ends up being a clever thriller. The killer's method is original, and the resolution quite surprising. Not one of Fulci's best, but a very good film indeed. Score: 8.

Loved it. Great suspense, disturbing murder scenes. Not too gory, but the suspense makes up for it. Very tense, the closeups, the pre-murder lighting and screams, the sound of the heart stopping. The victims' desperation is well played. Music is great to set you in the era, but you'll find it cheesy if you don't like 80s stuff. Some of the nudity was perhaps unnecessary but still stylishly done. The movie is weird but well executed. It isn't as gruesome as a gore flick, but I think it was more disturbing as it provides greater immersion. The slow killings are a shocker as you can feel them as real. I found myself trembling several times watching this, both by the murder scenes themselves and the suspense going through all the movie. Great camera shots, great scene composition, awesome lighting. The plot is simple but it works. It's interesting to watch the students accusing each other of the murders. There's an unexpected plot twist that I found rather interesting. Don't watch it if '80s cheesiness puts you off. In my case it was a plus. My first venture into giallo cinema and it satisfied me beyond my expectations. If I can find similar movies will definitely watch them. Last recommendation: do yourselves a favor and don't watch it dubbed, watch it in Italian as it's intended to be watched. Dubs for low budget movies aren't precisely good and will make the movie look fake. Get Italian audio with captions for maximum enjoyment.

Murder Rock is one of Lucio Fulci's lesser known films. It was released in the wake of a series of exceptionally violent movies directed by the great man. This one is considerably tamer and not one of his better received critically. It may very well be because it's less intense that it isn't amongst his most popular, I think it's only fair to say that is part of the reason. It's possibly the most blatant attempt by Fulci at making a mainstream movie. He decided to combine the popular horror sub-genre of the time – the slasher – with the 80's fad for fitness. This was the era of Flashdance and Fame, and lycra clad people seemed to be everywhere. I guess it was only a matter of time before a slasher variant on this theme emerged. In keeping with trying to appeal to a wider demographic this one is a relatively bloodless affair as well. It's possible that by trying to appeal to too many people, Murder Rock ended up pleasing fewer.

The story is about a series of murders committed around a dance school in New York. It's one of many early 80's efforts that Fulci set in America. In keeping with its Italian giallo roots though, there is a strong emphasis on the whodunit aspect. This ensures that the story retains a bit of interest and the audience is engaged throughout. There are some moments of giallo weirdness too which always helps such as the recurring dream that the female protagonist has about a sinister stranger trying to kill her. While Keith Emerson is on hand too with an appropriately cheesy soundtrack. It isn't exactly of the standard of the score he did for Dario Argento's Inferno but it does the job. Overall, this is an entertaining movie. A little light-weight perhaps but fun all the same.

After the death of a highly regarded female dancer at New York's Artistic Dance Centre, the eyes turn to each other, as they learn that they are competing for only three spots that could see them living their dreams. Their dance teacher Candice Norman pushes them to the brink to achieve that goal, due to an accident that crushed her chance. Lt. Borges gets the case, and soon other well-regarded dance students are following the same fate of a hat-pin in the heart. Is joyously, and ambition becoming part of it, but Candice starts believing it's the man in her dreams George Webb, who she eventually meets, that might have something to do with the killings.

Oh didn't the flash dance era hit hard! With a clunky, overwrought soundtrack like this you just get that tingling sensation to join in with the dance routines. For some reason I got Blondie's groovy "Danceaway" stuck my head, when watching it. Constantly it was playing on a loop! Okay the cheesiness of the times really does shine through, but I thought it was a fair effort. It can drag and labour on from time to time, but director Lucio Fulci visually counter-punches those weak spots with raucous masterstrokes of suspense, mood and a slight touch of malevolence. Around this time his was at his peak of displaying gore and splatter to the extreme, but on this occasion his holding back quite a bit to basic deaths involving the unique, but repetitive hat pin to the heart. However the bare flesh is still evident, and there's a sexually arousing dance number or two. The surprisingly well executed use of the camera, lighting and the setting to the lead up to the deaths were far more effective. Fulci stylishly milks his artistic merit with some inspired images. To bad its brought undone by its second rate script with silly reasoning's and contrived developments. It's a trashy and unusual mix of dance and Giallo, but it could've been more twisted than the monotonous and goofy treatment it got. Other than a diverting grizzled, cynic cop performance by Cosimo Cinieri (with such great lines "… school full of S.O.B"), the rest of the lead acting is quite bland (Olga Karlato and Ray Lovelock) and the hilariously hideous dubbing didn't help. Claudio Cassinelli had his amusing moments. I guess the lovely looking girls are just there to pout at the camera and look good. The eclectically flashy music score by Keith Emerson is true to the era and fashionably stylised.

