REVIEW – Absurd

Published on: 23rd July, 2010

REVIEW - Absurd  | read this item

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Having spent the 1970s shooting a variety of sexually explicit adult horror flicks, Joe D’Amato eventually decided to aim for a more commercial market with The Anthropophagous Beast. Notorious for the scene in which the cannibal monster (portrayed by frequent collaborator and writer George Eastman) removed a foetus from a woman’s womb and devours it, the film soon found its way onto the UK’s ‘video nasty’ list under the alternative title The Grim Reaper. Having followed its minor success with such dubious efforts as Porno Holocaust and Le notti erotiche dei morti viventi/Erotic Nights of the Living Dead, it wasn’t long before D’Amato decided to direct another horror movie for the American crowd. Once again penned by Eastman, 1981’s Rosso sangue (literally translated as Red Blood) was a brutal slasher that would also encounter censorship issues in Britain, whilst during its run it would be released under a variety of different names including Absurd, Horrible and Antropophagus 2.

Mikos Stenopolis (Eastman) is a dangerous psychotic on the run from a priest (Edmund Purdom). Whilst attempting to climb over a gate his abdomen is sliced open by the railings and is believed to have died. Yet Mikos is the victim of a scientific experiment in which his tissue is able to regenerate itself, making him almost indestructible. But when Sgt. Engleman (Charles Borromel) begins to investigate, the priest informs him that Mikos brain is still vulnerable and it must be destroyed before he kills again. He soon sets his sights on Emily (Annie Belle), a beautiful young woman who is babysitting two children (Katya and Kasimir Berger). But can Engleman and the priest find Mikos before he strikes or is Emily doomed?

Each one of D’Amato’s horror movies has suffered from the same shortcomings – he was not a good director. The reason for his popularity and cult status is his willingness to show what many of his contemporaries shy away from. Whilst most filmmakers understand that too much of a good thing can eventually dilute its impact, D’Amato (much like his Spanish counterpart Jesus Franco) clearly felt that filling the screen with excessive violence, nudity and stomach-turning special effects were enough to guarantee them notoriety. In this respect he was correct and many of his movies have encountered all manner of controversy over the years. Whilst Italian cinema during the early 1980s was renowned for its unflinching portrayal of violence and bodily mutilation, few relied on it as strongly as D’Amato, whose films would often feature no other redeeming values.

The viewer’s opinion on D’Amato’s horror movies will depend on how much they value characterisation, plot, tension and other elements that both fans and critics often comment on. Fans of mindless splatter will no doubt revel in the excessive violence, although his decision to neglect every other aspect of his films means that the scenes in between each grotesque set piece can become long, drawn-out and tedious affairs. Whilst The Anthropophagous Beast had the exotic location and the isolation that created to help fill in the gaps, Absurd’s contemporary setting and all too familiar set up (a babysitter stalked by the boogeyman) add little to relieve the boredom. Eastman’s script is so full of inconsistencies and pointless scenes that it seems to be the violence alone that saves the movie from being unwatchable.

Where D’Amato often does succeed is with the brutal violence and gruesome effects. Although his staging of these scenes is somewhat less effective than Lucio Fulci, whose own work was often criticized for its barbaric nature, D’Amato does score points for giving horror fans what they really want. One of the murders are as memorable as The Anthropophagous Beast’s foetus showstopper, but several of the kills are unpleasant and sleazy. Whilst Paramount would often back down to the MPAA with the violence on display in the Friday the 13th movies, Absurd makes no such compromise. Thus, those that feel that American slashers often short change fans will no doubt enjoy watching Eastman mutilate his victims in all manner of grizzly ways.

Although the role of Mikos hardly required a talented actor, Eastman at least attempts to give a menacing performance, although more often than not it is more humorous than scary (his turn in Mario Bava’s Cani arrabbiati/Rabid Dogs was far more effective). Belle is certainly no Jamie Lee Curtis, despite the movie being modelled on John Carpenter’s Halloween, but she makes an adequate final girl and Eastman receives a suitable demise. Whilst the score (composed by Carlo Maria Cordio, who would later work on Troll 2) lacks any kind of style or tension, the special effects are without a doubt the star of the show. Viewers may want to watch out for appearances from future filmmaker Michele Soavi (La chiesa/The Church) and early ’80s veteran Edmund Purdom (Pieces, Don’t Open ‘Til Christmas).

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