Tree fronds moved by the wind seem to give movement to the sculptures of a monumental cemetery immersed in fog. The somber music, by Fabio Frizzi, that envelops this evocative sequence and the entire film, immerses us in a film with clear 80s references.
So it opens Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave, a low-budget horror short film written and directed by Luciano Imperioli, a pseudonym for Chris Milewski.
After the tombstone sequence that is very reminiscent of Lucio Fulci's Fear in the City of the Living Dead, Karen Cook (Karen Lynn Widdoss) appears, walking from the station to the family home located near the cemetery. On the lock of the door she will find a strange letter written by her brother and addressed to her, in which he explains the reason for her absence. The deep and pronounced voice heard is that of Franco Garofalo, who plays Peter, the protagonist's brother. The sound of his words vibrates in the heart, reawakening those strong, now-dormant emotions that we used to feel thanks to the films of yesteryear.
Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave is a clear homage to Italian horror cinema of the 1980s, particularly that of Lucio Fulci, of which the director involves two veterans. In addition to the original soundtrack by composer Fabio Frizzi (Seven Notes in Black, Zombies 2, Fear in the City of the Living Dead, ...And You Will Live in Terror! The Afterlife...) in fact, the film is embellished by two important names: Franco Garofalo (Virus, The Other Hell, Murder in the Etruscan Cemetery) and Silvia Collatina (That Villa Next to the Cemetery, Murderock - Kills in Step), icons of genre cinema. The two Italian actors are not physically present in the short film but lend their voices to the two characters; Peter and Karen Cook.
Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave thus presents itself as a journey back in time in which the viewer is accompanied by music, voices, and stupendous images that border on the beauty of those of cinema past, as well as successful cinematography by Franco Massaccesi. The film is a tangle of references to milestones of Italian cinema, a glimpse that opens a gateway to the Italian horror film that was.
Looking at Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave shines through the director's passion for tricolor cinema, which in part justifies his choice to use a pseudonym. This practice was very much in vogue among homegrown directors of the past, but in this case it is used inversely, to seal a true tribute to Italian genre cinematography. A tribute we should be proud of.
In the cast of Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave only Karen Lynn Widdoss already seen in The Cold Eyes of Death Of the same director.
Special effects are by Sidd Web while editing is by Eugenio Landi. Violets Bloom At An Empty Grave is produced by Chris Milewski (Filmiracle Production) himself.
