Bloodstained Italy (1972-1978) [Vinegar Syndrome]

[dallywhitty]

Vinegar Syndrome are releasing Bloodstained Italy on Blu-ray, a trio of 1970s Italian horror films: Death Falls Lightly (1972), The Bloodstained Lawn (1973), and Obscene Desire (1978).

Italian horror in the 1960s and 70s went through several popular tonal and thematic phases. From gothic thrillers in the early to mid-60s, psychedelia and monster mayhem in the late 60s and early 70s, and of course, all manner of gialli and other assorted murder thrillers. But what of those films that offer a form of narrative bait and switch, luring the viewer in with the pretense of one genre while slowly revealing themselves to be something else entirely? Presented here are a trio of 70s Italian horror features which play with, combine, subvert, and surprise with their genre leanings, all newly and exclusively restored from their 35mm original negatives and all presented on English-friendly home video for the very first time, from Vinegar Syndrome.

In director Giulio Petroni's OBSCENE DESIRE (L'osceno desiderio), a young American woman, Amanda, moves to a large and creepy countryside villa with her newlywed Italian husband. Soon enough, strange and seemingly supernatural events begin to befall the property, as a black-gloved killer simultaneously picks up and murders prostitutes. What do these otherworldly occurrences and the vicious killings have in common? And what sinister plans have been hatched for Amanda? A truly genre-defying shocker combining elements of giallo, satanic horror, and very raunchy sexploitation, Petroni's film is one of the most head-scratching Italian horror films of the late 1970s and has been restored, as best as possible, to its never-released original director's cut.

In director Riccardo Ghione's THE BLOODSTAINED LAWN (Il prato macchiato di rosso), a group of hippie drifters find their way to the luxury and ultra-modern country home of Dr. Antonio and his wife, Nina Genovese. While the seemingly charming couple's offer to let the aimless youngsters hang out at their property appears initially motivated by the couple's fascination with the lifestyles of the free love generation, when members of the group begin vanishing, it becomes clear that something much more sinister - and deadly - is afoot. Taking a cue from jet-set thrillers of the late 1960s, this horror rarity evolves into a high-concept science-fiction nightmare.

In director Leopoldo Savona's DEATH FALLS LIGHTLY (La morte scende leggera), wealthy businessman Giorgio Darica's wife is murdered by an unknown assailant. Fearing that he will be fingered as the prime suspect, due to their failing marriage and his well-known philandering, his advisors suggest that he go into hiding at a shuttered hotel until the police can investigate more thoroughly. Taking along his mistress, Giorgio assumes he'll be in for a secret romantic getaway, but is soon besieged by supernatural visions which seem to be drawing him into the hotel's own dark and murderous past, threatening to drive him mad. Strangely similar to, but predating, "The Shining," this wholly unpredictable thriller is further complemented by a throbbing prog rock score by Lallo Gori.

Obscene Desire
directed by: Giulio Petroni
starring: Marisa Mell, Víctor Israel, Chris Avram, Lou Castel, Laura Trotter, Paola Maiolini, Javier Escrivá
1978 / 94 min / 1.85:1 / Italian Mono

The Bloodstained Lawn
directed by: Riccardo Ghione
starring: Marina Malfatti, Enzo Tarascio, Daniela Caroli, George Willing, Claudio Biava
1973 / 86 min / 2.35:1 / Italian Mono

Death Falls Lightly
directed by: Leopoldo Savona
starring: Stelio Candelli, Patrizia Viotti, Veronika Korosec, Rossella Bergamonti, Tom Felleghy
1972 / 89 min / 1.85:1 / Italian Mono

Additional info:

3-disc Region Free Blu-ray Set
All films newly scanned and restored in 2K from their 35mm original negative
All films feature newly-translated English subtitles
Reversible sleeve artwork

OBSCENE DESIRE extras:

Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
Disowned Desires (14 min) - an archival interview with director/writer Giulio Petroni
The End of it All (21 min) - an interview with daughter of Giulio Petroni and script supervisor, Silvia Petroni
Dissecting the Desire (44 min) - an interview with grandson of Giulio Petroni and film historian, Eugenio Ercolani
A Controversial Desire (20 min) - an interview with censorship expert Alessio Di Rocco
A Question of Faith (11 min) - an interview with director Pupi Avati
Alternate and extended scenes from the Spanish version (13 min)
Original Italian trailer

THE BLOODSTAINED LAWN extras:

Commentary track with film historian and critic Rachael Nisbet
Bloodstained Piacenza (24 min) - an interview with film historian Enzo Latronico
Odd Choices (16 min) - an interview with filmmaker/film historian Luca Rea

DEATH FALLS LIGHTLY extras:

Commentary track with film historians Eugenio Ercolani and Troy Howarth
Anything Goes (15 min) - an interview with actor Alessandro Perrella
That Kind of Film (11 min) - an interview with filmmaker/film historian Luca Rea
Where Death Landed (5 min) - a then and now location featurette

Vinegar Syndrome

[DukeTogo84]

Easy pick up. Italian horror of the 70's was something pretty special.

[Hammerlover]

You can't go wrong with spaghetti thrillers!

[dallywhitty]

Special features producer Eugenio Ercolani posted this on Facebook. Turns out he's the grandson of Giulio Petroni, director of Obscene Desire!

Very proud to present to you this new Vinegar Syndrome boxset containing Death Falls Lightly (La morte scende leggera), Obscene Desire (L'osceno desiderio) and The Bloodstained Lawn (Il prato macchiato di rosso).

This is what I produced for it:

Obscene Desire

Archival never-seen interview with director Giulio Petroni
A brand new interview with script supervisor (and daughter of Giulio Petroni, and more importantly my mother) Silvia Petroni
A brand new interview with myself on the career of my grandfather
A brand new interview with film historian Alessio Di Rocco
A brand new interview with Pupi Avati on religion within Italian horror
Audio commentary with myself and Troy Howarth
Both the Spanish and Italian versions of the film based on indications by Petroni himself.

The Bloodstained Lawn

A brand new interview with film historian and Piacenza expert Enzo Latronico
A brand new interview with filmmaker Luca Rea
An audio commentary with Rachael Dunnett

Death Falls Lightly

A brand new interview with actor Alessandro Perrella
A brand new interview with filmmaker and film expert Luca Rea
A brand new location piece
An audio commentary with myself and Troy Howarth