VERSIPELLIS

Rome is shaken by a series of brutal murders that seem to be committed by a large fierce beast. Commissioner Vanni is in the dark until, at the scene of the last double murder, a mobile phone belonging to Francesco Ferretti, a boy with a turbulent past, is found. As Francesco is untraceable, the police contact Giulio, his twin brother, also shaken by a difficult family situation from which he has wanted to distance himself in recent times. Giulio then sets out to search for his brother, and meanwhile the murders continue... Versipellis is nothing more than the archaic term (Roman/medieval) to indicate the famous figure of the werewolf. Versipelle, in fact, is a creature that literally changes skin, turns it over to show the animal fur that hides underneath. Versipelle has also become a term in the Italian dictionary to indicate someone who turns the situation to their advantage, the "clever" one who, if necessary, shows their true nature. An ancient term, therefore, which in one way or another is synonymous with mystery, ambiguity, used to designate what, in appearance, seems to be something else. Today the myth of the Versipelle revives thanks to a short film directed by Donatello Della Pepa that aims to explore the anthropological/supernatural value without neglecting the lexical ambivalence that the term deliberately drags behind it. "Versipellis" is a good horror with a werewolf included, but at the same time it is a psychological thriller that delves into a particularly complex family situation full of dysfunctional elements. And already at this first very superficial reading we notice a continuous game of turning skin: the wolf is there, it is tangible for the viewer as much as for the characters who end up butchered like sheep. But from time to time that certainty turns into doubt: is the wolf there? We see a magnificent werewolf, but we often see it through the eyes of Giulio, a character with too many complexes and convictions about his origin that are decidedly unconventional. This double vision is undoubtedly linked to the double track of genre on which the story travels, proudly horror/splatter on one side, introspective/investigative on the other. And double is also the point of view on the matter: Francesco and Giulio, not coincidentally two twins, different face of the same coin destined to clash since the womb, when a fetus tried to devour the other, leaving on the "victim" an indelible mark of the other's animality. The screenplay of the short, curated by Della Pepa in collaboration with the film critic Luca Ruocco, is articulated and particularly complex, capable of containing in just 23 minutes a story with such a broad breath that it seems suitable for a feature film. In this handful of minutes, many themes are touched that address folklore and science with a never banal and particularly attentive look at every detail. Certainly, at the end of the viewing, there is that feeling of long missed that in the end "Versipellis" is, but there is not really a moment's respite and the overall view is absolutely satisfying. "Versipellis" is a good genre product as few are seen in the Italian short film landscape and above all it is made with professionalism. In this regard, a lance must undoubtedly be broken in favor of all the performers who appear particularly convincing from the brothers in fiction Lorenzo Pedrotti ("Krokodyle"; "La stanza dell'orco") and Francesco Nappi, to Marco Di Stefano ("Bloody Psycho"; "Quando Alice ruppe lo specchio"), who interprets with participation the commissioner Vanni. In the role of the supermarket clerk who ends up as prey to the werewolf (one of the best scenes and most charged with tension/fun of the film) there is the screenwriter himself Luca Ruocco, while in a cameo/tribute we find Marco Antonio Andolfi (in art Eddy Endolf) of the mythical "La croce dalle sette pietre", who, needless to say, watches on TV the film in question. Dynamic and attentive direction of Della Pepa, whom we remember as the author of the already excellent "Moebius – Chi bussa alla mia porta?", an ironic zombie movie dated 2007. But in all this it is impossible not to mention the excellent special effects of Luigi D'Andrea, who creates a two-and-a-half-meter-tall wolf that certainly does not make one miss the werewolves of Hollywood films of yesterday and today. Good work, then, this "Versipellis", so rich in ideas and images that it seems almost "wasted" as a short film. Rounded-up rating. VERSIPELLIS TEASER01 from Revok Film on Vimeo.