Lovesusti The Worst Film Ever

Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

HumanoidOfFlesh First of all I enjoyed Marcello Avallone's masterpiece "Maya" from 1989, because it was stylish,well-produced and gruesome."Specters" is his first acclaimed horror film. While a team of archaeologists lead by Donald Pleasence are digging through some ancient ruins the subway being built above causes some cave ins and new catacombs are found.This leads to the burial ground of a legendary demon who then rises to the occasion and starts dispatching his victims in gruesome ways."Specters" is obviously influenced by Lamberto Bava's "Demons".The plot is silly and offers many annoying sub-plots which lead absolutely nowhere.The photography is beautiful,but the action is slow and there is almost no gore.Only for Italian horror completists.A very generous 6 out of 10.

Coventry Huh, what do you know…! They do make horror movies in Italy that not appeal to me, after all! Well, actually I already knew that. The Italians were the undeniable masters when it comes to horror, especially during the seventies and eighties, but obviously all films couldn't be winners. Just like "Manhattan Baby" and "Zeder", which more or less revolve on similar themes, "Specters" is an incredibly incoherent and painfully tedious film. The basic premise holds a lot of potential, for sure, but director Marcello Avallone – as well as his three (!) fellow writers – didn't manage to turn it into a compelling script. Several of the story lines are underdeveloped, the film wastes far too much time on irrelevant sub plots and insignificant supportive characters, the evil's true nature remains a mystery even after the film has finished, the lead roles aren't convincing and the production incomprehensibly doesn't take full usage of the marvelous filming locations and scenery! Here they are shooting a film in one of the most beautiful cities in the world – underneath it as well as on the surface – but all we get to see are pitiable images of some lame ruins. Donald Pleasance, who regularly appeared in Spaghetti horror productions (see also the much better films "Phantom of Death" and Dario Argento's "Phenomena") is clearly aware of the film's inferior quality and thus doesn't even bother to give away a half-decent performance. There's something evil lurking under the city of Rome… The acclaimed archaeologist Prof. Lasky and his crew have been searching for a 19 centuries old tomb for many months, but now it seems that the nearby subway construction works have finally exposed the entry. The discovery might not be such a triumph after all, as the occupant of the sarcophagus – a bizarre type of feline monster – is awakened and promptly goes on a rampage. Well, at least I think it goes on a rampage, because that's the point where the "Specters" really stops making sense. Many sequences, like the "Nightmare on Elm Street" similar suck-into-the-bed death scene, are played like they are hallucinations whereas other ones, like the head crushing sequence, are reality? There clearly is some sort of (spiritual?) link between the monster and one of the archaeologist's girlfriend (played by the former Miss Denmark Trine Michelsen who recently passed away as a result of bone cancer) but that story aspect is never at one point clarified. You'll get used to that, though, as there are many more. What's the deal with the blind tour guide in the catacombs? What inflicted the veto between Prof. Lasky and the exaggeratedly gay-behaving elderly antique dealer? Why does literally everybody in this film insist on having extended conversations with themselves? Why aren't the school couple from the beginning of the film ever mentioned anymore? Whatever, it's a really stupid and lackluster film; let's just keep it at that. As usual with the productions he was involved in, special effects wizard Sergio Stivaletti delivers the finest piece of work. The budget was clearly minimal, but he nevertheless still managed to provide some pretty cool and engrossing effects.

Scarecrow-88 "Whether evoked, or not evoked..evil will come."During a routine archaeological study, a secret door is discovered leading to an undiscovered tomb. What lies within this tomb, a demon, if able to escape the tunnels, could threaten the lives of everyone above ground. It'll be up to Marcus(John Pepper), a member under renowned archaeologist Professor Lasky(Donald Pleasence)to seal the tunnels and stop this powerful demon who has designs on his temperamental actress girlfriend, Alice(Trine Michelsen).That's the best I can do to provide a reasonable synopsis for such a difficult film. It seems director Marcello Avallone and his co-writer Andrea Purgatori were more interested in flashy visuals than creating a decent story which we can follow.I kind of reacted to Specters the same way as Soavi's The Church. I think Avallone wishes to depart from following a narrative structure, freely using the premise of an evil resurrected from it's place of entrapment, to unload bizarre sequences such as the importance of wind which disrupts the characters and often leads to the presence of the monster somewhere within the proximity of those destined to perish. I was disappointed in the lack of gore, because there seems to be opportunities to show gruesome violence. I will admit that I think it's got some incredible atmosphere, especially the tunnels which lead to the demon's tomb, and the Roman catacombs. I'm not sure why the film was called Specters, though. I guess it sounded cool and those Italians, God bless them, love a catchy title. There were, to me, striking uses of light(..the dark silhouette of characters from afar in tunnel entrances as light shines from behind them, the demon opening it's arms after rising from under earth with light grandly presenting it to us, barely visible but still ominous enough, the great scene where the demon's green eyes blanket Lansky, his face full of fear at what he has just encountered), and a nifty tourist trip through the Roman catacombs. Didn't care for the Marcus character or his girlfriend, Alice(..although, she's hot in a man's shirt)and too many scenes end abruptly just as they were on the verge of getting really good. I loved the first time Marcus follows the tunnel which eventually leads to the demon's tomb and that marvelous sequence where Lansky is engulfed in darkness, his flashlight pointing out statues in his dead employer's cavernous "tropy room". There's a scene very reminiscent of Nightmare on Elm Street where Alice is sleeping, with the demons hands exploding from the mattress, pulling her into it(..many will consider this an outrage, I imagine).The main flaw, among many, that bothered me the most was the fact that Lasky informs Marcus to close the tunnels so that the demon can not escape, yet the beast attacks victims on the outside of the tomb. I think the feeble plot serves as an excuse for the demon to prey on those who were involved with it's discovery. Repercussions for those who are responsible for unearthing evil seems to be the point of emphasis, if there is one. The creature is flimsily established by the filmmakers with artifacts such as a dagger buried into a wall, pagan symbols, skeletal remains and a sarcophagus all tied to the demon terrorizing folks. The demon does rip the flesh of victims' faces and there's this neat jump scare involving a destroyed corpse. Enter with caution because Specters is not an easy nut to crack. Oh, and Donald Pleasence fans will probably find his character and performance rather disappointing. There were times when the poor guy just agreed to work in anything and Specters certainly doesn't display Pleasence at his best..he was sleepwalking all the way to the bank to pay his electric bill.

The_Void I wonder if, back when he was wowing audiences with great performances in films such as Cul-de-sac and The Flesh and the Fiends, Donald Pleasance ever thought he'd be starring in dross like this? Anyway, I have to say that I wasn't surprised to find that Specters is basically the film I thought it would be; namely, a poor Demons-style trashy eighties horror flick with little in the way of redeeming features. The plot is just common horror fare and features a bunch of researchers digging into places they shouldn't be digging and revealing a load of ancient catacombs that warn of impending doom. Naturally, the evil is unleashed. At the very least from this, I was expecting some decent gore; but all we actually get is cheesy crap which is matched by the trashy atmosphere and typically cheesy eighties soundtrack. The plot is a complete mess and I found it very easy to get bored. Donald Pleasance was obviously bored too, and that's not surprising considering the talent of the people he's working with; naturally, Specters features some awesomely terrible acting. It all boils down to a typically pointless ending and overall, this is one of the few films that is bettered by the lamentable 'Demons 2'!