A Classic Horror Story

 


Name: A Classic Horror Story

Directed By: Roberto De Feo and Paolo Strippoli 

Subgenre: Foreign, Folk Horror Slasher

Series: Spooktober 2021 entry #2; review #95

Review: A Classic Horror Story is a phenomenal first half of a horror film. An unabashedly Italian film, and we'll touch on that more in a minute, the Story revolves around Elisa as she's carpooling through Southern Italy. After dodging a suspiciously-placed goat carcass in the road, the RV fails its second Reflex check against avoiding a tree. Bingo bango, Elisa and friends get stranded in the woods. Except, that's where things take a turn for the spooky! From there, we dive head-first into the deep-end of a brutal folk horror film revolving around the Mafia's three founders and the ghoulish cult that follow them. Sounds great! Well, then the film pumps the brakes hard and spins into an extremely sloppy crime thriller that's heavy-handed with its meta-criticism of Italian culture regarding social media, specifically in relation to horror and similarly macabre content. The revenge elements are well done, though not quite as brutally effective as the film's first arc, but the film REALLY wants you to understand the point they're trying to make about Italy and Italian culture. Problem is, the directors gloss over Italy's extensive history in the horror genre, turning a blind eye to masters of giallo and like Dario Argento, Mario and Lamberto Bava, Lucio Fulci, and so many others. Hell, Cannibal Holocaust is one of the most widely known extreme horror movies in the world and it was directed by an Italian: Ruggero Deodato. While A Classic Horror Story's directors may have a valid point about modern Italian audiences' aversion to horror--I genuinely don't know the culture well enough to comment on it--their attempt at creating a truly great, classic Italian horror movie by liberally borrowing from other classic horror films, like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Midsommar, Evil Dead, and A Cabin in the Woods, without acknowledging Italy's own masters of horror just feels disingenuous. Worse yet, the commentary just doesn't land; by the time you reach the film's final attempt at hammering home its point, you're more likely to chuckle than to contemplate the deep national commentary the directors are trying to make. A Classic Horror Story is a phenomenal first half of a horror film with a ham-fisted final half; and for a quasi-nationalist film that stitches together so many references to other, better horror films without acknowledging its own nation's masters of the genre, A Classic Horror Story feels about as hollow as the classic movie Frankenstein's monster when compared to it's more articulate and eloquent book analog. Yeah, I actually did read the book, Mrs. Bradley! (RIP, you were the best)




Overall Score: 2.5 out of 5 Chads logging out of BloodFlix now. Did A Classic Horror Story scare you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

IMDB: Here

How to Watch: A Classic Horror Story is available on these platforms.


Official Trailer



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