MORITURIS

Three young men met two Eastern European girls in a nightclub and convinced them to follow them to a wooded area near Rome to attend a rave party. Upon arrival, the five find no party and, convinced they arrived too early, light a bonfire and have a good time. But someone or something is watching them, ready to unleash all its violence. Hic sunt leones. "Morituris" demonstrates that Italian horror cinema is capable of biting and scratching, indeed of tearing and lacerating with a potentially competitive product at an international level and truly capable of bringing our beloved genre to extraordinarily high qualitative heights. So here were the lions of made-in-Italy horror hiding, eager to give the audience a sadistic and violent vision of horror cinema as it used to be, complementary and yet very distant from today's trend of torture porn excess. "Morituris" starts with a very simple premise, very close to the dictates of American slasher/survival cinema: there are three boys and two girls, a bucolic and nighttime location, and a threat that is both supernatural and physical hunting them down, eliminating them one by one. But in a plot that potentially smells of something already seen and a subject that at first glance is even sparse, young debutant director Raffaele Picchio and screenwriter Gianluigi Perrone manage to concentrate a multitude of plot twists and beautiful, original ideas to elevate this film well above the average of similar products (and I'm not just talking about domestic production). The characters, who are immediately presented to us with all the characteristics that the genre would want, devoted to alcohol, sex, and drugs, and therefore destined for a very bad end, evolve over the minutes, leave the stereotype to grab a characterization very different from what one might expect. Unpredictable characters as well as the fate that befalls them. According to those who worked on the film, precise instructions were given that recalled events of Italian chronicles that occurred in the '70s and had as their focus the famous Circeo Massacre. In this regard, it is impossible not to notice a certain criticism towards a wealthy, bored, and vulgarized bourgeoisie that survives the years and epochs and that in this film is exemplarily put on trial. No matter how much one tries to turn around it, the focal point of "Morituris" is the raw and incredibly perverse, not to mention realistic, violence that is depicted without any form of self-censorship. A sadistic and at times complacent violence that is even disturbing, perpetrated against men, women, and children - with a preference for women that has led some to even utter the word "misogyny." The circus of horrors of "Morituris," with the contribution of the special effects by Sergio Stivaletti, will show you crucifixions, decapitations, a pair of scissors driven into female intimate parts, and even a little mouse inserted into a vagina through a glass tube (while in the background of the action the images of the cult film "Il boia scarlatto" scroll). All this with the realism and seriousness of those who do not want to make you laugh but to shock and disturb, despite the fact that there are many ironic incursions, especially in the lines of the three young Latin lovers. Indeed, in this pamphlet of sadism, there are also some excellent dialogues, often witty and clever, a sign of particular care for the screenplay even where one could gloss over aiming everything at the spectator's stomach. Let's also add a group of willing and very good actors who give credibility to characters that nevertheless place themselves above the line from the start, starting with the almost surreal character played by Francesco Malcom, a now recurring presence in Italian independent horror ("Eaters"; "Bloodline"; "Hyde's Secret Nightmare"). Among the performers, the two actresses Valentina D'Andrea and Desiree Giorgetti stand out, visibly dealing with difficult and stressful scenes, but not less are Andrea De Bruyn, Giuseppe Nitti, and Simone Ripanti. But the strong point of the cast of "Morituris" are the villains, not so much for the acting (in reality, they do not act, they impose themselves forcefully on the audience as physical icons) but for the scenic power and the perfect look. Even though it is now known who the threats are that haunt the woods of "Morituris," I prefer not to reveal the surprise, just know that they are big, dusty, and hit like crazy! A necessary note should be made regarding the visual rendering. "Morituris," shot digitally with cutting-edge equipment (RED One Digital Camera), features scenes that are too poorly lit, perhaps due to poor management of the technical equipment, making some points difficult to understand and others visually poor (interiors and some scenes in the sun). A problem probably solvable with some additional post-production measures. "Morituris" represents one of the happiest and most successful examples of Italian horror cinema to date, a disturbing and surprising adventure that will surely delight gore purists. Despite "Morituris" being at the center of a controversy due to the rejection by censorship with the denial of the release certificate for theatrical release, the courageous Sinister Film, distributed by CG Home Video, has brought the DVD of Raffaele Picchio's film to the Italian market. Published in the Italia Underground collection, "Morituris" boasts a satisfying digital edition with its highlight being the special features: a substantial making-of, the music video by Cripple Bastards "Stupro e Addio," and the official trailer.