Zeder (1983)

Maybe I wasn't in the right mood to watch this one. I've seen HOUSE WITH THE LAUGHING WINDOWS and liked that one enough-but although ZEDER has a decent concept (which as others have noted, Stephen King almost definitely stole for Pet Cemetery...)-what actually happened in the film just wasn't enough to hold my interest. A writer is given a typewriter by his girlfriend. The writer finds the old ribbon within the machine that has the writings of the previous owner typed on to it-and it speaks of cryptic things called 'K-zones'. Not understanding the text but sniffing out the concept of his next novel-the writer begins researching who previously owned the typewriter-and what this K-zone talk is all about...I'm not gonna spend much time on this one. The plot is actually quite inventive-the acting, sets, locations, etc...are up to par with most Italian thrillers of the time-frame...but ZEDER is just f!cking dull!!! I tried my best to like it-I saw that several of my reviewing 'colleagues' on here that I tend to hold in high regard liked it...I just couldn't get into it. I'm not a 'SCREAM-obsessed-teeny-bopper-wannabe'-and although I readily admit that I tend to gravitate toward the more graphic side of horror cinema-I can appreciate a solid, slow-burn thriller as well. Problem for me is that ZEDER was all 'slow' and no 'burn' in my book-much like SHORT NIGHT OF THE GLASS DOLLS, another Italian 'classic' that I watched recently was. Both had solid concepts but failed to keep me intrigued enough to care by the time they were over. But to each their own-and to those that loved this one...I'm glad it did something for ya. I'd personally take any number of Italian gialli/thrillers over this particular entry. A generous 5/10.

This is a quite entertaining little horror-film, but by no means any major classic. I had expected a bit more, since seeing an image from the film in the wonderful Eyeball-Compendium, which triggered my imagination, Possible spoiler: A severed head lying on the ground of an endless and dilapitated corridor. It has a somewhat thin and confused story, but a nice atmosphere and some effective scares. Pupi Avati seems to be a director above his material in this case, and he does add to the dream-logic of the plot with some fascinating surreal imagery and compositions indicates that he could have done more with less lacking material. The acting is not too impressive but he has at least found some striking locations to work with to great effect, the monumental design of the institute for example. Some of the final shots are quite extraordinary, creating a sense of melancholy and loneliness with a simple yet very effective juxtaposition of imagery. That image alone is enough to push this film a bit above the rest. Next mission is to check out Avati's Arcane Enchanter.

Avati's 'Zeder' is true maturity when reflecting on the Italian horror genre. This film does't deliver close-up shots of pig entrails, nor does it steal cannibal stock footage to liven up the pace. Instead, it relays a story that was conceived by a genius, and allows the viewer to piece together the puzzle in his or her mind. The old marketing campaign, which displayed a decaying zombie exploding over a sewer drain, was definitely used to lure in sales and deceive buyers. This was no fault of the producers or director, but of typical American greedy distributors. If your the type to not judge a book by its cover, you may find a gem. Besides, anyone that sees this film as being 'pointless', 'dull' and so on should probably stay watching Speilburg Hollywood Schlock! Oh yeah, have you noticed this film's plot is similar to that of King's 'Pet Semetary'? Many speculate one may have plagiarized the other. In truth, Avati filmed and released his product over a year before King wrote his book. This film is a thinking man's horror film. Check out Avati's House with laughing Windows if you like Zeder.

*Plot/ending analyzed*This is a very un-typical horror film which makes it quite refreshing and interesting. For most of the beginning I was quite enthralled by the pacing and the effort of the protagonist to reach some sort of conclusion. The start of the film shows us a house in Italy in the early 1920's and it is haunted by some horrendous and malicious ghost who has recently killed an old hag, next comes a clairvoyant and a scientist who walk into the basement where the girl clairvoyant assumes the identity of the dead man from a previous life. Once they find the bones of the man, they find a wallet and it reveals that the man was 'Edward Zeder', an albino, lunatic-philosopher who had believed in "Kai-zons", areas which were places where death had no value, this is an ancient idea which stems from the Persians and the Greeks. Arrive in Italy in the 1970's where a struggling writer who smokes too much is using a typewriter and he finds that the ribbon has some used text upon it and he types up a few papers from what he finds and has a mystery upon his hands. He goes through the usual odds and ends in an attempt to crack the mystery of the "Kai-zons" and he visits a small village where there is a cemetery and all sorts of weird people. The end of the film, in which his girlfriend dies and he takes her to a "Kai-zon" to bring her back, is a result from the lack of his willingness to have loved a living creature while she was alive and it is quite expected when she eats his neck. This is a very good film and the director is quite capable of pushing a story of interest along. For those of you expecting a zombie film, this isn't it.