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[Blu-ray Review] Edwige Fenech Battles Paranoia in ‘All the Colors of the Dark’

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A few months back I was chatting with a friend about Italian cinema. We talked about our favorite Italian genre films and the particular directors we are fond of. At one point he turned the conversation toward Sergio Martino. At the time I was only aware of Martino by name so I made a note to remind myself to actually start getting around to exploring Martino’s work. Someone at Shameless Films must have been eavesdropping on my conversation because since then they’ve released nothing but Martino films. I’ve now officially begun my Martino education beginning with 1972’s All the Colors of the Dark.

All the Colors of the Dark Stars the lovely and iconic Edwige Fenech as Jane, a woman that recently suffered a car accident that resulted in the death of her unborn child. Since the accident, Jane has been plagued by this terrible nightmares. Eventually, the nightmares become too real and begin to bleed into reality. Is Jane being pursued by a Satanic cult or is it all in her head?

All the Colors of the Dark opens with a scene that is visually quite striking. The scene is one of Jane’s dreams, but as the audience, we don’t know that at the start. The room is completely black but there is a pregnant woman lying on what appears to be a hospital bed, completely naked and rubbing blood on her belly which looks like it is about to burst at any moment. In the room is also maybe a nurse? A crazy looking nurse missing teeth. This nurse, if it is a nurse, turns out to be a doll come to life. The scene kind of reminds me of that scene in Pee Wee’s Big Adventure with Pee Wee’s bike in the ER, but like a more demented version of that.

The entire scene is like experiencing an acid trip. Well, at least what I imagine an acid trip to be like. And this is only the first couple minutes. Martino hooked me quickly and I was instantly in to see where this craziness would end up. The movie goes on to give us Satanic rituals and sacrifices and while it never gets as crazy as those opening moments it provides a thrilling ride to the finish.

Fenech gives a stellar performance as Jane. She’s dealing with perceived paranoia that those around her associate with the accident she recently suffered. Logically it all makes sense because a traumatic experience can have a long-lasting impact, but Jane knows there is something more. Jane is convinced that her fears are valid and she faces an uphill battle trying to convince others.

I love the way Martino directs this film. It has so much style and it all comes from the little things. In one scene you may see the same cut repeated twice in quick succession. The film’s big finale is like something out of a De Palma movie. We watch the scene play out and then we see it a second time from a slightly different angle. It’s these little touches that add up and make the film so memorable. As someone just getting familiar with the work of Martino this makes me incredibly eager to see more.

The new region B Blu-ray for All the Colors in the Dark is good, but not perfect. The opening credits had me a bit worried about the picture quality because they are a bit rough but it clears up quite a bit once the actual film starts and looks good the rest of the way throughout. There are some imperfections throughout but I much prefer to have those remain than have something that is scrubbed to death and ends up looking waxy. The presentation from Shameless has more of a film quality that I much prefer.

The special features include a Shameless trailer reel, short film, audio commentary and brand-new interview with Martino. The interview with Martino is an absolute treat, even for someone like myself that is just getting started on his filmography. Martino reflects on a large bulk of his career and even now in his late 70’s seems very upbeat and passionate when talking about film. It’s hard not to smile when listening to the man talk.

The Shameless Blu-rays from the last year plus have been some of my favorites and this release of All the Colors of the Dark is no exception. It’s yet again another wonderful Italian release that should be added to the collection.

All the Colors of the Dark is now available on Blu-ray from Shameless Films.

Chris Coffel is originally from Phoenix, AZ and now resides in Portland, OR. He once scored 26 goals in a game of FIFA. He likes the Phoenix Suns, Paul Simon and 'The 'Burbs.' Oh and cats. He also likes cats.

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‘Herencia Diabólica’ – 1993’s “Mexican Child’s Play” Finally Has a Blu-ray Release [Review]

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Did you know that there is a Child’s Play-inspired film from Mexico? If you didn’t, you can thank Vinegar Syndrome’s new label Degausser Video for making 1993’s Herencia Diabólica available for the masses to watch. Or at least for the VS hardcore fanbase, Chucky completists and anyone else who needs something like this in their lives.

Director Alfredo Salazar, known for his writing connection to the 70s Santo film series, also serves as the writer here to bring us a film seemingly inspired from the Child’s Play franchise. While it has been recently labeled as the “Mexican Child’s Play” (there’s a special feature on the disc with that very title), the killer doll concept is where the comparison should start and end. Despite having some seeds planted by that franchise, Salazar delivers a story that blossoms into something unique.

