Piero Regnoli Movies

Italian cult favorite Lucio Fulci (Zombi 2) directed this atmospheric return to the Gothic themes which had brought him such success in the early '80s, and reminds the viewer of a pair of those early works in the opening scenes. Beginning with the horrifying torture, crucifixion, and flaming deaths of a group of nuns beneath a convent in 1486 Sicily (reminiscent of the opening murder of the warlock in L'Aldila), the film then flashes forward to modern-day Toronto, where Liza (Meg Register) has visions of their deaths at a séance (as in the opening of Paura nella Citta dei Morti-Viventi). Naturally, Liza soon finds herself in Sicily, along with archaeologist Professor Paul Evans (Brett Halsey) and his colleague, Porter (Al Cliver). Nosing around the convent, she breaks open the crypt, unleashing the nuns' expectedly bloody occult vengeance. People are impaled on spikes, a woman (Carla Cassola) has her eyes ripped out by her pet cats, a mean butcher (Lino Salemme) has a meathook driven through his neck and his tongue nailed to a board, and so on. Things reach a predictable frenzy with an angry mob, a nun with no face, demonic possession, and a man ripped completely in two. There's also a bizarre back story about the nuns seducing local youths and murdering them at the moment of orgasm to obtain their blood for Satanic rituals. None of it makes much sense, and most fans of the director seeking a return to form found Demonia a pale imitation of his notorious Gothics, particularly coming so soon after Michele Soavi's similar -- and more successful -- La Chiesa. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

In this teen-oriented, stereotypical, and uneven romantic comedy, a successor to the earlier Un Jeans E Una Maglietta, Nino D'Angelo is still after (Anna) Maria (Roberta Olivieri) but this time, he is at work making pizzas and unable to call Maria at home because her father would be upset. One day Nino is forced to go north to a ski resort in order to keep up his livelihood and so he asks a friend to be a middleman in a clandestine telephone relationship with Maria. Nino's troubles are just starting since his friend tries to sabotage his already difficult romance, and in the new hotel where he works, the owner's daughter has her sights set on him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

As the 1980s began, Italian director Michele Massimo Tarantini (here credited as Michael E. Lemick) segued from his violent action films of the 1970s (Poliziotti Violenti, Napoli si Ribella) into a series of sword and sorcery films, of which this entertaining entry is probably the best. Pietro Torrisi (using the pseudonym Peter McCoy) stars as Sangraal, who is crucified over the city he rules and forced to watch it destroyed by barbarian hordes. As if this weren't bad enough, the goddess of fire, Rani (Margareta Rance), kills his lover in front of him. Needless to say, Sangraal escapes and goes after the goddess, as well as her sleazy avatar, Nanuk (Mario Novelli), who ends up sitting on his own dagger and reaching a (dare we say it?) painful end. Along the way, the heroic Sangraal battles monkey-men, subterranean zombies, and a dark mystic (Massimo Pittarello). There is some inventive cinematography by Giancarlo Ferrando, an appearance by the stunning Sabrina Siani, and a Pietro Regnoli script that stays remarkably free of the stentorian nonsense that usually passes for dialogue in this sort of film. All in all, not a bad way to spend a rainy afternoon. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

When the daughter and wheelchair-bound brother of a recently deceased aristocrat are placed in the care of a lecherous nun, the atmosphere around a remote Italian castle becomes thick with dread and debauchery in director Mario Bianchi's masterpiece of Euro-sleaze. Antonio is the latest in a long line of wealthy landowners. A merciless brute who abuses women, steals his brother's pain medication, and buries the rotting corpses of anyone who dares cross him deep in the cellar, Antonio is husband to insatiable nymphomaniac Maria. As the film opens, Maria has died. But this is only the beginning of the abhorrent events about to unfold in the castle, because the nun responsible for bathing her daughter and handicapped brother soon becomes overtaken with a dark sexual urge that leads to commit the ultimate act of sacrilege, and the once-innocent daughter embarks on a frenzied rampage of sex and murder after becoming possessed by the vengeful spirit of her late mother. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A visually evocative period piece set in late 1930s Italy, this drama is about one man's eventual awakening and transformation. Oberdan (Ray Lovelock) is born into a wealthy family, and although his father is Jewish, he does not pay that much attention to his heritage. He marries an equally wealthy woman, and then his life changes when he goes off to war in North Africa. Returning with nightmare images of his years in the service, he leaves his wife and home and goes to Bologna to work as a journalist. With a lively new friend (Adalberto Rossetti) and a new love interest (Martine Brochard), it seems, for awhile, that life might take a turn for the better. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The Last Round stars Luc Merendea as a man who seeks revenge against some very bad men. In order to succeed, he must become the middle-man in a dangerous gang war. He must play both sides against each other, without anyone discovering his real motivations. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

This Italian vampire tale stars Gianna Maria Canale as an ancient, sultry bloodsucker who, much like real-life kinswoman Countess Bathory, can only maintain her youthful appearance through the regular consumption of a serum derived from virgins' blood. When she begins to age again, she demands better results from the serum's inventor, who proceeds to capture more young maidens... but her plan is undone by the meddling of an intrepid reporter. Originally titled I Vampiri (The Vampires), this science-fiction-flavored variation on the Vampire Gothic kicked Italy's horror film machine into high gear, helped greatly by the cinematography of noted horror filmmaker Mario Bava -- who shared some directorial duties with Riccardo Freda and designed some of the special effects. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide