The Possessed
1965 ‘La donna del lago’ Directed by Luigi Bazzoni, Franco Rossellini
Synopsis
When a visitor arrives in a small Italian village, he discovers that the residents are acting like soul-less zombies--and he begins to suspect that they may be under the influence of a mysterious local woman.
Cast
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Glorious first film from Luigi Bazzoni, who would go on to make, The Fifth Cord and Footprints. Here with wonderful b/w cinematography from Barboni we have a straightforward enough, if noirish, beginning, gradually deepening into something resembling a gothic horror before developing before our very eyes into something more resembling a giallo. Always good to look at and with persuasive and involving dialogue, this engages from the start and although the tale is leisurely told, occasionally resembling Last Year At Marienbad, we never loose interest. Yet another near lost gem. Oh and I almost forgot, we get a dreamy substantial cameo from the lovely Virna Lisi.
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A great psychological early giallo.
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Glorious first film from Luigi Bazzoni, who would go on to make, The Fifth Cord and Footprints. Here with wonderful b/w cinematography from Barboni we have a straightforward enough, if noirish, beginning, gradually deepening into something resembling a gothic horror before developing before our very eyes into something more resembling a giallo. Always good to look at and with persuasive and involving dialogue, this engages from the start and although the tale is leisurely told, occasionally resembling Last Year At Marienbad, we never loose interest. Yet another near lost gem. Oh and I almost forgot, we get a dreamy substantial cameo from the lovely Virna Lisi.
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Disappointing murder mystery in which the killer reveals themselves in the last three minutes by, er, just shouting a confession at the hero.