Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni Movies

Devastated by the recent loss of her husband and convinced that her newborn child is the product of a disturbing supernatural encounter, a suicidal American woman living on a remote ranch in South Africa turns to the local shamanistic traditions in a desperate bid to exorcise the evil that surrounds her. Stacy (Laura Herring) and Mark (John Hannah) were starting a new life in South Africa when Mark was suddenly killed in a violent car accident. Later, lost in her grief and intent on taking her own life, Stacy is cast into the throws of ecstasy during a nocturnal visit from her husband's disembodied spirit. Shortly thereafter, Stacy gives birth to a baby boy who she becomes convinced is Mark's child. It's not long before the single mother begins to suspect that the spirit of her late husband has taken possession of her young child's soul in an otherworldly attempt to kill her from beyond the grave. As the young boy's behavior grows increasingly disturbing, his widowed mother realizes that the Shamanistic traditions of Africa may provide the only means of saving their endangered souls. Pete Postlethwaite and Coraline Cataldi-Tassoni co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

This choice chunk of Italian horror junk arrived on video courtesy of the cinematic garbage collectors at Troma, Inc. Basically a dull, pointless rip-off of the Evil Dead series, this film gets off to a wonderfully tasteless start, depicting a bizarre castration-murder performed by a female demon (Elena Cantarone) with a clawed appendage that emerges from an unmentionable location. From there, the story slides quickly downhill into the familiar campers-versus-monsters scenario (albeit padded with footage from another film and endless woodland traveling shots), in which unsuspecting vacationers stumble upon both the she-demon and her geeky adversary (Luciano Crovato). Naturally, several of the campers become possessed by the demonic forces lurking within the woods, pitting the survivors against their former companions in an audaciously gory climax. Fans of blood-drenched Italian zombie-fests may find some moments worthwhile, but endless tedious stretches may invite heavy lashings of the fast-forward button. Originally titled Notte nel Bosco, or Night in the Woods. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The polar-opposite worlds of opera and horror collide in this gory giallo film from director Dario Argento. Christina Marsillach (Tom Hanks' romantic interest in Every Time We Say Goodbye) stars as Betty, a beautiful understudy who gets an unlikely break to play the female lead in a contemporary opera of Verdi's Macbeth. Her fear of Macbeth's notorious curse proves to have foundation when a psychopath with a strange connection to Betty murders a stage hand in the midst of her debut and later kills several ravens being used in the opera. Characters introduced at this point who could be the killer include: the show's director, Marco (Ian Charleson); Betty's publicist, Mira (Daria Nicolodi); and the police inspector, Alan Santini (Urbano Barberini). The middle third of the film is devoted to the killer's bloody work which serves to torment Betty. The madman binds her and tapes a row of tiny needles beneath her eyes so that she is forced to watch him butcher a young stage manager and a costume designer, among others. With the police investigation going nowhere and the killer zeroing in on Betty's death, Marco decides to enact his own plan to stop the madman; he releases the ravens (apparently, they always remember their enemies) during a performance. The birds circle wildly before attacking the killer and plucking one of his eyeballs out. He absconds with Betty, but dies in a fire after revealing his demented motivation and his connection to the young singer. A final scene set in the Swiss mountains provides a couple of final shocks. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide