Phantom of Death

This thriller exists in two versions: One for TV and export that is quite tame, and an uncut version with extremely gory murder scenes which, as far as I know, was only released in parts of Europe (mainly Southern Europe). I have never seen the "clean" version, so this comment reviews the uncut (French) version.

Robert Dominici (Michael York) is a successful and attractive pianist whose life could not be better. But one day his doctor tells him that he suffers from a rare disease which makes his body grow old horrendously fast. No wonder that the disease throws Robert completely off balance (hence one of the export titles), he leaves public life and starts to kill young women in nasty ways (just before the goriest murder, Ruggero Deodato has a short cameo!). Police inspector Daddi (Donald Pleasence) has to solve the crimes.

York and Pleasence are tremendous, and the female lead is led by giallo cult actress Edwige Fenech. York's character is, despite his gruesome killings, rather truly tragic than villainous. With this film, Deodato made one of the best gialli of the 1980s, but it's a shame that the censored version is far better known in the German and English spoken parts of the world. Everybody who has the opportunity to get the uncut version should not hesitate and grab it.

A female doctor is murdered by a sword. The film makes some pretense of mystery about the identity of the killer, but it doesn't really do a very good job (and the video box gives it away completely). The killer has a rare disease that causes him to rapidly age and also causes the deterioration of his mind. Thus, one murder is thought to have been done by someone of about thirty years of age, and the next by a fifty-year-old.

The murder scenes aren't bad, but the rest of the movie does drag. The killer talks a lot, and what he says isn't of much interest. He also likes to call the police inspector played by Donald Pleasance. The police are all very bad at their jobs, fatally screwing up sting operations, letting suspects go before putting them in a lineup, and so on. Overall the movie is perhaps more of a drama musing about aging and death than it is a horror movie.

Like Psycho IV two years later, this film also has a mentally ill character concerned about passing on his genes. In Psycho IV, that made sense, since Norman had more or less become "normal" through treatment. Here, it's a little more surprising that the man whose mind is supposed to be quite deteriorated is worried about it.

I saw the uncut version of this on video. Can't say it's worth looking for - hold out for a widescreen DVD, and then it might be slightly more worthwhile.

'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.

Off Balance (AKA: Phantom of Death):

The highlight of this one, by far, is the kills. There are a couple of good kills here, but one stands head and shoulders above the rest. It's truly a classic kill for the ages!

The special effects around a character's aging were impressive.

The score was quite good.

However, the rest of the film was rather disappointing. A lot of wasted potential. Donald Pleasence and Edwige Fenech both act well, but neither of them is amazing here. Michael York is hit or miss. Some of his scenes he really nails, and some of them are a bit out of his range. There's a soapy melodrama feeling to many of the scenes in the first half of the film.

They give away the identity of the killer rather early on. At first, the film appears to want to say something deep about aging and death, but it never gets around to saying anything interesting.

The ending was disappointing. Instead of going out with a bang, it goes out with a whimper.

Police Comissioner Datti (Donald Pleasence) is investigating the murder of a female doctor whose murderer seems to be a thirty-fivish year old man. Soon other murders follow and the murderer goes on a mad killing spree prompting the police inspector to go on investigating. The prime suspect results to be a prestigious pianist, Robert Dominici (Michael York), due to his girlfriend (Mapi Galan) is found killed. But the pianist is suffering from the Progenia, a genetic disease becomes distraught and with bursts of anger, confusion and forgetfulness. The murderer also challenges Datti on the phone and says he can't be caught since he has a secret which makes him invulnerable. In the meantime the tracks seems to point in diverse directions. Let the symphony of slaughter begin! How do you catch the uncatchable ...a diabolical being walks through the streets!

A thriller about a murderer who has a rare disease and commits gruesome murders in cold blood. The film contains violence, thrills, chills, grisly killings and excellent makeup on the face of British actor Michael York. Although there is not much intrigue because we know from the first moment who the murderer is, therefore no necessary assumption what in other films of the Giallo genre it does happen, here the film focuses on the battle of wills of a person who has the disease of progeny and the inspector who chases him, developing between them a game of cat and mouse in which the police usually tends to lose. Stars the British Michael York who surprisingly gives a good performance as the disturbing and bewildered pianist. Being accompanied by the always great Donald Pleasence as the stubborn commissioner, the gorgeous Edwige Fenech, star in many Giallo films and in the sex-comedy genre, the Spanish Mapi Galán and other brief apperances of usual secondaries in Italian B series, such as Caterina Boratto, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Marino Masé, Hal Yamanouchi, Benito Stefanelli, Loris Loddi and director Ruggero Deodato cameo at a train station who hops on moped .

"Un delitto poco comune" (1987) stands out an impressive musical score by Pino Donaggo who composed various soundtracks for some of Brian De Palma's best films, such as: "Raising Cain", "Blow out", "Dressed to Kill", "Carrie", "Body Double", "Snake Eyes". It contains a atmospheric cinematography by Giorgio Di Battista shot in various Italian cities, such as: Venecia, Veneto, Olgiata, Roma, Lacio, Perugia, Umbria, South Tyrol, Italia. The motion picture was one of the most grueling films ever made in the Eighties, Un delitto poco comune (1987) being original but middlingly directed by Ruggero Deodato who also remains his most successful horror film, the infamous ¨Cannibal Holocaust¨ . Ruggero Deodato made the "Cannibal Trilogy" made up of ¨Ultimo mondo cannibale¨ (1977) , ¨Cannibal Holocaust¨ (1980) and ¨Cut and Run¨ (1984). This artisan was a prolific cameraman/writer/producer/director who has made all kinds of genres. He was a notorious Italian director especially known for this one , today considered a classic "Cannibal Holocaust". He has directed all kinds of genres with particular penchant for terror, violence, and adventure movies, such as: ¨Jungle holocaust¨, ¨House on the edge of the park¨, ¨Bodycount¨, ¨Dial help¨, ¨Phantom of death¨, ¨The washing machine¨, ¨The raiders of Atlantis¨, ¨Concorde affair¨, ¨Live like a cop die like a man¨, ¨Lone runner¨, ¨The barbarians¨, among others . Rating 5.5/10. Mediocre but entertaining. Only for Italian Giallo completists.