The Dead Are Alive (1972)

Archaeologist Jason Porter (Alex Cord) becomes the prime suspect after a series of brutal murders at the site of an ancient Etruscan tomb.The first double murder in director Armando Crispino's giallo The Etruscan Kills Again is sufficiently bloody, a couple beaten to death with a big metal probe (a piece of Porter's archaeological equipment); however, the scene is shot with little of the pizazz one expects from the genre.Subsequent deaths only disappoint further, the actual acts mostly occurring off-screen, the victims' bodies discovered once the killer has left the scene. The Etruscan Kills Again also suffers from an overly complex and dialogue heavy script that is difficult to unravel and features a rather unlikeable protagonist (a sexually aggressive alcoholic).A well executed car chase adds a much needed jolt of life to proceedings, the lovely Christina von Blanc delivers the requisite gratuitous nudity, and the final fight scene between hero and killer is well handled, but there's way too much drudgery involved to qualify this as an essential giallo.

An effectively murky and labyrinthine giallo yarn in which those crazy Italians get up to all sorts of tricks. First and foremost is the leading character of Jason Porter, a fairly unlikable anti-hero with a shady background, who gets blamed by the police for the murders and must discover the identity of the killer to prove his own innocence - if you think this set-up is familiar, you may have seen Jon Finch starring in Hitchcock's FRENZY or witnessed one of the many other "wronged man" thrillers made over the years. Director Armando Crispino's direction is efficient and sometimes stylish, and THE ETRUSCAN KILLS AGAIN offers up all the red herrings, twists, turns, suspects, and brutal moments that you could wish for in a giallo yarn.However, this is not all this film offers. In an almost slapdash series of plot elements, we are given a screeching car chase (in which you can almost smell the burning rubber) to rival those of the Italian polizia movies; supernatural elements at the beginning of the film, which with the use of heavy, guttural breathing, and a shady presence hint at a zombie returning from the grave to wreak vengeance; a fantastic and surprising car crash stunt; gory scenes of people being beaten to bloody pulps; and finally, the ferocious fight which marks the film's close and is one of the best hero-vs-villain battles I've seen in an Italian flick - short, violent and extremely realistic. All of the above takes place whilst Verdi's Requiem plays intermittently over the soundtrack, deafeningly loud and stylish to boot.In the end, THE ETRUSCAN KILLS AGAIN works due to some larger-than-life characters and a stronger cast than usual. Alex Cord's archaeologist may not be the most likable of screen leads but he gives his character a commanding presence which makes you unable to take your eyes off him. Samantha Eggar (THE BROOD) is still sufficiently attractive in her youth to provide a worthwhile woman-in-peril, whilst Horst Frank and Carlo De Mejo flesh out the minor characters of the story. However, the familiar-looking John Marley steals all of their thunder as a sadistic orchestra conductor (!) who frequently flies off the handle to good effect. Although it's sometimes muddled and too murky for its own good, THE ETRUSCAN KILLS AGAIN is a watchable giallo movie, and if it's no classic then at least it whiles away a quiet evening with its heady combination of essential plot ingredients.

A group of archaeologists work on excavating Etruscan tombs. A series of murders start and they seem to be connected to these ancient ruins in some way. Is this the work of the vengeful god Tuchulka? The Dead Are Alive is a giallo/horror hybrid. It follows the conventions of the former but it also incorporates a supernatural horror angle. Like many similar Italian films from the time it's a pretty convoluted affair. Its central story isn't always very well presented and the film meanders a lot of the time. Things aren't helped all that much by an uncharismatic male lead actor who doesn't exactly elicit much sympathy. His character seems to be a bit of a sex pest in fairness. There are better actors in the support roles such as Samantha Eggar - who later starred in David Cronenberg's The Brood - and Horst Frank who plays a slightly sinister homosexual eccentric similar to the role he had in Dario Argento's Cat o' Nine Tails. There is a smattering of bloody violence throughout. And the supernatural angle does offer something different for this type of picture. But overall it's doesn't make very much of a connection.Its director Armando Crispino also contributed the later Autopsy, which was another unconventional giallo. Both films deserve some credit for at least trying to bring in different things to the sub-genre but truthfully neither of them are very good. Riz Ortolani contributes another lush score that tries its best to enliven events.

Just a quick note to all my fellow zombie aficionados out there.. the title of this movie is misleading. While the movie itself is not too bad, sadly there are no living dead here. This movie is actually an early 1970's murder mystery, the dialogue at times is very dry, although not bad the whole way through. The directing is o.k however the editing is really quite sketchy (you know the kind where all the sudden an actor is in a new position instantly, or they've abruptly cut to a new scene.)So if like me you planned on watching this to add another notch onto your undead movie collection belt let your search continue.