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[tab title="Movie Review"]
A shell of a building. An empty room. And a line of monitors all tuned in to the same dead channel: a close-up of a corpse. It is the face of Don Luigi Costa, a religious man who gave up his vows after his horrible diagnosis. How bizarre! How eerie! How utterly unusual! What could these French scientists be up to here? Welcome to the thick and mysterious realities of Revenge of the Dead; an unnatural place where the dead tear through wooden planks in order to live once again.
Zombie films, tending to go for the kills and thrills, rarely get this pressurized and mysterious treatment. Revenge of the Dead is different. That’s thanks to the tactfulness of director Pupi Avati (The House with Laughing Windows), who – when you take a look back at his career – made two superb masterpieces of the macabre and, yes, this film – now remastered by Code Red – is indeed one of them.
Revenge of the Dead’s main mystery begins with a harmless anniversary gift from one man’s hot wife, Alessandra (Anne Canovas). It’s an electric typewriter and its ink ribbon holds a clue to not only its history but also the possibility of raising the dead from their golden slumbers thanks to the work of some secret shady scientists. That’s some gift! And it couldn’t happen to a more deserving dude, journalist Stefano (Gabriele Lavia), who is about to discover the secrets of sacred areas – referred to as K-Zones – where the dead, if buried there, return. {googleads}
So, there you have it, a writer on a journey to a place where the dead – no matter how big or small – return to life. Directed with a style that is unmistakably Avati’s, Revenge of the Dead is proof that this Italian filmmaker belongs to be spoken of alongside his contemporaries in the horror genre.
For the curious (because there are similarities), Revenge of the Dead predates Stephen King’s Pet Sematary by mere months so there’s no telling who originated what. It doesn’t matter, though. Revenge of the Dead operates more like a sincere mystery with horror elements in it, while King’s tale is pure terror.
I’ve read King’s work multiple times. Revenge of the Dead is new to me and it’s a seriously strong contender for one of the headiest zombie flicks ever realized. It’s intelligent, wry, and scary as hell as Stefano reconstructs the private history of scientist Paolo Zeder and his discovery of K-Zones.
Soon enough, Stefano’s world is turned completely upside down as he finds himself being stalked by bizarro French scientists who want his line of questioning to disappear as he gets closer and closer to the truth s their troubling research. Stefano, with every new wrinkle, can’t help by become drawn into their depths as he gives up most everything in his obsession to answering the tale he finds on the ink ribbon of his wife’s gift to him.
Click, click, click go the keys. Ding goes the bell. Zzzzzzip is the carriage return and ssssshhhhhp is what you hear as the paper is pulled from the roller. The story, though, is all you and, if you are at all like Stefano in Revenge of the Dead, then your story is going to reanimate the dead. Even those closest to you.
Start the screaming now, Revenge of the Dead has been unleashed by Code Red.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: R.
Runtime: 89 mins
Director: Pupi Avati
Writer: Pupi Avati
Cast: Gabriele Lavia, Anne Canovas, Paola Tanziani
Genre: Horror
Tagline: One man's search for an ancient secret...and the dead will rise from their graves!
Memorable Movie Quote:
Theatrical Distributor: Motion Picture Marketing
Official Site:
Release Date: January, 1985
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: November 6, 2018
Synopsis: Stefano, a budding novelist, (Gabrielle Lavia, Beyond The Door, Deep Red) receives the innocent gift of a used typewriter from his wife on their wedding anniversary. While changing the ribbon, he discovers the typed imprint of writing left by the previous owner. Fascinated by this startling essay, Stefano uncovers the experiments of scientist Paolo Zeder whose claims of places where death ceases to exist intrigue the young writer. Obsessed with finding the truth about Zeder’s theories, Stefano is led on a terrifying journey where he is confronted with an occult conspiracy to reanimate the dead! {googleads}
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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]
Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor: Code Red DVD
Available on Blu-ray - November 6, 2018
Screen Formats: 1.85:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0; Italian: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Discs: Blu-ray Disc; cingle disc
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A
Code Red DVD presents the uncut version of Revenge of the Dead with solid results. With an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a 2.0 DTS-HD sound mix, Code Red presents Revenge of the Dead on 1080p with fine color corrections throughout and a brand-new HD transfer. Textures are fine and, so too, are the details in the movie. Details are high and skin tones are solid. Time has been good to this film and so, too, has Code Red DVD. The work here is stunning. Colors are strong and black levels are good, too. There are nice scenic details running throughout the film. With high contrasts through the dark scenes, this is a worthwhile release of a true cult classic. The Italian dialogue is available and so is an English dialogue track.
Supplements:
Commentary:
• None
Special Features:
Fans get the new HD transfer with color corrections and new interviews with Pupi Avati and Gabrielle Lavia. The interviews – available with English subtitles – are quite fascinating as they give us the backstory behind the film.
• New Interview with Pupi Avati (32 min)
• New Interview with Gabrielle Lavia (6 min)
• Trailer
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