Interestingly watchable novelty that's well-directed, but the material doesn't really rise for the occasion, as it succumbs to unintentional silliness.

A violent shocker with high level on vivid imagery and pure cinematic style in which a nasty murderer executing grisly killings by means of a hypodermic needle-wielding psycho-killer . It starts with a series of murders rock a dance academy in New York . As the mysterous and owner directress , Candice (Olga Karlatos) of a prestigious New York ballet school teams up with a suspicious male model (Ray Lovelock) to solve a series of weird murders of a few of the dancers . Along the way , a tough Police Inspector Lt. Borges (Cosimo Cinieri) investigates the bizarre murders . Save the last dance . . . For hell! .Depraved - Demonic - Diabolical - And Beyond! .New York's best dancers are dying for a part in the next Broadway hit.

Eerie and creepy thriller with full of killings , sexual violence , red herrings , grisly murders by means of a razor blade executed by a psychopath on the loose , loathsome and lots of blood and gore . A mysoginist whodunit with plenty of nudism , explicit scenes of violence and Giallo style , no for squeamish . Concerning the classic giallo plot in which a series killer with a hidden agenda carrying out a criminal spree . It has flamboyant imagery , graphic gore and moody atmospherics , while mixing disco music from Keith Emerson and dancing images in Flashdance style along with Gialli characteristics. Starring the beautiful Greek actress Olga Karlatos giving a fine and attractive acting . Karlatos surrounded and well supported by an Italian cast of usual Italian B actors , such as : Ray Lovelock , Cosimo Cinieri , Geretta Geretta , Christian Borromeo and Claudio Cassinelli who passed away a bit later on , whilst filming Sergio Martino's 'Fists of Steel' .

The motion picture was middlingly directed by Lucio Fulci , and being entertaining enough. And financed in tight budget by Augusto Caminito , Fulci's regular producer and occassionally director . Fulci was one of the most controversial filmmakers in terror genre , though frequently derided as sheer sensationalism and commerciality. Here Lucio Fulci directs in his usual style filled with flaws , failures and gaps , but professionally made because being a nice artisan . Critics are divided over both the moral and talents of Fulci (1927-1996), who sometimes directed under the alias Louis Fuller. For some reviewers many of his flicks are extremely cruel and savage , yet their gory surface often concealing social, religious , or provoking commentaries or other thoughful , intelligent issues . Nevertheless , most of them considering his works have undeniably provided a considerable influence on the terror genre , creating decent efforts on low budget flicks . Standing out his ¨Don't Torture a Duckling¨ deemed to be one of his best pictures . And in the adventure genre with two financially successful Jack London 'White Fang' adventure movies in 1973 and 1974 which were ¨Zanna Bianca¨, and ¨Il ritorno di Zanna Bianca¨. Also during the mid and late 1970s, Fulci directed two 'Spaghetti Westerns' : ¨Four of Apocalypse¨ (1975) and ¨Sella d'argento¨ or ¨Silver Saddle¨(1978), and another 'giallo' ; ¨The Psychic¨ (1977), as well as a few sex-comedies which include the political spoof : ¨The Eroticist¨(1972) , and the vampire comedy ¨Young Dracula¨ (1975) , and the violent Mafia crime-drama ¨Luca the smuggler¨ (1979) . In 1979, Fulci's film making career successfully another high point with him, breaking into the international market with ¨Zombi 2¨ (1979), an in-name-only sequel to George A. Romero's Zombi: Night of the Lving Dead (1978), which had been released in Italy as 'Zombi'. And hiis big hit ¨New York Ripper¨ , at the time rated as a video nasty , due to it and why the excessive extra violence was heavily cut or prohibited in a large number of countries . With this film established Fulci as a gore director par excellence . Over the next three years, Fulci plied his trade with finesse and flair-play , rivaling even the popularity of his "opponent" the great Dario Argento, with such sanguine classics as ¨City of the Living Dead¨ (1980) and ¨Beyond¨ (1981). These films, as well as the reviled "New York Ripper" (1982) are actually intelligently crafted, with sound commentaries on everything from American life to religion. And he went on his fall with lousy movies, but eventually Fulci at least found work in television . Rating : 5/10 . Average , only for Lucio Fulci completists .