Joe D'Amato's Sesso nero (1980)

Luigi Montefiori (aka George Eastman) tells the tale of how his story and screenplay for the Santo Domingo production and Joe D'Amato film, Sesso nero (1980) had its genesis:

The first film he [Joe D'Amato] worked on as a director, as director and producer, was made in Santo Domingo. I don't know if I've already told this story. We'd gone to Santo Domingo, invited there by Aristide [Massaccesi, D'Amato's real name], to make a series of three movies. One was supposed to be a serious film, and the other two were sort of erotic, movies you don't have to do much work to make. He showed me pictures of Santo Domingo, which I liked, so I went there, really for a vacation. While we were shooting these three films, I was crazy about gambling at the time, and I lost my entire pay for these films and all the other money I had in one week. So I was penniless at the end of the first week. Not even enough to pay for the hotel room. In fact I had to share a rooom with Dirce Funari one of the actresses, despite the fact that we weren't romantically involved. I'd be sleeping at four a.m., she'd come in--we caught some sleep when we could. Since I had no money, and Aristide refused to give me and advance on other jobs, I tried to convince him to do another movie. I said, "Why don't you shoot something of your own? You have the actors, the location..." So while we were shooting the other films--we'd do a scene, change our clothes, shot the scene of another film--to use the same set--I'd be the good guy one minute and the bad guy the next--So I said, "Let's do another story. You can bring home another film that's all yours when we leave." He said, "No, I don't have a story..." and I'd say "I'll write one for you." So we agreed on my salary, and in three days I wrote "Sesso Nero." [note: in the interview collection, Spaghetti Nighmares, Eastman says, "I'd written the script and persuaded Massaccesi to do it so that I could make up the money I'd lost in one of my habitual nights out at the casino. I based the story on Max Frisch's Homo Faber and put it together over a weekend, and despite the fact it had been a lightning job, it turned out to be a real success."] When it came out it made a lot of money. He read it, liked it, and made it. I played a small part, as a nightclub manager, in a scene we shot back in Rome, however. I was paid two million lira. It cost him about twenty million to make. It ended up making hundreds of millions, a great success. That was the first film produced and directed by Aristide. Of course he'd directed others, but none that were completely his. (from the documentary, "Joe D'Amato Totally Uncut" included on the Shriek Show Anthropophagus DVD) From a story borne from desperation, Sesso nero is about Mark Lester (Mark Shannon) who receives some bad news from his doctor: he's required to have an operation which will render him impotent (in a dream sequence, he imagines himself completely incapacitated and vulnerable on the operation table, while a doctor hovers over him with a scapel and his literal manhood sitting in a tray to the side). Mark has to have the operation within fifteen days, so he decides to take the preceding time before his operation to visit Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic as a vacation, an opportunity for some final sexual escapades, and to possibly revisit some memories. One day while wandering the streets of the city, Mark sees a reflection in a store window of a young woman, Maira (Annj Goren), who he had met on the island years ago and she looks completely the same. Mark has a couple of quick flings, one with the hotel maid and another with his friend Jack's wife, Lucia (Lucia Ramirez), before running into an old friend at a nightclub (Eastman) who tells Mark that some voodoo incidents have been reported on the island. Soon after, Mark spies Maira again.Sesso nero is the spontaneous production born in Santo Domingo while presumably the three original films to which Eastman alludes in his anecdote are Hard Sensation (1980), Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980), and Porno Holocaust (1981). Shannon, Eastman, and Ramirez would appear in all four productions, while Funari is absent from only Sesso nero and Goren absent from only Erotic Nights. The original three productions, especially Holocaust, are notorious for the inclusion of their XXX scenes, side by side with its horror. Italian cinema had seen sex and violence (and sexual violence) at its extreme before, for example, with Pier Paolo Pasolini's Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975). D'Amato, himself, wasn't a stranger to mixing the two elements and pushing the extreme with his Emanuelle e Françoise le sorelline (1975; also starring Eastman) and especially Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali (aka Trap Them and Kill Them) (1977), for example. D'Amato is asked in an interview, "Later, the