Specters (1987)

This disastrous Italian horror brings the late great Donald Pleasence along for the ride and surely didn't do his career any favours.With not only a low rating but barely 250 ratings on IMDB this clearly fell into obscurity and I can see why.Italian horror during the 80's was generally fantastic, this was a rare miss and quite a big one at that.It tells the story of a crew investigating unexplored catacombs and the ancient demonic evil that they unleash.With a messy plot, shoddy audio and camera work and a forgettable cast this is pretty bad stuff saved to a degree thanks to Pleasence and an interesting setting.If you seek Italian horror look elsewhere.The Good:Donald PleasenceNeat settingThe Bad:Poor sound editingDonald Pleasence looks like a big fish in a small pond hereAwful endingThings I Learnt From This Movie:Donald Pleasence must have been short on cash

This is a disjointed, sometimes confusing affair which spends an inordinate amount of time with people wandering around in dark tunnels. If you've seen Michele Soavi's THE CHURCH then you'll be well prepared for this film's structure as the two films are very similar. Both have confusing editing and plot strands which don't make sense. At least with THE CHURCH, Soavi had some style and pleasing religious imagery on show. When it boils down to it, SPECTERS is simply a monster-on-the-loose movie with some ancient mumbo-jumbo thrown in for good measure.Strangely enough, I actually enjoy films which have people wandering around ancient tombs and catacombs, so for me a lot of this film was pretty eerie. A single low note on the soundtrack helps add to the spooky atmosphere of the crypts, which certainly look impressive, being littered with skeletons, Latin inscriptions, rats, and mysterious artefacts. There's a sense of brooding menace and "eeevil" (as Pleasence would say) lurking in the shadows and, as is nearly always the case, it's what you don't see that's most frightening. When, at the end, the makers let their demonic creature on a rampage in the tunnels, a lot of the tension is dispersed as we realise it's just a man in the suit. At least the guys here were wise enough to figure that quick glimpses of the monster were enough instead of dwelling on it for a long time and totally shattering the myth.Donald Pleasence lends a welcome face in what otherwise is a completely Italian production (crew, cast, whatever). Pleasence gets all of the best lines here and gets to say the word "evil" in his own inimitable style about a dozen times. Aside from Pleasence, the acting is uninspired with boring leads who have the 'designer' look and not a single drop of charisma between them. A lengthy sex scene helps to pad out the running time but to serve no other purpose, while the film's best shock scene has been stolen from another film (the hands reaching out of the bed and dragging the victim down moment is a direct reprise of Johnny Depp's demise in A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET).There's a predictable twist ending and some mild gruesomeness to enjoy (a skinned head jutting from a wall), but only two major gore sequences. The first has an old duffer, who happens to be an antiques hoarder, get his head crushed against a tunnel wall - an exceptionally unpleasant moment. The other shows a blind man having his heart pulled out, but some rushed editing ruins the impact of this one and just makes it look rubbery. SPECTERS is okay, but a little too light on the horror and a little too heavy on the dialogue for me.

I'm guessing you've got like late-era Italian films to enjoy this, but I liked this film a lot more than anyone that's reviewed this film here.Why? For all the reasons listed as negatives elsewhere, that's why! Sure, the plot doesn't make much sense, and barely exists. Sure, there's bad eighties hair, bad eighties music, and bad eighties everything else, but come on, these are good points! I had a good laugh with this one. I loved the way the first guy they sent down the tomb had to crawl for ages to get to it, but by the time Donald Pleasance et al got down there, it was as easy as walking into your back garden! Brilliant.It's suspenseful in places, with a good atmosphere and setting. I've been down to the catacombs in Rome and they really do warn you not to wander off. I thought that was because they were so large, but after watching this film, I guess it was to stop me falling foul of a demon.Good stuff, if you know what to expect.

I wonder if, back when he was wowing audiences with great performances in films such as Cul-de-sac and The Flesh and the Fiends, Donald Pleasance ever thought he'd be starring in dross like this? Anyway, I have to say that I wasn't surprised to find that Specters is basically the film I thought it would be; namely, a poor Demons-style trashy eighties horror flick with little in the way of redeeming features. The plot is just common horror fare and features a bunch of researchers digging into places they shouldn't be digging and revealing a load of ancient catacombs that warn of impending doom. Naturally, the evil is unleashed. At the very least from this, I was expecting some decent gore; but all we actually get is cheesy crap which is matched by the trashy atmosphere and typically cheesy eighties soundtrack. The plot is a complete mess and I found it very easy to get bored. Donald Pleasance was obviously bored too, and that's not surprising considering the talent of the people he's working with; naturally, Specters features some awesomely terrible acting. It all boils down to a typically pointless ending and overall, this is one of the few films that is bettered by the lamentable 'Demons 2'!