"Come in, don't be afraid." These are the first words (voice of Rémi Mayot) that introduce Phantasmagoria, the episodic horror film resulting from a collaboration between France and Italy. As many as three episodes make up this cinematic work, the brainchild of Mickaël Abbate, among other things director of the Samain du Cinéma Fantastique festival.
Diabolique, My Gift to You and A Snake with a Steel Tongue are the titles of the segments that make up Phantasmagoria, directed by Mickaël Abbate, Tiziano Martella and Domiziano Cristopharo, respectively.
As if acted out in a circus, the aforementioned phrase and later "Come closer, please, come all closer..." are uttered by a devilishly-faced fortune-teller with long, tapering fingers, made by Raffaele Stumpo and animated in stop motion by Paolo Gaudio (The Black Cat at P.O.E.: Poetry of Eerie). The creature cloaks the film with a retro style well loved by episodic films but also with a magical and eerie atmosphere. The music that serves as a backdrop for the mystical character also has an 80s aftertaste and is vaguely reminiscent of the claustrophobic notes of Carpenter's films. It will thus be the bony creature that will introduce the three ghost-stories in a rather peculiar way.
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The ashes of a rose scattered in front of the "Fortune Teller" make up the word Diabolique, the title of the first segment written and directed by Mickaël Abbate.
A group of friends are on the French Riviera to film a documentary. During a moment of relaxation, one of the three girls, Marilyn, notices an ancient house on the cliff and is fascinated by it. After admiring it from afar, she decides to visit it. Upon arriving at the site, the four tourists stop to talk to a local woman who will reveal to them the dark secrets related to the mansion's past.
Abbate's directorial style is refined and is highlighted by vintage photography (Stefan Hofmann) reminiscent of old 1970s films.
The ending is abrupt and gives the film a sense of incompleteness. However, this perceptible sore point gives the episode a certain charm and forces the viewer to fantasize about the continuation of the story, which, however, is not there. In Diabolique the horror therefore is barely whispered while the story leaves room for imagination. Good incipit for a chilling feature film.
Good acting evidence from the cast of Diabolique, ultimately a highly evocative film that has its own why within Phantasmagoria.
Cast of Diabolique: Maya Dolan, Dee Dee Barksdale, Sophie Pâris, Michel Addams, Agathe Teller, and Julien Bonfanti.
Original music by Antoine Bensa.
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At the end of this first episode, the macabre fortune teller reappears to hand the viewer a gift package that reads. My Gift to You. This is actually the title of the second episode directed by Tiziano Martella (effects and make-up artist of Morituris, M is for Mouth). The story is by the director himself together with Raffaele Picchio and Lorenzo Paviano. The latter two also handled the screenplay together with Riccardo De Flaviis.
As can be guessed, a peculiar and macabre gift will be the object at the center of this story.
It's October 31, the birthday of little Sarah who is at home with her mother and maternal grandfather. In addition to cake and various gifts, the elderly gentleman plans to give his granddaughter something really special.
Years later, on the last day of October, Sarah returns to that now-defunct house.
Among the dark rooms of the old mansion, however, a sad truth meanders, witnessing a horrible past eager to tip over into the present. The shadow of the gift received years earlier is projected into the girl's present life, bringing to light the ancient specters of her childhood.
My Gift to You is a successful segment that enjoys a compelling story with putrid undertones.
The sequence of the man at the desk is excellent, thanks not only to Venantini's acting proof but also to the effective special effects and direction. A believable and well-crafted scene that is sure to leave one disoriented. Engaging is the location, the old house, which is transformed into a small hell. The cinematography (Francesca Catalano) and music, both dark, amplify the suspense that reaches its climax when the protagonist gets closer to the terrible truth thanks to an old diary owned by her grandfather. The ending is embellished with words that paint terrible and disturbing images.
The cast of My Gift to You, in addition to Venantino Venantini, includes Cristina Puccinelli, Ilaria Balluchi, Donata Inghirami, Marta Manni and Alberto Cattaneo. Make-up and special effects by Luigi D'Andrea. Visual effects are by Luca Boni, who together with Marco Ristori is director of Eaters and Zombie Massacre, films for which Martella himself collaborated as effects designer. Original music by Gabriele Caselli.
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A Snake with a Steel Tongue by Domiziano Cristopharo is the third and final episode of Phantasmagoria, once again presented by the macabre stop-motion figure who, to introduce this new segment, wields a razor blade.
The story of this short is by Cristopharo himself (who also handled the photography) and Davide Chiara. The latter also handled the screenplay.
Another chilling location in this concluding episode of Phantasmagoria. If in Abbate's film there was an abandoned villa and in Martella's an uninhabited family home, in Cristopharo's episode everything takes place inside a former hotel. Knocking on the hotel door is a young Italian man who asks the innkeeper for a room for one night.
Streamers of blood open the episode of Domitian Christopharo and act as a backdrop to an unhealthy love story rooted in the spirit realm.
The director's style is unmistakable: each of his works manages, for better or worse, to surprise. Cristopharo is an aesthete of cinema and as such pays special attention to even the most hidden details.
Although the first part of the short, except for the opening sequences, leaves the viewer in front of an initial unfolding of the plot that seems to be simple and almost trivial, the director then recovers masterfully accomplice to a rich and articulate screenplay. Not to be outdone is the acting proof of Alberto Cattaneo, who similarly follows the aforementioned dynamics, offering himself at first awkwardly and then veering along with the film into an astonishing acting proof. Alongside him is a very good Vittorio Castellano who plays the enigmatic innkeeper. Completing the cast is Poison Rouge, already seen in The House of Flesh Mannequins By Domitian Christopharo.
Associate producers include the name of Yuri Antonosante, who has already collaborated with Domiziano Cristopharo as an actor in Doll Syndrome.
Original music is by Eros Cartechini.
A Snake with a Steel Tongue is definitely the best short film of Phantasmagoria as well as the most unique.
The film was produced by M International Films and the three directors Mickaël Abbate, Tiziano Martella and Domiziano Cristopharo.
