Phantom of Death

"Phantom of Death" is one of the lesser known Ruggero Deodato's horror/giallo entries.Michael York plays a famous pianist Robert Dominici.He has a rare disease that contributes to turning him into psychopathic killer.Donald Pleasence plays the cop who tries to track him down.The film itself is rather dull,but it offers some really bloody murder scenes.I liked especially the scene where the woman is stabbed repeatedly until she smashes through a window.The acting is okay,but there is not enough suspense for my liking.Check it out,if you are a fan of Italian horror.6 out of 10.

'Phantom of Death' is an enjoyable late 80's Giallo slasher flick with a macabre atmosphere, an interesting plot and some well staged death scenes that enhances the bleak tone of the movie. The genre was pretty dead by this point, so it was nice to have a well-made Giallo flick with a different point of view from this time period, even if it does go off the rails with its choppiness change in direction.

The plot = A gifted pianist Robert Dominici (Michael York) is stricken with a genetic disease called Progeria which causes him to age rapidly and to lose his sanity and goes on a killing spree prompting a police inspector Datti (Donald Pleasence) to try and stop him.

The movie starts out like a typical Giallo with an interesting set up, but the mystery element is thrown out the window when the main character gets the disease and becomes the killer, which isn't a spoiler its literally revealed in the synopsis and trailers. The movie then shifts focus to a more crime thriller slasher film which I thought that was an interesting twist by making this more of a character study and it does subvert the genre tactics, but the filmmakers could have done more with this idea as it basically comes out of nowhere and makes this a rather confusing first time viewing. The haphazard editing doesn't help with these matters as there's a lack of flow from scene to scene and you're not entirely sure how much time has passed between certain scenes. Despite the scripting problems this is a solid enough entry in the genre with enough craziness going on to sustain momentum.

The cast here are excellent with Michael York delivering an entertaining performance as the main lead and provides a stellar screen presence with believability and conviction in such a demanding role. Donald Pleasance is always a joy to watch and injects the movie with much needed enthusiasm even if he is treading on familiar ground. Then of course there's the ultimate genre queen Edwige Fenech who despite being in such a small role, brings elegance to the flick and its great to see her in what would be her final Giallo outing.

Overall 'Phantom of Death' is a decent late offering from the genre.

Mediocre horror fare has good makeup effects (used to show the rapid aging of Michael York's character), but poor continuity (when a man says "...and all this in the course of a year", you're completely baffled: when did a whole year pass?). York does an acceptable job, but Pleasence has never looked more tired. (**)

mediocre slasher is very bloody but poorly made and wastes genre favorite Donald Pleasence badly this is poorly written and kind of dull too while it has it's effective moments this is just one sluggish and mediocre time that is not worth seeing oh and Michael York gives a somewhat decent performance *1/2 out of 5

It seems as though life couldn't get any better for classical pianist Robert Dominici (Michael York): not only is he an extraordinarily successful musician, and a skillful martial artist, but he also has attractive women falling at his feet, with a beautiful girlfriend, Susanna (Mapi Galán), and a doting admirer, Hélène Martell (Edwige Fenech), fighting for his attention.

In reality, things aren't so great: Robert has been diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease that rapidly ravages his body, ageing him way beyond his years, and affects his psyche, turning him into a vicious killer. Investigating the trail of bodies that Robert leaves in his wake is Inspector Datti (Donald Pleasance), who is confused by the mounting evidence that suggests a killer of ever-increasing age.

From director Ruggero Deodato, the man who gave us gory exploitation classics Jungle Holocaust, Cannibal Holocaust and The House On The Edge Of The Park, quasi-giallo Phantom of Death starts off promisingly with two murders that result in a lot of the red stuff splashing all over the screen. Unfortunately, the film soon settles into routine potboiler mode, with only one more murder (a spiked table lamp forced under the chin) and, with the identity of the killer revealed so early on, precious little in the way of mystery, thrills or suspense.

York, hidden under some pretty good old age make-up for the latter half of the film, does as well as he can with his role, but Pleasance doesn't seem to be trying as hard, giving another one of his stock detective turns that we've seen many times before in the Halloween sequels and other Italian murder/mysteries. Seasoned giallo babe Fenech is there to add some eye candy, but it is up to a couple of other Euro-lovelies to provide the obligatory nudity.

As a side note, Dominici's predicament reminded me a lot of Seth Brundle in Cronenberg's version of The Fly (1986), who suffers a similar physical and mental degeneration. Of course, Phantom of Death is nowhere near as good as Cronenberg's film.