Tony (Roberto Guinar) receives a letter informing him that his aunt has died, and he has inherited her estate in Mexico. He quits his job and uproots his life in New York with his wife Annie (Holda Ramírez) to relocate south of the border and move into his new crib. Now I know what you’re thinking, what person just quits their job and drags their wife to another country without having reliable monetary income? Tony does, everyone, Tony does.

And what’s the first thing they do once they arrive in Mexico and check out the estate? They hit the bedroom, naturally. We are treated to a sex scene with an erotica song that feels like a knockoff of “Sadness” by Enigma (remember them?). Sounds fun and all, but the scene takes place completely in the dark and we see absolutely nothing. Maybe that’s why the sexy-time tune was pumping, so we could know what was exactly going down.

While Tony goes on a job interview, Annie explores the estate’s grounds in a tedious chore to experience, going room by room, plodding along. But it does lead us to her discovery of our antagonist—the evil clown doll, Payasito! Of all the things in the house, she decides to bring this monstrosity down to show Tony when he gets home. What an exciting way to celebrate (sic)! Then out of nowhere, she spouts off some exposition about rumors that Tony’s aunt dabbled in the dark arts and now we know where our title Diabolical Inheritance (the English translation for Herencia Diabólica) originates. For those of you who keep score for things like that.

Before proceeding with this review, you really need to visualize what Payasito looks like to truly embrace the rest of the film’s shenanigans. While Chucky resembles a cute ginger child, Payasito resembles a small clown that is much larger in stature than Chucky. That’s because Payasito is performed by an actor (Margarito Esparaza) in clown cosplay whenever he’s on the move (like Mannequin 2), and makes some really horrible facial expressions. Chucky dresses in “Good Guys” overalls and a striped shirt, but Payasito wears a new wave Santa hat while sporting a Sgt. Pepper jacket and Peter Pan tights. As you can now tell, he is quite beautiful.

Back to our story, Payasito begins to spook Annie cerebrally until she becomes unnerved to the point of having a complete mental break down, making her easy prey to eliminate. She dies but the unborn child survives, with Tony believing that her death was caused by her mental instability. Fast forward some years later and the couple’s surviving spawn has grown into child Roy (Alan Fernando), who at this point has already bonded with Payasito to help him over the loss of his mother. Dun-dun-duuunnn!

Meanwhile wealthy Tony remains single, still grieving his late wife, until his blonde assistant Doris encourages him to move on with his life and start seeing other people. And by other people, she naturally means herself. As the old Kanye West song lyric goes, “I ain’t saying she’s a gold digger…”, and it seems that she might be until we learn more about her character. Doris is played by the stunning Lorena Hererra who has an extremely extensive resume in Mexico, and she carries most of the film quite well during the feature’s second half. The singer and former Playboy centerfold for their Mexico edition is by far the most recognizable face in the cast.

Doris and Tony do indeed hookup and she moves into La casa de Herencia, where she does her best to impress Roy and lessen his obsession with the doll. There is a scene where they go to a nearby park without Payasito that is filled with famous fairytale figures, such as Pinocchio, Cinderella and King Kong! What, you didn’t know King Kong is a fairytale? Me neither. But Roy continues to be obsessed with Payasito after their trip, much to Doris’ chagrin.

Her actions to separate him from Roy gets Payasito angry, setting up the film’s most memorable scene. We already know that Payasito is a devil doll like Chucky, but now we learn he also has the power to invade people’s dreams like Freddy Krueger! Does Payasito enter the dream world and concoct a creative way to kill Doris in her sleep? No, he harnesses his power to sexually assault her instead. Yes that actually happens. After she awakens, Doris grabs the doll and tosses him into a lake, only to find him waiting for her by the time she gets back to the house. So now we know he also maintains the ability to “transport” like Jason Voorhees too. This doll is the total package!

More insanity happens before we close out the film with the longest victim chase sequence ever. It makes the previously mentioned painful house search scene seem like an eyeblink. It feels like it’s the film’s entire third act, filled with so much padding that you could soundproof an entire three-story house.

So how’s the transfer? Considering it was created using a mix of VHS and film source elements from 1993, they did one heck of a job! The work they put into it is especially noticeable in the dream invasion sequence, with the pulsing multi-colored psychedelic visuals. Super trippy stuff. Even the film’s score provides a pretty chill vibe, during the times when Payasito isn’t on the prowl.

If anything you read has piqued your interest in the very least, you should give it a shot. But if not, it is best to leave this doll on the shelf.

Herencia Diabólica is now available to purchase at VinegarSyndrome.com.

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