The Monster — The Monster(Blu Ray)
The Monster is a late 1970s Italian film that blends media satire, Gallio and dark humour. It centres on a bottom-of-the-rung journalist who starts getting letters from a killer, and he very much takes advantage of the situation. The film very much skates between parody and seriousness, and at points becomes decidedly tonally unbalanced- though it’s certainly original/ distinctive picture. Here from Radiance- both in the UK and the US- taking in a new 2k scan of the picture, a commentary track from giallo experts, and a mix of new/ archive extras.
The Monster (Il Mostro, The Fiend) is from the year 1977- shot between Rome and Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome. It was directed by Rome-born Luigi Zampa. The architecture and engineering student turned filmmaker has thirty-five features to his name. Taking in the likes of Wartime drama Anni Difficili ( 1948), fascist comedy of errors Roaring Years ( 1962 ), hospital crime drama Secrets Of A Nurse (1973), and heist comedy Tigers in Lipstick (1979).
The film introduces us to Valerio Barigozzi (Johnny Dorelli), a tight, curly-haired middle-aged journalist/ writing under another name as a mystery novelist. He’s far from a happy character- he works at the lowest rung of a newspaper; his wife detests Anna (Angelica Ippolito) him/, he’s in the process of getting divorced, and he's all-round embittered. The only thing that really keeps him going is his gangly, awkward, and red-haired teen son, Luca (Enzo Santaniello), who he goes to gory crime films and football matches with.
One day, just after getting to work, Valerio receives a typed letter from someone calling themselves The Monster- it’s simply says they are going to kill a children's TV host, who paints himself as a lovely/ freindly granddad. He rushes over to the TV studio- just as the host is finishing off his storytelling session, with the kid audience being told when to laugh or applaud via shifting signage.
We get eerie stalking footage moving through the studio's corridors, as the killer looks for its prey. Just after Valerio rushes into a room full of black-and-white TV screens with the host's footage on, finding the body of the host with a hammer bashed in head & a lipstick V over his face.
As the film unfolds, more famous people are taken out, moving from a football goalie to a female singer-songwriter. Each time, Valerio gets a note from the killer beforehand- and starts taking real advantage of it- like being on the scene to pose/ photograph the dead body.
As a result, he gets pulled up from his basement small table to his own large office. But there’s a pressure to keep up the pace with the articles regarding the killer, and of course Valerio worries he will become his next victim.
The tone of the film often swings between parody/ dark humour and more serious Gallio-though, as it progresses, the former takes over more & more- that is, until its nicely twisted resolution, when our surprising killer is revealed. The murders/ their aftermath are underwhelming/ similar, but there are some (brief) moments of stalking killer eeriness.
It features an excellent/mood-building Ennio Morricone score, which moves between taut and bounding piano/ brass cues, and more melodic/ light jazzy cues. This score really needs a modern release, if it hasn’t got one already, as it’s a great Morricone score.
The film is well cast. Dorelli as our lead shifts from embittered to smug/ obnoxious. Ippolito as his wife often darkly amusingly berates/ belittles him. And Santaniello is effective as the awkward, at times jumpy teen.
The Monster is certainly one of the more original/ distinctive films to be put under the Gallio banner; yes, there are effective moments of unease, and the mystery of who the killer is is relatively engaging. But really, the key focus here is parody/ satire, which shifts from clever to a little unbelievable.
The new 2k from Radiance looks great, full of clarity and depth. The balance of the score & dialogue is well realised, with easy-to-read English subtitles. I guess the only slightly murkier moments occur during the black-and-white credits, which seem somehow dull/ washed out.
The first new extra here is a commentary track from giallo experts Rachael Nisbet and Peter Jilmstad- this is a well-researched and informative affair. They start by declaring that the film defies easy genre classification, moving on to point out the different posters in/ outside the opening cinema set scene. They talk about how damaged and bitter the lead character is, before going on to give an in-depth/ interesting bio of Johnny Dorelli. They talk about where the film sits in the giallo genre, and how it adds creative touches/ twists to the form. Later on, they point out bit part actors, with bios for each. We find out the film was first entitled Except My Bloody Regards- it shot for ten weeks, finishing in August of 1977, going onto open in Italian cinemas on 3rd of October of that year. Otherwise, on the new side, there’s an interview with Italian cinema expert Richard Dyer (33.46) where he discusses the film.
On the archive side, we have the following: Head Bent Forward (43.50), a 2022 documentary on the making of the film with stars Sydne Rome, Renato Scarpa, Enzo Santaniello and makeup artist Pierantonio Mecacci and archival footage of Johnny Dorelli. And a trailer.
The release comes with a twenty-seven-page inlay booklet. This includes cast & crew listings. A new article about the film by Roberto Curti. A selection of interviews from around the film's original release, a good selection of stills/ poster art, and transfer notes/ credits.
The Monster is certainly an impactful and entertaining mix of media satire, Gallio and dark humour. And it’s great to see Radiance releasing this original late-70s Italian film, with its 2 K scan, and worthy selection of extras.