series [the Black Emanuelle films with Laura Gemser] was linked to the Cannibal films (Trap Them and Kill Them). Was it a great success?" D'Amato responds, "Yes, all the Black Emanuelle films made a lot of money." The interviewer responds to his answer with the statement, "It was quite a violent film." "Yes, definitely," says D'Amato. "I had done everything with this series except mix it with splatter-type horror. (interview from European Trash Cinema, Issue #12, ed. Craig Ledbetter, Kingwood, TX, July, 1995.)" The inclusion of XXX scenes in horror films wasn't alien either, as myriad European horror films often had various versions by different distributors for specific markets, including those with hardcore inserts. The three Santo Domingo productions, however, by D'Amato were calculated hybrids of horror and pornography, especially Holocaust. In Spaghetti Nightmares, D'Amato is asked: "What can you tell us about Emanuelle e gli ultimi cannibali and Le notti erotiche dei morti viventi [Erotic Nights of the Living Dead]?" D'Amato responds, "They were both made along erotic lines, and having said that, there isn't much else to tell about them, really. The former, like the others of the series, was a reasonable commercial success (especially abroad), while Le notti erotiche dei morti viventi was a total fiasco. I had endeavored to mingle my two favorite genres, tending more towards the erotic side in this case, but the film was rejected by the public." After an interviewer comments that "When you made Porno Holocaust...There's a scene where a zombie gives a blow job to a woman. And she dies. I mean that's incredible isn't it?! (laughs)," D'Amato responds, "Yeah, we thought that when two people fuck, that's when the zombie arrives. This is what it's about. The maximum combination of horror and sex! (from an interview in Flesh and Blood, Issue #6, ed. Harvey Fenton, FAB Press, 1996)"Despite it being the only non-horror film in this grouping, Sesso nero delivers its darkest tale. Anticipating a future which lacks the joy of sex and a reduced virility, Shannon's Mark embarks on his present, temporary quest of engaging in joyless sex and humiliating situations, as a figure from the past, Maira draws him down deeper than he could imagine. The joylessness and lack of intimacy are inherent in the initial XXX scenes, as with Mark's first trist with the hotel's maid: the photography (shot by Enrico Biribicchi) has to focus on the close-up shots of penetration for credibility to the scene's unsimulated acts. Likewise, following another perfunctory explicit sex scene, this time Mark with Lucia, the viewer sees Mark writhing in pain and grabbing his goin (as he has had a flare-up of his condition), as Lucia sits coolly at the dinner table watching him, looking as indifferent when she had pleasured him. Mark has to be carried back to his hotel room by the man whose wife he "seduced." Mark's most intense emotional scenes come with the woman towards whom he has the strongest emotion, Goren's Maira, but Maira also, with perhaps Sesso nero's most erotic XXX scenes, uses her strong sexuality not to tempt and seduce Mark but to induce jealously and emotional pain, as she has sex directly in front of Mark (to his credit, Shannon's performance is better than his colder performances in the other three Santo Domingo productions). The most erotic scene comes near the end of Sesso nero and involves Ramirez's Lucia and Shannon's Mark. The photography isn't explicit and focuses on less subtle physical movements, such as two's hands on each other and Ramirez's looks into the eyes of Mark. Sesso nero's ending has its most shocking and symbolic scenes. Sesso nero is ultimately more interesting conceptually and less interesting entertainingly, despite the fact that D'Amato's direction, Biribicchi's photography, and especially the music by Nico Fidenco being quite good. Shannon and especially Goren standout above the other performances. Eastman's story and screenplay, motivated from gambling losses, creates an ironic tale for an adult film: the loss of male virility, the desire for emotional intimacy, and the depiction of a darker take on sexuality. So how did audiences take to Sesso nero (as Eastman relates that it was a big success financially)? When D'Amato is confronted with this statement in an interview, "The most surprising fact about your pornos is that they have a real storyline," D'Amato responds, "That's right. The first one I made, Sesso nero, had a story even though it dealt with hard-core sex. But most distributors didn't consider it commercial enough and so they cut out the dialogue and left in the ordinary fuck scenes. And that's the reason why this kind of film is not an art form. The audience is there just to see people fuck. As a filmmaker, it is of no real interest to me (taken from the European Trash Cinema interview as noted and cited above)." I suppose with Sesso nero, there are no safe bets.

