If you know anything of the Italian horror films of the 1980s, chances are the names you recognize are Argento, Fulci, and Bava (both Mario and Lamberto). But the name you should know without a doubt is Michele Soavi. Working as an assistant under Dario Argento for a number of years, as well as appearing in several films for the others as an actor, he eventually directed a quartet of the best and most underrated horror films of the era. He’s finally getting his due here in North America from Severin Films who are releasing brand new restorations of three of his masterworks.
The movies in question are Soavi’s second, third, and fourth horror films. Those are The Church (1989), The Sect (1991), and his most famous, and best, Cemetery Man (1994). All three are Gothic-infused, hallucinatory nightmares into the occult and macabre. Soavi’s movies have an artyness and mood that sets them apart from the contemporaries. And some of that might come from a particularly upsetting memory from his childhood which he shared in this exclusive clip from the extras on Severin’s The Sect set.
I feel like you’d probably have horror in your veins too if your parents threatened to take you into a massive, cavernous pit below your kitchen if you didn’t eat your veggies. That legitimately looks like something out of one of Soavi’s horror movies. Pits buried deep under the seemingly normal and pristine homes, hiding some perhaps ancient evil. Good stuff. Glad he has a good sense of humor about it.
Severin is releasing the three Soavi films in brand new 4K restorations. Each set has multiple discs with features and the movie in both UHD and HD. All of them also include a CD soundtrack for the movies. Everyone knows Italian horror movies have the best music. Pop it in whatever device you have that plays CDs and enjoy. Check out Severin Films for more info.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.