FANTASMI: ITALIAN GHOST STORIES

17 November. Three young men spend the night in one of their father's houses. In the house, they find the notebook of the homeowner, who died a short time before, in which it seems that murders are confessed. Offline. Pietro receives a strange message in chat from his friend Giovanni, immediately after a mutual friend warns Pietro that Giovanni took his own life the day before. But then who is Pietro chatting with? Is Giovanni really dead? A Monster's Fairy Tale. Celeste is a ten-year-old child, marginalized by everyone due to a heart disease that also forces him to mutism. When Celeste meets Gioia, the only peer who shows kindness to him, things change, but when the friendship between the two is misunderstood by the child, the situation begins to deteriorate. The Medium. A woman poses as a medium, scamming people who want to contact their deceased loved ones. All this despite the opposition of her daughter, who participates in the séances as an accomplice. But the spirits of the disturbed deceased will not be long in revealing themselves. Screams in the Hills. Three girls returning from a vacation and heading to a motel lost in the woods accidentally hit something and do not stop. Arrived at the motel, the three learn that the 'something' they hit with the car is probably the janitor's son. For the three friends, a definitely eventful night lies ahead. Five stories that address - sometimes only touching on - the theme of ghosts and six young directors chosen from the ranks of the most promising filmmakers. This, in short, is the identity card of 'Ghosts - Italian Ghost Stories', the horror anthology produced by Gabriele Albanesi ('The Forest Outside'; 'Ubaldo Terzani Horror Show') and further piece in the rebirth of Italian-made horror. We are faced with a product that, in the end, can be considered successful, a small vademecum of atmospheric horror that, between entirely satisfying episodes and others less so, can undoubtedly be considered as a whole a beautiful film. We can say that, perhaps due to fate or the conscious will of those who assembled the work, the episodes of 'Ghosts' are presented in order of success, from the weakest to the most enjoyable. '17 November', written and directed by Tommaso Agnese, fundamentally has two flaws: a thin story and one that has been told too many times, and the inability to engage the viewer, to draw them into the narrative. The staging, on the other hand, is very convincing and the actors almost all appreciable. Here and there some blood flows, but the night of terror as a pretext for a passing of the baton is something seen in all variations, including that of the ghost story. The second episode, directed by Andrea Gagliardi and written by Stefano Prolli based on a subject by Albanesi, draws rather evident inspiration from contemporary Eastern ghost cinema, in which the deceased finds a form of manifestation thanks to an electronic medium. In the specific case of 'Offline', the theme of suicide is combined with the internet medium (and instant messaging programs like MSN), bringing to mind 'Kairo - Pulse' by Kurosawa. The episode holds up quite well, both for the atmosphere that is created and for the credible performance of the actors (among whom we recognize Primo Reggiani), but the viewer who knows the source material perfectly knows where 'Offline' wants to go, so much so that the ending is highly telegraphed. 'A Monster's Fairy Tale', on the other hand, presents itself as a kind of 'Forrest Gump' in a tragic and subtly unsettling key; direction and screenplay are by Stefano Prolli, who chooses to move away from genre conventions to tell a story of marginalization and love with fairy-tale tones. The story of Celeste and his health and social relationship problems are the core of the plot that can be considered horror only marginally, thanks to a conclusion - which from a certain point of view also appears a bit intrusive - in which the shadow of the ghost story emerges. The photography of 'A Monster's Fairy Tale', curated by Emanuele Zarlenga, is beautiful, the grays and avanas are sharp and hypnotic, and the scenographic construction of some scenes (especially those on the beach) is truly suggestive. The episode lacks a bit in the narration of a story that seems too 'forced' even to be a 'fairy tale', to which some unconvincing performances contribute negatively, with the exception of the good protagonist Jonathan Coppola. A significant step forward is made with 'The Medium', directed by Roberto Palma and written by Simone Starace. We are faced with a perfectly directed and performed game of tension and atmosphere. The few minutes of the episode are enough to describe the squalor of a life consumed by the art of getting by; the elderly medium, excellently portrayed by Anna Maria Teresa Ricci, scams to live, offers false hopes to poor wretches with losses behind them, and then squanders her earnings to lie with slimy young men. Obviously, such a reckless behavior, disapproved even by those who share a blood tie with her, is forced to find punishment, and it is here that horror intervenes in a small climax of great suggestion. Perhaps it is precisely the brevity of the final climax that leaves a bit of a bitter taste in the mouth because the appearance of the ghosts and their successful visual representation was capable of creating a dreamlike and terrifying atmosphere. However, a hit for Palma and his Medium. The final episode is 'Screams in the Hills', written (from a subject by Albanesi) and directed by Omar Protani and Marco Farina. Last and, in the end, the best because this fifth episode is the most genuinely fun and pertinent to the theme represented by the patchwork. 'Screams in the Hills' brings to mind the atmosphere and carefreeness of some of the best episodes of 'Creepshow', updated to the times of mockumentary. Protani and Farina have well in mind the lesson imparted by the horror cinema of the '80s, the one closest to the public, and they propose it in a simple but effective story that immediately gets to the point and continuously fires amusing effects at the viewer. The bold girls to be punished and the vengeful ghost are one of the most classic pretexts for building beautiful scenes of tension and sudden turns towards splatter, seasoned here and there with handycam shots, sometimes with night vision to show us the unshowable. A total success also thanks to the good performances of the three leading actresses Chiara Brunamonti, Laura Gigante, and Guia Quaranta. In short, 'Ghosts - Italian Ghost Stories' is a convincing work with an overall positive quality balance of the episodes. And let's be clear, an anthology horror film in Italy has not been seen for a long time, 'Ghosts' paradoxically turns out to be almost a novelty and if we add that it is also a qualitatively valid product, an applause is due.