Joe D'Amato's Horrible (Rosso sangue/Absurd/Monster Hunter/Anthropophagus 2) (1981)

While I've already awkwardly discussed Joe D'Amato before, I thought that I would begin by telling a story. Nearly twenty years ago, around the time when I would have been either thirteen or fourteen, I received Joe D'Amato's Horrible (aka Rosso sangue) (1981) on VHS, in a large, oversized box under the title, Monster Hunter. Here's a pic (still have it today):My old man purchased it late Christmas Eve out of the cheap bin at K-Mart. I don't know if he was lured by its over-sized box or its lurid (and misleading) cover, but I was happy to receive it the following day (along with a buncha other literally cheap and trashy flix). I remember opening the big box and watching it. My initial impression was that this was an American production and not an Italian one (all of the credits revealed mostly Anglicized names); spoken in English and out of synch with some of the characters' voices; set in America: there was a Rams/Steelers game on t.v., and the priest, who was Greek, was called a "foreigner;" and most of all, this was my bread and butter, Monster Hunter was low-budget horror (immediately apparent from the black-and-white opening credits to the opening shot of George Eastman jogging followed by the shuffling Edmond Purdom). I recently received the Mya release on DVD, under the title Horrible (although the credits title the film Rosso sangue) and gave it a spin. Joe D'Amato's Rosso sangue (aka Anthropophagus 2) is about a Greek killer (Eastman), Mikos Stenopolis, whose on the run from from a Greek priest (Purdom). At the Bennett villa, young Katia Bennett (Katya Berger) is confined to bed as a parapalegic, drawing circles with her compass. Ms. Bennett (Hanja Kochansky) sits at her side and offers Katia comforting words of hope of her getting better, while little brother and son, Willy (Kasimir Berger) hears a noise out in the yard. The door opens to reveal the noise as Eastman, who has disemboweled himself attempting to climb the rod-iron fence. Mikos passes out on the Bennett floor and is rushed to the hospital. As the doctors are stitching large Eastman up, the surgeon notes to nurse Emily (Annie Belle) that the patient has "remarkable recupertative powers." Emily exits, as Eastman recovers, to the Bennett villa to tend to young Katia. Meanwhile, Sgt. Ben Engleman (Charles Borromel) is exiting the Bennett villa after his police inquiry of the Mikos self-impalement en route to the hospital. Along the way, Engleman picks up a older man, walking alone in the evening, a "foreigner," whose car has broken down, and takes him to a mechanic. The Sargent arrives at the hospital and finds Greek coins in Eastman's large jeans and notes the coincidence that the older man whom he earlier picked up was Greek also. The older man is now at the hospital, and Eastman's Mikos wakes up, not happy to see the other Greek and in a psychotic frame of mind. Evocative of John Carpenter's classic Halloween (1978), from the music to the one-night setting to the plot line, Joe D'Amato delivers an effective low-budget slasher. However, Rosso sangue will more than likely alienate most horror fans and casual fans of the genre for its low-budget roots and familar plot, but it should be fried gold to Eurocult cinema enthusiasts and D'Amato afficionados, such as myself. To begin with, the cast of Rosso sangue is a roll call of familiar D'Amato actors and Eurocult stars (or participants linked to a Eurocult star). The Bennetts, save Papa Bennett, are real-life mother and children (Katya and Kasimir Berger are the daughter and son of Hanja Kochansky and genre stalwart, William Berger). The couple which appears on the television delivering soapy dialogue, who also light a flame of anger under young Willy, are D'Amato regulars, Mark Shannon (for example, Erotic Nights of the Living Dead (1980)) and Lucia Ramirez (for example, Orgasmo nero (1980)). Edmund Purdom appeared previously in Tonino Ricci's excellent The Big Family (1973), Massimo Dallamano's The Night Child (1975), Fernando di Leo's off-the-wall and awesome Mr. Scarface (1976), and subsequently appeared in Sergio Martino's 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983) and Di Leo favorite, Killer vs. Killers (1985), for example. Ms. Annie Belle, as Emily, is a true titan of Eurcult cinema and she clashed with other Eurocult titans, Lili Carati, Al Cliver, and Laura Gemser, in favorite D'Amato's The Alcove (1984). Belle previously appeared in Jean Rollin's Fly Me the French Way (1974) and his poetic and haunting, Lips of Blood (1975), Brunello Rondi's Black Emmanuelle, White Emmanuelle (1976), and Ruggero Deodato's House on the Edge of the Park (1980), for example. Also, look for frequent Eurocult small-role actor and future director, Michele Soavi amongst others. Last but not least is friend of and creative collaborator with director Joe D'Amato, George Eastman as Mikos Stenopolis. Tall and muscular Eastman spent the 60s and the early part of the 70s appearing primarily in Westerns before his role in Corrado Farina's excellent Baba Yaga (1973). Eastman would later, for example, appear in D'Amato's surreal Emanuelle's Revenge (1975), Alfonso Brescia's Knell, the Bloody Avenger (1976), and D'Amato's infamous Anthropophagus (1980) before Rosso sangue. Subsequent to his performance as Mikos, Eastman would appear in some seriously heavyweight Eurocult cinema: Enzo G. Castellari's The New Barbarians (1982) and 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982), Umberto Lenzi's fantastic Ironmaster (1983), 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983), D'Amato's stellar Endgame (1983) alongside Al Cliver and Laura Gemser, Lamberto Bava's essential Blastfighter (1984), and Sergio Martino's Hands of Steel (1986), for example. Eastman is also a prolific screenwriter with numerous credits, including Rosso sangue, with my favorite being Michele's Soavi's Stagefright (1987). The script of Monster Hunter is perfunctory, like Halloween, and is a by-the-books formulaic slasher. All of the performances are good, especially Belle, Purdom, and Eastman.D'Amato's signature visuals and his strong atmosphere is spotty in Rosso Sangue. He attempts to mimic the cat-and-mouse chase of the priest and police after Mikos with a choppy, intercut story, from the Bennetts, to Eastman, to the priest and police. The final third is very good claustrophobic horror. The gore scenes are meaty and bloody, and like Anthropophagus, Eastman and D'Amato went out of their way to rack their "brains" for some creative (and if need be, unnecessary) kills. The score by Carlo Maria Cordio is fantastic and the synthy flourishes are nice. Overall, Horrible has that unique Eurocult "vibe," so familar and addictive to genre fans, such as myself. Long absent from DVD, the current Mya release is essential for the Eurocult cinema lover. Buy it here or here.

This post is dedicated to my old man. Deeply religious and politically conservative, he is also vehemently anti-authoritarian and a fierce opponent to censorship and an equally fierce proponent to artistic expression. Neither a hypocrite, the old man never censored anything which I wished to see, read, or view, and supported me, both spiritually and financially, to prevent me in my 20s from being a starving artist. Although I've long abandoned any artistic aspiration or ambition (primarily from lack of talent), blog-writing and my cinema tastes are to this day directly a result of the old man's fostering and love. It's not everyday that I get the opportunity to write about it and return it.

Joe D'Amato's Anthropophagus (1980)

On a small Greek island, one day something rises from the water. A group of friends, bound for a pleasure cruise, meet a young woman who requests to go along. Her destination is the small island. The group arrives to find the island seemingly uninhabited. They pass the night in mostly solitude until the island mystery is revealed. As members of the group begin dying, the survivors search for answers to the mystery and a way to escape.

Aristide Massaccesi (aka Joe D'Amato), prior to directing, cut his cinematic teeth on many an Italian Western, as a cinematographer. Quite talented lensing others' productions, D'Amato eventually would helm myriad productions in a vast amount of genres. Later in his career, he would become one of the most popular and successful adult-film directors in the world, only occasionally directing the low-budget genre film. His photographic talent never waned over his career. Any D'Amato film shows a brilliant eye for imagery, the use of light, framing, and movement. D'Amato was also very conscious of atmosphere--he was very adept at using film composition to create a definite sense of feeling. His excellent ability in the most cosmetic aspects of film is probably why he was so successful in adult movies.

Anthropophagus (1980) has a notorious history and reputation, which is quite merited. It was banned as a "video nasty" in the UK for its depictions of gore. One scene is infamous. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of this film is aware of the scene. The film's infamy and notoriety gave it longevity in genre fans' wish lists, and it was eventually released uncut on DVD in the US in 2005. High expectations and lukewarm reception.

Ironically, the beauty and power of Anthropophagus lies nowhere near its gore scenes. They are the weakest aspect of the film. The desire to shock the viewers into the cinema would become a serious misstep. In fact, the film's screenplay, penned by D'Amato and star, George Eastman, seems so contrived that it appears that they envisioned the shocking gore scene originally and worked backwards to create a film around it. For either commercial reasons or a lack of confidence in their ability, the script stands as it is.

I attempted to describe the film at the outset of this blog entry as I see the film. It's a wonderful atmospheric, non-supernatural horror film with some beautiful imagery. One scene, in particular, stands out. Tisa Farrow observes a large mirror covering an even larger door. She tosses a candlestick at the mirror and it breaks and falls away. Shot in slow motion, her image remains in the final piece--a haunting scene. The film's opening with the German tourists and while the credits play serves as a very quiet exposition. The town is revealed, through its cobblestone-lined streets, as filled with people. When the young group arrives at the island, the same scenes are shown, minus the life once in the street. The sense of isolation is all the more reinforced. The slow pacing of the film increases the dread, so the few "jump" scares actually work.

The notorious gore scene holds up today. At least, I find it very offensive and off-putting. The special effects ain't the greatest. The acting is pretty wooden all around, save Tisa Farrow (possibly her last film?) and George Eastman. Those two performances are only moderately better than the rest. I can understand someone thinking this one an over-hyped and slow gore film. However, I see it as an underrated old-school atmospheric horror film. An all-time favorite.